I did enjoy this book.

Heather comes back to her childhood home to clean up her mother's house after her mom committed suicide. While cleaning she found a few letters and other memorabilia to connect her mom to a serial killer. The question of why her mother had a relationship with this man, is obviously the main plot of the story. And also , enters a lot of questionable behaviour of Heather trying to play detective. But, isn't that always the case.

I found myself more drawn to the back story about Michael. About how he ended up in prison for all these gruesome murders even though he's always claimed innocence.

There were a lot of why was this even brought up moments. Or, more so, a lot of I need more information. The folklore, the cult, what happened to the other people in the commune, the red coat, the mother, the babies. A lot of unanswered questions.

All in all, I do give this 3.5-4 stars. It kept me hooked, albeit it took a while to get super exciting there was enough twists and turns so it wasn't predictable.

I also see this turned into a movie one of these days.

Uhm, hello Jen Williams! Welcome to the Thrill-side, please stay and write a few more!

This is a beautifully dark fairy tale. I loved it.

Heather isn’t happy to be back in her hometown sorting through her recently deceased mothers things. As if dealing with her mother’s suicide isn’t enough Heather begins to uncover some pretty alarming skeletons - Like the fact that her mother was secret pen pals with a serial killer, and now someone is mimicking his grisly acts.

From there it’s a steep descent into the shadows of her mother’s past that leads Heather into the heart of the forest where her mother first crossed paths with her mysterious serial killer pen-pal.

Big thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Jen Williams, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This novel has some definite creepy elements to it and is quite gruesome in parts, so this is not for the faint-of-heart reader. Readers who enjoy the serial killer genre will likely enjoy this novel. For me, it was a bit slow moving and repetitive in places and I had a hard time with the implausibility of various plot elements. I found the main character quite unlikable and there were loose ends that bugged me. Not my favorite read lately, but it was entertaining enough.

After her mother’s suicide, Heather turns home to try to make sense of it all. She’s not close with her mother, so it’s no surprise when dark secrets come to the surface. The longer Heather digs, the more danger arises.

That there was obviously someone spying on Heather was unsettling. What I didn’t understand was why she wouldn’t tell her best friend because it put her in more danger than necessary. The pacing gets a bit shaky towards the second half, but I don’t think it detracted from the book overall. Finally, the gruesome animal scene wasn’t really for me, but I’m sensitive to anything where the animal doesn’t come out the winner.

Heather was the perfect character to play amateur investigator because she had been through so much in her life. It gave her a firm determination to keep digging. The storyline hooks you from the start. Williams does well at creating a puzzling and dark atmosphere. Overall, this was an enjoyable read. Thank you, Crooked Lane Books, for sending this along.

I loved this!! It reminded in some way of Sharp Objects. Fascinating, dark, twisted and so so clever.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. 2.6 rounded up
Very dark and I didn't really like any of the characters. Heather just annoyed me.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost ran through my mind the whole time I was reading this book...this part specifically:
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

This one was full of twists, turns, and deep, dark secrets. I wasn't overly shocked by the ending, but the trip to get there was something else!!

This one is hard to write about without giving too much of it away. A great book for people who like mystery/thriller on the gritty, gruesome side.

A Dark and Secret Place is nicely put together – a mélange of mostly functional young heroine, a dead mother’s secret, and the old sinister version of Grimm’s Fairy Tales layered on top of serial killer’s backstory. I very much enjoyed this disturbing and dark read unfold.

I loved true crime and am absolutely fascinated by criminals. I cannot imagine finding out my mother was corresponding with a convicted serial killer. This is dark, scary and suspenseful. I highly recommend this as a book club read - the discussion points would be fantastic!

Following the death of her mother, Heather returns to her old family home to a place that she left at 16. Going through her mother’s things, she finds that her mother has been communicating with a serial killer for years. How come Heather didn’t know anything about this?

The reader is drip fed pieces of Heather’s own childhood and at the same time her mother’s connection to Michael Reave, a renowned serial killer who was convicted and jailed for life in Belmarsh Prison. The investigate journalist in Heather just needs to find out more so she tells the police what she has found, and they allow her to go and see him accompanied to see if they can glean any further information from him. Heather herself is fragile coping with her mother’s death and all the secrets she has kept from her. She is also creeped out by the noises of the house and the constant feeling she is being watched.

Some of the book had some areas that I really found hard to handle and had to leave the book aside to come back to later, which rarely happens when I read! Each time I put this book down, I found it hard to pick back up. I am not entirely sure whether it was the dark creepiness of the book or whether it just didn’t hold my interest! A very strong start and it had me hooked at the beginning of the book I really wanted to know the connection between Colleen and Michael Reave but towards the middle I got so distracted, I lost interest. However, the ending made up for this!

I recommend this book to people who like a dark, terrifying, scary read with a twist. Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After learning about her mothers suicide, Heather returns to her family home. Imagine her surprise when going though her mothers things she discovers she had been writing letters for years to a serial killer in prison. This book was a little too dark and slow for me, but there were a lot of twists and turns. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Heather returns to her home town after news her mother committed suicide. When going through the home she deaconess that her mother has been corresponding with a serial killer for her entire life. Heather’s passed away year prior and she is mad with her dead mother for her secrets and lies.

The serial killer dubbed the “Red Wolf” was charged with several awful murders however he still claims to this day he’s innocent. With approval from the police Heather decides to meet with the serial killer and ask him questions about her mother so she can piece together the missing parts of her mother’s life.

That’s when another woman goes missing. It can’t be the Red Wolf as he’s been locked you for 20 years. Her journalistic skills kick in and she meets with people from her mother’s past and Heather discovers that everything points to the woods. When she puts everything together It’s too late to call for help. She must the murder all on her own!

Holy moly this was one wild ride. It had me hanging on the edge of my seat.

What would you do if you found out your mother had been pen pals with a notorious serial killer since before you were born?
Heather discovers a cache full of letters to the infamous "Red Wolf" in her late mother's attic, and struggles to reconcile the parent she knew with the dark secrets she'd kept hidden. Motivated by the possible existence of a copycat killer on the prowl, the police allow Heather to interview the "Red Wolf" in prison to see if he can shed some light on who the new murderer might be.
The author is highly adept at sprinkling creepy, spine tingling bits throughout the novel. It if full of things that go bump in the night, mutilated birds, and dead bodies left in disturbing tableaus. But the better part of the novel is focused on Heather's multiple interviews with the "Red Wolf," who unfortunately doesn't provide a lot of information.
The ending is full of action though. However, I felt it was a bit rushed and didn't necessarily explain everything. The book could have done with an epilogue. There was also a critical character who is not introduced until the last few pages. This made the ending somewhat unsatisfying.
All in all, a decent and eerie read with lots of atmosphere.but maybe a few too many moving parts.

My thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I love crime thrillers and when I read the description I knew this would be a perfect read.

In the book, Heather comes back to her hometown after her mother has committed suicide. She tries to piece together her mother’s life before she died and why she had been writing a serial killer over the years. Heather becomes an armchair detective that works with detectives to track down the person or persons murdering local women.

I really enjoyed how the author leaves breadcrumbs throughout the book of the killer Little Red Riding Hood and the bad wolf. She also does a great job painting picture of scary murders and creepy scenery. The back and forth from past and present helped build up the background of how he turned into The Red Wolf. The author also gives the POV of the murdered women which adds to the thriller. You will be yelling at the book...Run girl, he’s in there!!! The book pulls you in as soon as you start reading and ends with twists that you won’t see coming.

👀 minor spoilers below 👀

The things that I didn’t like -
1-The beginning pulls you in but then goes into a slow crawl. I had to push through to continue to read. Once the story starts to pick back up it’s hard to put down.
2-The small very short romance between Heather and the detective added nothing to the story and could have been left out.
3. The plot between her and Diane could have also been left out. It wasn’t believable in the way Heather made choices in their discussion. She wouldn’t have made such a poor decision and you could see the outcome a mile away.
4. I do like scary movie troupes but this book has them all which can take away the focus on the main plot.

This is the first book I’ve read by Jen Williams. I look forward to reading another book if she continues to write thrillers/mysteries.

Good 🎖🎖🎖

Thank you NetGallery and Crooked Lane Books for this great ARC. In return I am submitting my voluntary opinion and review.

I am posting this review on my Goodreads account promptly and will post on Amazon on publication day (6/8/21).

A serial killer is targeting young women. After he kills them, he arranges flowers onto the corpses. He cares more about them dead than alive. The gruesome discoveries mimicked the same pattern once used by serial killer, Michael Reave, the Red Wolf. Yet, Michael is in prison, so who is killing them?

Heather Evans comes back home after her mother commits suicide. She’s saddened by her loss despite not being close to her mother. She left home when she was sixteen.

While cleaning her mother’s things, Heather makes a discovery. She discovers correspondence between her mother and the famous serial killer the Red Wolf. She doesn't understand her mother's connection with him and she starts investigating her mother's past. A past she might not want to find out after all.

I hate to say it but I didn’t enjoy this one. Not sure if it was the slow delivery or it was because I didn’t think that the characters were interesting enough.

In my opinion, something was lacking with the premise.

Cliffhanger: No

2/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Crooked Lane Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Heather returns to her family home following the unexpected suicide of her estranged mother. While clearing out the house she finds some letters from a convicted serial killer. Heather (with the help of a detective) visits the killer in prison to find out more about her mother and their connection as new cases are mounting up and the police suspect a copycat.
Although the synopsis appealed to me the book didnt grab me in the way I wanted it too. I couldn't identify with Heather ( although I did enjoy her chats with Michael) however I would still look for more books from the author
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for advanced copy for an honest review

My thanks to Net Galley for the arc.

Heather Evans returns to her hometown because her mother committed suicide. Going through her things, Heather discovers her mother was writing letters to Michael (The Red Wolf) Reave, a serial killer. Why? That is what Heather keeps asking herself, why?? Further investigation leads Heather to pictures of her mom with Reave on a commune together. In between that there is another story where a young woman is found murdered and displayed the same way the Red Wolf displayed his victims.....but he is in prison? Do we have a copy cat? More questions for Heather and DI Ben Parker to discover. This was not a bad thriller. My issues with this, I believe I may have gotten an uncorrected copy because right in the middle of the chapters I would see the name of the title of the book, and a random name, Jen Williams , with a number next to.it. Book flowed real well but some of the characters did not seem fully developed.

This was a great twist on the serial killer story - one that I found fascinating. The story itself is very atmospheric, suspenseful and twisted in ways I didn't expect. Without revealing the twist, this has a different take on things and it worked!

If you're looking for a read with murder, mystery, family drama, and 'monsters', this book has it all.

I really wish I could award half stars because this book really deserves to be 3.5 stars. I had a very hard time getting into this book, maybe I should put it more as a slow start but I really enjoyed the last half of the book. Am I the only person who initially thought this book waa about werewolves? Ehh I'm probably the only one.

Jen Williams has a very unique writing style. She uses so much vivid wording that it really spurs your imagination when reading. I really appreciated her extremely detailed style.

Thank you Jen Williams, NetGalley, and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC!

A very sad story but gripping. Why has Heather's mother been in contact with a serial killer for over 20 years, and why did she commit suicide. The tale has a lovely flow to it, characters are descriptive and complex, the scenes well thought out. I read it in 2 days, was eager to see the finale and it was well worth the effort. Dark and foreboding it will keep you hooked to the end.