The Invited: A Novel

I could not put it down. Full of mystery, ghosts and events that keep you guessing right up until the end

This book navigates between modern-day young couple Nate and Helen, who have quit their teaching jobs and moved to rural Vermont in order to start a new self-sufficient lifestyle, with that of Hattie Breckenridge, the woman who lived on the land in the 1920s and was killed in the name of "witchcraft".Strange events, dreams and visions become the norm as Nate and Helen build their new home. Helen, trying her hardest to keep things secret from her science-loving husband, is led to collecting pieces of buildings significant to Hattie and her relatives, which in turn seems to conjure their presence for some reason Helen is anxious to figure out.Thrown into the mix is Olive, a 14-year-old neighbor whose mother mysteriously vanished a year prior. While everyone insists that Lori took off with a boyfriend, Olive believes that couldn't be. Why, for instance, are all her mother's favorite clothes still hanging in her closet?The story quickly gains momentum as you go between the various character POV and time periods. You really want to find out the truth as to what's going on. HOWEVER - without spoiling things for those who haven't yet read this, a character is depicted to be 100% different than they've indicated to everyone in their lives for literally DECADES. I found this rather unbelievable. It felt as though the author got to a certain point in the story and then simply didn't know how to wrap things up, which is disappointing.

Fun ghost story. The mystery unfolds nicely, the tone is mysterious and creepy at times but not scary. All the main characters are smart and likable

I had been eyeing The Invited by Jennifer McMahon since it first came out at the end of April. When a book club I'm in decided to make that their June read, I knew this was my opportunity to actually buy it. While it wasn't as great as I had imagined, it wasn't a bad read.After receiving a big chunk of money from her father, Helen and her husband Nate decide to move to a small town in rural Vermont to build their own house. After buying the land at a very good price, Helen and Nate start building. It isn't long before they learn the legend of Hattie, a witch who was hanged on the bog where their house is being built. People swear the bog is haunted. Helen loves the history behind the bog and seeks out more information about Hattie which will ultimately put her and her husband in danger. Olive, a 14 year old girl, is searching for Hattie's treasure, another legend and wondering if the stories about her mother running off with another man or true. As Olive comes closer to discovering the truth about Hattie's treasure and what happened to her mother, it puts her that much closer to danger.The plot for The Invited was interesting enough. I enjoyed learning about Hattie as well as her descendants. The book is written mostly from Olive's and Helen's point of view, but there are some characters where we get to see things from their point of view which I found intriguing. There are a few plot twists although I found them all to be easily predictable. Not one of the plot twists surprised me at all unfortunately. Still, I did enjoy reading the climax of the story and afterwards. I also enjoyed that there were no cliffhangers in this book.I really enjoyed the character of Helen. She felt so realistic and like someone I would want to be friends with. I admired how laid back she was. I was indifferent about Nate. I just couldn't connect with him. I don't think he was written badly, but you could tell he wasn't meant to be a focal point in The Invited. I did like the character of Olive, but I felt like she was a lot younger than 14. I felt like she acted and spoke more like an 11 or 12 year old. I really had a hard time believing she was actually 14. I did admire how courageous she was and how determined on her goal whether it be to find Hattie's treasure or to find out the truth about what happened to her mother. I never really liked the character of Riley. She came across as someone who was trying too hard to be friendly. She felt too syrupy sweet. Hattie made a great ghost! There were times where I didn't trust her motives, and I couldn't figure out if I should be wary of her or if I should trust her.The pacing for The Invited was slow throughout the majority of the book. The first few chapters were painfully slow. It was as if the author had word vomit and was describing every minute detail about the land and about Helen's inheritance. I felt like all that backstory was unneeded and definitely didn't need two or three chapters dedicated to it. After those chapters, the pacing picks up slightly, so it goes from being painfully slow to just slow. There were so many times I considered giving up on this book, but others in my book club said to keep on reading because it gets better. The pacing finally did pick up around 70 percent through the book. Once the pacing picked up, I couldn't put this book down! I had to know what would happen next even if it was predictable. (I had to make sure I had predicted correctly!)Trigger warnings for The Invited include violence, death, murder, mentions of suicide, the occult, drug use (marijuana), drinking, some sexual references (not graphic), and profanity.Overall, The Invited is a decent ghost story although there is more to the story than just that. It also makes for a decent mystery read. While it is mostly slow paced, the action does pick up eventually. I would recommend The Invited by Jennifer McMahon to those aged 16+ who enjoy a decent ghostly mystery.

I had no idea what this book was about when I bought it as I didn’t read the blurb. I just liked the cover. I pulled it off my shelf the other day to give it a read. I will admit that I was not immediately pulled into this story, it took a few pages but when I did finally “get” into the story, I didn’t want to put it down.Helen and Nate decided to quit their jobs in their quest for a simpler life. They bought a property out in the sticks … the property sitting next to a bog and a whole lot of wildlife. Helen, by profession, was a history teacher, and Nate absolutely loved exploring the outdoors … so much so he would keep journals and draw pictures of the wildlife, take pictures. While they were building their dream home, their temporary residence was a beat-up, leaky roofed, tin trailer. Through the house building venture, they met their closest neighbor, a teen girl named Olive. Little did they know that the property they purchased was haunted by the ghost of Hattie Breckenridge, or at least that was town legend, which Nate really did not buy into … until he did.This is definitely an interesting tale of strange things happening to a couple who were least expecting the town to be so against them. There is also the intertwining tale of what happened to Olive’s mother … the truth of what happened to her, not the conjecture that the town still talked about all these years later.I think this tale also might be considered in the paranormal genre. Overall, I enjoyed this tale of Hattie’s ghost coming to life through the eyes of Helen. And the ending … that was an unexpected surprise.

It took a little bit to get into it. The plot had to have its background. Once that was laid, this book became a page turner!!! The twists and searching made this a great story. I feel Jennifer McMahon is following in Stephen King's footsteps!! A suburb read!!!

Well done Ms. McFadden. Believable characters, but a bit unbelievable that there are so many connecting dots that weren’t discovered before the couple buys the land starts investigating.

Maybe I am just frustrated or something but I felt like the author hates men. They were all stupid and submissive and women were always right. Then I got angry a left the book, maybe it changes after but didn’t like the way it was so far.P.S. please don’t hate me

"The Invited" hat mich von der ersten bis zur letzten Seite in seinen Bann gezogen. Dieser Roman ist ein brillant konstruiertes Werk, das Elemente des Übernatürlichen mit einer tiefgründigen menschlichen Geschichte verbindet. Die Autorin schafft es meisterhaft, die Grenzen zwischen Vergangenheit und Gegenwart zu verwischen, und webt dabei eine Geschichte, die sowohl faszinierend als auch zutiefst bewegend ist.Die Handlung folgt einem Paar, das beschließt, ihr Leben in der Stadt hinter sich zu lassen und ein Haus im ländlichen Vermont zu bauen. Doch das Grundstück, das sie für ihren Neuanfang auswählen, ist belastet mit den Echoes vergangener Tragödien. Was als ein Projekt des Aufbaus und der Hoffnung beginnt, verwandelt sich bald in eine fesselnde Untersuchung von Schuld, Erlösung und dem Geist der Vergangenheit, der in den Ecken ihres neuen Zuhauses lauert.Eines der herausragendsten Merkmale des Romans ist die Fähigkeit der Autorin, eine Atmosphäre zu erschaffen, die so dicht und greifbar ist, dass man beim Lesen die Kälte des Nebels spüren und das Knarren des alten Holzes hören kann. Die detaillierten Beschreibungen der Landschaft, des Hauses und der paranormalen Ereignisse sind so lebendig, dass man sich als Teil der Geschichte fühlt.Die Charakterentwicklung ist ein weiterer Punkt, in dem "The Invited" glänzt. Jede Figur, von den Hauptprotagonisten bis zu den Nebenfiguren, ist sorgfältig ausgearbeitet und trägt eine Tiefe in sich, die sie real und glaubwürdig macht. Ihre persönlichen Kämpfe und die Art und Weise, wie ihre Geschichten miteinander verflochten sind, verleihen dem Roman eine emotionale Komplexität, die selten so gekonnt umgesetzt wird.Ein besonders beeindruckendes Element ist, wie die Autorin das Übernatürliche nutzt, um tiefere Themen wie Verlust, Trauer und die Suche nach Zugehörigkeit zu erkunden. Anstatt sich auf billige Schockmomente zu verlassen, dient das Paranormale als Mittel, um die innere Landschaft der Charaktere zu erforschen und die Geschichte auf eine Weise zu bereichern, die sowohl ergreifend als auch aufschlussreich ist.Abschließend kann ich sagen, dass "The Invited" ein außergewöhnlicher Roman ist, der weit mehr bietet als nur eine spannende Geistergeschichte. Es ist eine tiefgründige Erkundung von Familie, Geschichte und dem, was es bedeutet, ein Zuhause zu bauen. Für Leser, die auf der Suche nach einer Geschichte sind, die sowohl zum Nachdenken anregt als auch unterhält, ist dieses Buch eine unbedingte Empfehlung. Ein wahrhaft unvergessliches Leseerlebnis!

I received a Jennifer McMahon book for my birthday and loved it. I have now read almost all of her books!

Couldn’t put it down. Really great book.

Very good story with an amazing twist. Kept me on the edge of my seat the entire team. Its very well written