Michaela Trimm

Moss and Mirrors, a psychological suspense

Quinn has been rescued from a cult, only to find herself somewhere newly ominous. To me, the house in Cypress Hollow, the girls, the way everyone acts, is such a red flag. Granted if you were just rescued from a cult, anything that feels "safe" is going to seem better in comparison. The first few weeks are where he gets you, Sterling Gabriel, the therapist that the women think have rescued them. He has a framework that he applies to them all, hand picks them to ensure compliance. But Quinn pays attention, she has done it her whole life, even before the cult, and she starts to notice things that don't quite add up. "It's the window that does it. Third week and she's only just noticed. The windows in the main rooms all face the water. Not the road. Not the driveway."

Again, every little thing in this house to me is a red flag. The fact that nobody leaves? That the only person who even comes to the house is Gabe? That every single day is the same? I guess it is easy to fall into a routine when you were already conditioned to do so. But there are hints that the girls know, they are aware of what is going on, and sort of just accept it because they probably don't have anywhere else to go. Until things start to break. When the plan doesn't quite work...the cracks start to show.

I have so many questions though! I love that we are left wondering what happens next, with the girls, with Quinn, with Sterling. I hope there is some kind of continuation to this story!

I honestly enjoyed the writing style too, I don't know that it is for everyone, but I personally did like it. I liked that it is different, I like that the writing itself is sort of grim, just giving you enough, but leaving you wanting more. It forces you to pay more attention to what's going on, while we get the repetitive things like the smells, and the daily lives of Sterling/Gabe and Quinn, each iteration you can catch one little word that is new or different that adds to the mystery of the story.

Thank you so much to the author and Books & Bloom PR for a copy!

Some fav quotes:
"“Say something then. Say something that isn’t his. One thing.” The room goes very still."

" She thinks about what Cassidy said. Say something that isn’t his. One thing. Looks at the things she’s written in the notebook. Gabe’s words. His phrases. His way of naming things."

"She came to him already shaped by someone else’s hands. Already trained to make herself smaller for someone else’s comfort. All he had to do was redirect it."

"He’s always been careful about additions to his collection. The patience it takes to select correctly. The slow, deliberate work of the early weeks. Teaching someone where they belong until they stop needing to be told. He’s good at it. He’s always been good at it."

"Everything exactly where it belongs."

"Clover moving through a room like it was always hers to manage. All of it by design. All of it his. Nothing here happens on its own. It only looks that way because he made it that way."

"Flat and cold. Wrong. The warmth gone from it completely. Like for one half second he forgot to keep pretending. Something underneath Gabe surfaced. And it knew exactly who she was."