This was a fantastically thrilling book with Gothic elements and a hint of Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca" at its core. I loved the ghostly elements, the mystery/thriller aspects, and the strength and comradery of the female characters. I also loved that the author took "Rebecca" and effectively flipped it about and delivered us something contemporary with a strong message and a darkly Gothic feel. I was so pulled into this book that I stayed up all night to finish it, and felt no disappointment with the ending (which is so rare these days)! I think fans of Riley Sager may also be interested in reading this, especially his most recent "Home Before Dark."

Luscious, dark, Gothic, overlarge mansion, sounds in the night, mysterious deaths, and missing girls - what more could you want?

*trigger warnings for drug addiction and rape*

I feel like all I have been reading lately are dark and creepy books that have secrets and large houses involved. I guess it just so happens that there are a lot of books being published that have those things in common; it's definitely not intentional on my part. I'm not complaining though since I've really been enjoying the books I've been reviewing lately!

Don't Tell a Soul is a book about a young woman who is trying to escape from her previous life and history. When we meet Bram, we don't know a whole lot about her--just that to some extent she's trying to kind of fly under the radar and that her past isn't something she is proud of. As with most books, there is more to the story and Bram's life is just starting to get creepier and a lot more complicated, even though she never would have suspected that.

Small towns have a reputation for being close-knit, or at least for being a place where everybody knows everybody. When Bram arrives at the tiny town of Louth, all she really knows is that she wants to get to her uncle James' warm house without getting stuck in the snowstorm that has been raging for the whole trip. It takes a while to get there in the snow, but eventually she is ushered into her uncle's manor and warming by a crackling fire. Sounds cozy, right? Little does she know that the room she has been given to stay in for the night has stories behind it, and not of the cute and cozy variety.

The story just gets better (or worse?) from there. Bram knew there was some family history behind the manor and the town; however, she didn't know the details and how sinister they were. And then someone mentions that the manor her uncle owns may be cursed, and that makes Bram even more determined to find out what has been going on behind closed doors. Apparently, the manor doesn't like to keep young women around for long, and it begins to feel like Bram's days are numbered.

I'm often guilty of judging a book by its cover, and often that works in my favor. Neither the cover, or the story inside disappoint in this case. This isn't a complex story by any means, but it is a great book that is best enjoyed cuddled up in a warm blanket and it will probably keep you up past your bedtime.

Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy

Don't Tell a Soul is the perfect fall read. It's got ghosts, a haunted manor, creepy relatives, and a mystery that just begs to be solved.

When Bram moves to Louth to stay with her uncle after wanting to leave her old life, she decides to try to solve the mystery of the dead girls of Louth. While the manor is creepy, Bram has a hunch that the girls who mysteriously disappeared/died have a bigger story to tell. I loved the slow build of the mystery, and how everyone in this small town seems suspicious. The pacing was perfect, and this story truly had me guessing up until the big reveal.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story had so many hallmarks of a great ghost story that as the plot developed and it was clear this book is so much more, it was a pleasant surprise. The protagonist's paranoia added both to her character development and to the legitimate mystery of the story. The story's resolution was a quality combination of the unexpected and the hoped for. There are strong, sometimes a little heavy-handed, feminist messages throughout, but they successfully add another dimension to the plot. I would definitely recommend this to readers looking for a good YA mystery.

Deliciously creepy, a gothic ambiance in modern day, plenty of twists to keep you guessing and suspenseful to the conclusion.

Don't Tell a Soul captivated me from the start, and I finished it in one sitting! Sent to live with her uncle in a gothic mansion set in Upstate New York, Bram is determined to find out what happened to the Dead Girls of Louth, all teens who met their demise within the estate. As this book comes out in winter, it will be the perfect, thrilling read while cozied up by a fire. I appreciate the female-centric approach to understanding what happened to the girls who visited Louth before the main character Bram. Though the book was incredible and I enjoyed the mystery, this cover does not do the book justice and doesn't match the tone of the book. I hope the publisher is able to change it before it comes out!

Delicious and dark, this is a gothic haunting for the modern age. It sank its teeth deep. I will be haunted by the Dead Girls of Louth for a long time to come.