Two estranged sisters, whose fragile bonds broke after their mother died, are reunited when one joins a cult-like self-improvement retreat in This Might Hurt, the second superb psychological thriller from Stephanie Wrobel (Darling Rose Gold).
Natalie and Kit Collins each have unresolved grief, guilt and anger over their mother's death, not to mention lingering grudges from childhood. An ambitious executive, Natalie takes a break from her job at a Boston branding agency after receiving a cryptic and threatening e-mail from the Wisewood Wellness & Therapy Center. The center, where Kit has been living for the past six months, is located on a remote island off the coast of Maine. Little is known about Wisewood, where people go to "maximize" themselves under the tutelage of the mysterious Teacher, who runs the center with ironclad rules. The chilling atmosphere on the island applies to more than just the weather (the wind "shrieks like a woman being stabbed over and over"). Dense, dark woods, an abandoned schoolhouse and each personal relationship adds to the frights. Natalie feels she is being watched, as she learns her relationship with Kit is even more frayed than she previously thought. This Might Hurt seamlessly switches points of view from current-day Natalie and Kit to the two girls enduring an emotionally abusive childhood in the hands of a cruel father.
Wrobel ramps up the terror by making the isolation of the island, accessible only by a 75-minute ferry ride, serve as a substitute for a haunted house, allowing This Might Hurt to be an unusual locked-room mystery. A clever denouement packs a blood-curdling punch. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer