{"id":306222,"date":"2025-11-20T13:13:38","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T13:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/books\/review-the-house-on-buzzards-bay-by-dwyer-murphy\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T13:13:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T13:13:38","slug":"review-the-house-on-buzzards-bay-by-dwyer-murphy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: \u2018The House on Buzzards Bay\u2019 by Dwyer Murphy"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u2018We adjusted to the absence. Forgot it altogether.\u2019<\/h2>\n

This isn\u2019t true, although it sometimes is, in this brooding mystery that flirts with the supernatural but ultimately refuses to commit to any definitive line.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s it about?<\/h3>\n

After twenty years of friendship, Jim is looking forward to spending the summer with his wife, children and oldest friends in the ramshackle house he owns on the Massachusetts coast. Or is he?<\/p>\n

Bruce, the least sociable member of the six person group, is joining them for the first time in what seems to be a long time, but he brings with him a certain discomfort and a wealth of judgement. When he disappears without warning, the group are surprised but, perhaps, pleased: now they can relax and enjoy their holiday.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a series of break-ins by teenagers are causing disquiet on the coast and in the town. How is this connected to the creeping disquiet Jim feels at Buzzards Bay?<\/p>\n

Then a stranger arrives and insinuates herself into the group, suggesting a s\u00e9ance. Who is she really and what does she hope to uncover? Slowly, her presence begins to weaken the precarious ties between the group.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s it like?<\/h3>\n

Atmospheric. Puzzling, from the beginning, when the family arrive first to the property to discover it has been broken into and have very different responses: Valentina seems supremely unbothered, but Jim sits on the porch, apparently all night, holding a harpoon. Despite this seemingly protective stance, his feelings are unclear, his actions apparently motiveless.<\/p>\n

\u2018How exactly it ended up in our house, or why I went to retrieve it that night, I couldn\u2019t say.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

This encapsulates Jim entirely. He seems to operate without real purpose or passion, yet a sense of unease permeates the book, from various narrative gaps. What exactly happened to Jim\u2019s parents? Why did Bruce want to know about the legal concept of collective guilt? What did the ringleader of the teenagers want?<\/p>\n

\n

\u2018We\u2019re always complicit. That\u2019s the beauty of the human condition, socially\u2026It depends only on whether you\u2019re caught.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Bruce seems to be hiding a secret, which adds to the tension, as does the opaque nature of the stranger\u2019s motives, and I looked forward to having these threads resolved. I wanted to find out what lay underneath everything: the robberies, Jim\u2019s strangely detached attitude, the s\u00e9ance and the stranger. Unfortunately for me, Murphy prefers to keep much of the mystery just that!<\/p>\n

Final thoughts<\/h3>\n

Throughout Murphy creates a strong sense that something mysterious is afoot, but there were too many threads left unfinished or ambiguous for my liking. Personally, I prefer more i\u2019s crossed and t\u2019s dotted. Other readers may enjoy the ultimate ambiguity.<\/p>\n

I also questioned the inclusion of Jim\u2019s children, who he seems to have absolutely minimal contact with \u2013 despite apparently being their main caregiver \u2013 and who I\u2019m not sure are ever even named. Perhaps Murphy felt it explained the continuing relationship between Valentina, who he establishes is successful, career driven and interesting, and Jim, who feels that he is lucky to be allowed in her breathing space but seems to have no real desire to spend time with her. In fact, Jim was so hands off with life that I wondered whether there was going to be a Sixth Sense style twist.<\/p>\n

Overall, this is definitely mysterious and atmospheric, but I personally would have preferred more of those mysteries to be resolved.<\/p>\n

\u2018The House at Buzzards Bay\u2019,
Dwyer Murphy,
2025, No Exit Press, paperback<\/h6>\n
Many thanks to the publisher and Anne Cater\u2019s Random Things Tours for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and a spot on the blog tour.<\/h5>\n

Want to know more? You can follow the tour:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018We adjusted to the absence. Forgot it altogether.\u2019 This isn\u2019t true, although it sometimes is, in this brooding mystery that flirts with the supernatural but ultimately refuses to commit to any definitive line. What\u2019s it about? After twenty years of friendship, Jim is looking forward to spending the summer with his wife, children and oldest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":306223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[21189,5140,4115,3744,137064,39792,48608,137065,3820,2631,594,5123,3749],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-306222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","tag-atmospheric","tag-bay","tag-blog-tours","tag-book-reviews","tag-brooding","tag-buzzards","tag-contemporary-fiction","tag-dwyer","tag-fiction","tag-friendship","tag-house","tag-murphy","tag-review"],"yoast_head":"\nREVIEW: \u2018The House on Buzzards Bay\u2019 by Dwyer Murphy - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u2018We adjusted to the absence. Forgot it altogether.\u2019 This isn\u2019t true, although it sometimes is, in this brooding mystery that flirts with the superna\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"REVIEW: \u2018The House on Buzzards Bay\u2019 by Dwyer Murphy - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u2018We adjusted to the absence. Forgot it altogether.\u2019 This isn\u2019t true, although it sometimes is, in this brooding mystery that flirts with the superna\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-20T13:13:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-house-on-buzzards-bay-pb-9781835013137-195x300.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"195\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"REVIEW: \u2018The House on Buzzards Bay\u2019 by Dwyer Murphy\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-20T13:13:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222\"},\"wordCount\":647,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-house-on-buzzards-bay-pb-9781835013137-195x300.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Atmospheric\",\"Bay\",\"Blog Tours\",\"book reviews\",\"brooding\",\"Buzzards\",\"Contemporary Fiction\",\"Dwyer\",\"Fiction\",\"Friendship\",\"HOUSE\",\"Murphy\",\"review\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Books\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222\",\"name\":\"REVIEW: \u2018The House on Buzzards Bay\u2019 by Dwyer Murphy - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-house-on-buzzards-bay-pb-9781835013137-195x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-20T13:13:38+00:00\",\"description\":\"\u2018We adjusted to the absence. Forgot it altogether.\u2019 This isn\u2019t true, although it sometimes is, in this brooding mystery that flirts with the superna\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-house-on-buzzards-bay-pb-9781835013137-195x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-house-on-buzzards-bay-pb-9781835013137-195x300.jpg\",\"width\":195,\"height\":300},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"REVIEW: \u2018The House on Buzzards Bay\u2019 by Dwyer Murphy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"REVIEW: \u2018The House on Buzzards Bay\u2019 by Dwyer Murphy - Som2ny Network","description":"\u2018We adjusted to the absence. Forgot it altogether.\u2019 This isn\u2019t true, although it sometimes is, in this brooding mystery that flirts with the superna","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"REVIEW: \u2018The House on Buzzards Bay\u2019 by Dwyer Murphy - Som2ny Network","og_description":"\u2018We adjusted to the absence. Forgot it altogether.\u2019 This isn\u2019t true, although it sometimes is, in this brooding mystery that flirts with the superna","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2025-11-20T13:13:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":195,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-house-on-buzzards-bay-pb-9781835013137-195x300.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"REVIEW: \u2018The House on Buzzards Bay\u2019 by Dwyer Murphy","datePublished":"2025-11-20T13:13:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222"},"wordCount":647,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-house-on-buzzards-bay-pb-9781835013137-195x300.jpg","keywords":["Atmospheric","Bay","Blog Tours","book reviews","brooding","Buzzards","Contemporary Fiction","Dwyer","Fiction","Friendship","HOUSE","Murphy","review"],"articleSection":["Books"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222","name":"REVIEW: \u2018The House on Buzzards Bay\u2019 by Dwyer Murphy - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-house-on-buzzards-bay-pb-9781835013137-195x300.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-20T13:13:38+00:00","description":"\u2018We adjusted to the absence. Forgot it altogether.\u2019 This isn\u2019t true, although it sometimes is, in this brooding mystery that flirts with the superna","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-house-on-buzzards-bay-pb-9781835013137-195x300.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-house-on-buzzards-bay-pb-9781835013137-195x300.jpg","width":195,"height":300},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=306222#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"REVIEW: \u2018The House on Buzzards Bay\u2019 by Dwyer Murphy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=306222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/306223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=306222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=306222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=306222"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=306222"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=306222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}