The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes Summary

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes is a psychological thriller following Maya, a Boston woman who discovers a YouTube video showing a young woman's mysterious death in the presence of her ex-boyfriend Frank. This unravels seven years of suppressed memories about her best friend Aubrey's similar death and draws Maya back to the Berkshires to uncover the truth about Frank's hypnotic hold and a secluded cabin in the woods.

Ana Reyes is a New York Times bestselling author with an MFA from Louisiana State University. She teaches creative writing and worked as a screenplay reader before pursuing her own writing. Originally from Texas, she later moved to Massachusetts and currently lives in Easthampton with her husband. The House in the Pines is her debut novel, which she began writing during her MFA program and spent seven years perfecting.

The House in the Pines appeals to readers who enjoy psychological thrillers with complex female friendships and unreliable memory. Fans of suspenseful, character-driven mysteries exploring inherited trauma and identity will find it compelling. Reese Witherspoon described it as a "can't-put-it-down" wild ride, making it ideal for readers seeking page-turners with deeper emotional resonance and cultural themes woven throughout.

The House in the Pines earned widespread acclaim, spending nine consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and surpassing works by Stephen King and Barbara Kingsolver. Selected as Reese's Book Club's January 2023 pick and a Costco Buyer's Pick, the novel delivers an addictive psychological thriller with smart storytelling. Readers praise its exploration of memory, trauma, and cultural heritage alongside its gripping suspense.

Maya struggles with secret addiction in Boston when she discovers a viral video showing a woman dying opposite a man named Frank—her enigmatic ex-boyfriend. Seven years earlier, her best friend Aubrey died mysteriously in Frank's presence under identical circumstances. Maya returns to her Berkshires hometown to investigate the connection between these deaths, Frank's strange psychological power, and clues hidden in her deceased Guatemalan father's unpublished manuscript.

Ana Reyes weaves together themes of memory fragility, inherited trauma, and cultural identity throughout The House in the Pines. The novel examines how Guatemala's Civil War—called the Silent Holocaust—impacted Maya's family across generations. Reyes explores:

• Female friendship dynamics
• The nature of psychological manipulation
• Addiction as a coping mechanism
• The journey of self-discovery through reconnecting with one's heritage and confronting suppressed memories

The House in the Pines integrates Guatemala's Civil War history through Maya's father's backstory and unpublished book. Ana Reyes includes the conflict's connection to United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) and U.S. interference that destabilized Guatemala, causing nearly 250,000 deaths. This historical context explains Maya's father's absence and explores inherited trauma—how growing up without him due to this genocide shaped Maya's identity and carried forward intergenerational pain she must understand to heal.

Frank is the enigmatic antagonist who developed a strange, hypnotic hold over both Maya and her friend Aubrey during their youth. Two women mysteriously dropped dead in his presence under seemingly identical circumstances seven years apart—first Aubrey, then another woman captured on YouTube video. Frank's cabin in the pines becomes a central location drawing Maya back as she investigates his psychological power and uncovers the dark truth behind these unexplained deaths.

Reese Witherspoon selected The House in the Pines as her first book club pick of 2023, shortly after its January release. Her endorsement describing it as a "can't-put-it-down wild ride" propelled the debut novel to nine consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Following Witherspoon's recommendation, Costco also named it a January Buyer's Pick, amplifying visibility and transforming Ana Reyes into a bestselling author living "the debut novelist's dream".

The spark for The House in the Pines came from a house Ana Reyes first imagined at age 11 when writing her first story for a public library contest. Influenced by Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine's supernatural YA fiction, she created this mysterious location that stayed with her for two decades. In her early 30s, enrolled in LSU's MFA program, that house image returned and became the foundation for her psychological thriller.

Ana Reyes spent seven years writing The House in the Pines, beginning it as her MFA thesis at Louisiana State University. She worked through countless drafts while teaching creative writing as an adjunct professor at multiple colleges. The novel's prologue—read at the Delta Mouth Literary Festival—remained unchanged from her original LSU draft, though much evolved through extensive revision guided by her thesis advisor Jennifer Davis's principle that "people just want to feel something".

Maya serves as The House in the Pines' protagonist investigating two mysterious deaths connected to her ex-boyfriend Frank. Ana Reyes initially modeled Maya after herself, incorporating her half-Guatemalan heritage, but the character evolved independently. Maya's journey encompasses:

• Overcoming addiction
• Confronting suppressed memories
• Understanding her father's absence due to Guatemala's Civil War
• Discovering her cultural identity while unraveling the psychological manipulation that claimed her best friend Aubrey's life