This was spooky and chilling in places, set in an eerie atmosphere in the woods. The author does such a good job of setting the scene and it was another enjoyable one.

Cheyenne hasn't been back to her hometown in five years but when the police chief calls her back to help her mum, she goes right away. Another child is missing in the woods, the same woods where the bodies of three children were found five years ago. Cheyenne has been running from her past, including some of her closest friends but now things have caught up with her and she must help her kooky and superstitious mother.

I really enjoyed the writing and setting and the mysterious superstitions around the woods really added to the intrigue. I look forward to more by this author.

This is a great creepy read that may have you staying away from woods if you live close to them (or even if you visit)! Chey returns to Blue Cliff when her mother appears to be declining mentally. Many children have been discovered dead under odd circumstances (dry drowning) and it is always attributed to The Hickory Man, a hideous monster rumored to prey on young ones even as parents warn kids to put silver in their pockets and dirt in their shoes as the legend/rhyme insists on when they venture to the forest. Chey has history there; her best friend, her old boyfriend, the kindly chief of police who befriended her mother...all play a part in this gruesome debut novel. I raced through it as I had to know what happened! I look forward to more of Greene!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

For a debut novel, I loved it. This was exciting and a great plot line. The ending was a bit predictable but that’s still okay! Overall I look forward to suggesting this to my booksta friends this summer when it comes out. I think it’s a great, easy read and a good summer thriller or beach read

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC

I wasn't sure if I would like this given the comparison to Lisa Jewell, but this was quite good. I liked the writing style a lot, it was very eerie and atmospheric and worked well with the setting. The story itself started a little slow and I don't think it needed two POVs, but it was interesting and not too predictable. I liked the twist at the end and how everything wrapped up. Definitely a quick, entertaining read and very solid for a debut novel.

The dark menace lurking in the shadows is prominent right from the start. Ever present, always close, this is a tale of sinister superstitions and past horrors that will not stay away.. The main characters, Cheyenne and Natalie find themself confronting history and superstition full on as the terror from the past comes back to haunt them. Their childhood and beliefs both protect and endanger them as they seek to solve the distressing situation once and for all. Torn apart by the past, terrified to find it repeating they have no option but to find answers to the horrifying questions that follow them destroying everything around them. Is it the danger of man and humanity that poses the biggest threat or something entirely inhuman lurking in the woods? A very scary tale!

I am not going to finish this book. I'm at 36% and am not enjoying this enough to continue. The writing is rather flat as it fails to create much suspense. Too many time worn elements and not enough character development. I honestly don't care about any of these people! The premise sounded so engaging and perhaps in the hands of another writer it would have been more successful. This just seems a clumsy effort.

I honestly didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did only because I wasn't sure what to expect. Was this full-on paranormal or more of a thriller who did it vibe? I'm happy to say it was a gorgeous mix of both and the author really played on the strength of that. I can see this being a favorite of readers once it comes out next year, it's definitely on my to-buy list.

The little nursery rhyme at the beginning of the story was super unsettling in the best of ways and definitely set the tone of the story. I saw some people saying they weren't a fan of our main character Cheyenne but personally I completely saw and felt where she was coming from most of the time. The author did a great job showing us exactly what a child's resentment for their parent and hometown can grow into. The way she described the small-town life and the surrounding area really helped build our overall forbidding storyline and helped place us directly in the story. I do think the ending was slightly predictable for seasoned readers of this genre but I think anyone going into this will enjoy it no matter what. I also loved her mother Constance and enjoyed her every single time we got to crack a bit of the mystery surrounding her.

If a book has a hint of anything to do with the woods. The title, the cover. Anything its a insta read for me. And thats what brought me to this book and here I am giving it four stars because it ended up being one of my favorites of the year. Thank you so much netgalley for the ARC.

Thus had me up all night! It was such a nice wee change to come across a thriller that's also got an element of creepiness and spookiness to it! The atmosphere is set so well and that eerie feeling is really ramped up. These cold dark jights are just perfect for reading this by the fire. So we'll written and keeps such a good pace

This was such a spooky thriller! I really loved how this book was suspenseful the entire time. I was shocked by the twist at the end!

This book is about what happens when an urban legend goes too far.....

This is a really well written mystery. Love the drama, relationships, friendships, adventure and a touch of romance. Chey’s story is at times scary and her mother makes her life difficult. Kind of creepy but very enjoyable.

A great cross between folk horror and psychological thriller, this book was a quick read filled with simmering tension, creepy folklore, and a few perfectly placed twists. An exciting debut from an author I look forward to hearing more from in the future. Easy sell to fans of Ruth Ware, Mary Kubica, and Megan Miranda.

What a fantastic debut novel from Katherine Green!

Five years ago, the bodies of three children were found in the woods. It was a man—not a mythical beast—named Jasper Clinton who was convicted of these heinous crimes.  For five years the town breathed just a bit easier with a real-life monster behind bars.

But when another child goes missing, Cheyenne and Natalie are determined to discover the truth and uncover the town’s dangerous secrets rooted in its terrifying past.

The two women must confront the reality of the superstitions they always believed in and their town’s complicated connection with who—or what—lives in the woods.

The Woods Are Waiting is a creepy, atmospheric, dark novel told from the point of view of two female characters, both of which are strong, well-developed and realistic women.

The creepy nursery rhyme at the beginning of the book will raise the hairs on the back of your neck and sets the perfect tone for the remainder of the book.

Green’s outstanding writing and ability to create the setting of the story in Blue Cliff, Virginia makes you feel as if you are a resident living in the town, a witness to every strange event happening. The book quickly draws the reader in, causing the pages turn rapidly, racing to a final plot twist that is very well done. The supernatural vibe throughout the book keeps the readers interest and curiosity peeked throughout.

I would not be surprised to see Katherine Green’s novel, The Woods Are Waiting, on many end of the year lists for Best Debut Novel. So raise your glass and celebrate the beginning of another fantastic writers career!

Cheyenne returns to her small-town home after leaving suddenly five years ago. It is all happening again... The missing children and things moving around in the woods. Her eccentric mother, an ex-boyfriend from high school, and the best friend she left behind all have stories to share, and it appears much has occurred in her absence. Strange effigies burn in the night, twigs snap in the woods, the man originally convicted of murder when Cheyenne was a child is released in light of new evidence, and some smiles seem a little too good to be true. Small towns hold big secrets, and Blue Cliffs, Virginia is no exception. Is it the Hickory Man of legend taking the children and terrifying the locals? Or is it someone in their midst who knows the woods...?

This was SO good, and it is a debut thriller! The author should definitely write more. As someone who grew up in southern Virginia, I can attest to the hostility, buried secrets, and gossip of small, sequestered towns. The female voices and characters in the book were inspiring, powerful, and realistic. The Woods Are Waiting gave me the true-crime fix I was craving, but with the added benefit of knowing that it is a work of fiction. I loved it from start to finish!

Thank you to the publishers at Crooked Lane Books, the author (Katherine Greene), and Netgalley for sending me this delightful ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was a really really good book. I finished it in less than three nights.
The plot was interesting without being over the top with the Hickory Man.
Several surprises I did not see coming until the very end.
Well written. Author did a great job!

An-I I can’t-put-down book!... I read way to late into to the night because I had to know the end!!
This book combines some serious supernatural creep factors with human creepiness. And it worked flawlessly. This was dark and gritty and terrifying. The characters were brought to life and really felt real. The story was horrifying and suspenseful. So many twists and turns culminating is a breathtaking finale.
So incredibly well done. Absolutely brilliant

The Woods are Waiting
A Novel
by Katherine Greene
This was a fairly good read. Just slow and almost fillers to move the book along. Had to wait until the end to know the guilty one. It just did not hold my interest enough to read butt in days.

I loved how this story developed, and how it explained how important friendships are. A great storyline as well, I did not expect his ending at all, and I enjoy a good spooky twist at the end. I do believe that there was a lot of character monologue where I felt it was unnecessary. No need to re-explain or re-iterate how or why one character has this or that kind of persona. I really enjoyed Connie and reminded me of an aunt I have. I love when a character turns out to be different than the stereotype.

I didn't care for this book. I found it to be a slow-burn and repetitious. Nothing happens until the end and the villain wasn't surprising at all. For a better book along the same lines, try The Whisper Man by Alex North.

This was disturbingly good. We have Chey who left town, leaving everyone she loves behind, after a horribly traumatizing incident, and a pile of people who are reluctant to forgive her. Then you have her mom. Her mother believes and has always believed there is a way to protect the town's children but it requires bloodshed. Things have been done to the people in her family for generations to make sure they keep up the rituals. Chey isn't feeling it and has some serious baggage about it.
Things happen and Chey has to figure out why.
It was a good read. I was surprised by the ending and so happy I read it.