This was a truly disturbing read and I couldn’t put it down. Michelle is a newly divorced architect who decides to move from Indiana, where her parents live, to the wilds of New Hampshire. In the latter stages of her marriage, Michelle and her now ex-husband were co-dependent alcoholics. Her decision to move is spurred on by a nebulous “diagnosis” that she refers to, but never explains. With her is her Bernese Mountain Dog, Monster.

She purchases a dilapidated A-frame house, surrounded by woods, which she’s convinced she can restore by herself. However, soon after arrival, her lapses in memory increase, causing confusion between what is actual reality and what may be fantasy or dreams. This is compounded when she discovers that her new home has a gristly history. The previous owner, decades before, trafficked in rare birds, most notable of which is Simon, a dragon-like creature. Was Simon a supernatural being? And, is he really dead?

As I said at the beginning this was a disturbing read. While Michelle’s “diagnosis” is never really revealed, her memory lapses and paranoia reminded me of portions of Lisa Genova’s exemplary novel, Still Alice, which describes the journey of a professional woman with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. One item in particular brought that novel to mind – Michelle is constantly buying nails and, late in the novel, opens a cupboard and finds box after box of them – nails she believed she used in her renovation. 

Molting is highly recommended for lovers of dark psychological horror and haunted house novels. It is a remarkable achievement for a first novel. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Tennison’s work in the future.