REVIEW: Every Heart a Doorway (#1) - Seannan McGuire

Title: Every Heart a Doorway (#1)
Author: Seannan McGuire
Series: Wayward Children
Publisher: Macmillian Audio
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Cynthia Hopkins
Time: 4HRS 44MINS
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Blurb

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

Thoughts

I have heard so much about the Wayward Children series, that I thought I would grab the books from Audible (at roughly just over 4 hours they, to me are quick listens)

I found the beginning to be quite slow, but again characters are being introduced as well as their backstories so this is to be expected.

I found the murder mystery aspect of the book intriguing, but to fit this into such a short amount of time can be difficult. I found that I had an idea as to who the murderer might be, even though the author was trying to lead us in another direction I did find it quite predictable.

I found that with the shortness of the book I wanted more, I think if it had been longer the murder mystery could have been fleshed out a bit more, and misdirection could have been used a lot more.

Overall it was an OK book, I liked the premise, I just think it needed more time to it to fully evolve the story.