Seven years after the mysterious death of her best friend, Aubrey, Maya comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman dies in front of the same man Aubrey did, leading her back to a New England cabin to finally uncover a truth that could save her. 60,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

"A captivating psychological suspense debut about a young woman still haunted by her teenage best friend's death who learns of an eerily similar death and must find her way back to a cabin in the New England woods, armed only with hazy memories, to finally find out the truth that has eluded her. Maya was a high school senior when her best friend Aubrey mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man, Frank, they'd been hanging around with all summer. Seven years later, Maya is just managing to move on; she lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is finally kicking the secret Klonopin habit that's allowed her to cope with what happened all those years ago. But her past comes back to haunt her when she discovers a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over in a diner sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged back into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her small Berkshires hometown to finally figure out the truth about what happened. With guidance from the half-written book by the father in Guatemala she never knew, Maya's quest for answers forces her to relive that fateful summer--the influence Frank once had on her and the jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey--finally leadingher back to Frank's cabin in the woods. The House in the Pines is an utterly unique and surprising thriller about the subtlety of memory and manipulation, confronting the past, and the powerful and lasting bonds of family and friendship"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

An instant New York Times bestseller!

"This is an absolute, can’t-put-it-down thriller...It’s truly a wild ride that had me flying through chapter after chapter—which I think is the perfect way to kick off your year of reading." —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Jan ’23 Pick)

Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend’s sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed....

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.
 
Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer—the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.
 
At her mother’s house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father’s book that didn’t stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank’s cabin....
 
Utterly unique and captivating, The House in the Pines keeps you guessing about whether we can ever fully confront the past and return home. - (Penguin Putnam)

Ana Reyes has an MFA from Louisiana State University. Her work has appeared in Bodega, Pear Noir!, New Delta Review, and elsewhere. She lives in Los Angeles where she teaches creative writing to older adults at Santa Monica College. The House in the Pines is her first novel. - (Penguin Putnam)

Publishers Weekly Reviews

The summer before Maya, the heroine of Reyes's intriguing if flawed debut, entered college, 17-year-old Aubrey West, her best friend from high school in Pittsfield, Mass., dropped dead while talking to Maya's then boyfriend, Frank Bellamy. While Aubrey's death was ruled accidental, Maya was sure that Frank killed Aubrey, but she had no way of proving it. Now, eight years later, Maya is living in Boston with a new boyfriend and is trying to kick her addiction to the medication she's been secretly taking to cope with the trauma of Aubrey's death. One sleepless night, while watching a trending YouTube video, Maya sees a young woman fatally collapse while sitting across the table from Frank in a diner. Convinced that Frank has somehow murdered another victim, Maya returns home to Pittsfield to search for answers, which may just lie in the cabin in the woods where Frank used to entertain Maya and Aubrey. Well-developed characters and a nice balance between the main narrative and the backstories draw the reader in, but the action builds to an implausible and disappointing ending. Reyes shows enough talent to suggest she can do better next time. Agent: Jenni Ferrari-Adler, Union Literary. (Jan.)