While cleaning out her estranged mother's house after her suicide, Heather finds correspondence between her mother and imprisoned serial killer the Red Wolf. Realizing her mother had secrets, Heather uses her investigative journalist skills to try and uncover the connection between the two and possibly help the police with a copycat killer actively on the loose.

There were a few scenes of violence against animals in the story and I found them very off putting. I know this is a murder mystery and the killing of humans was the focus, but the story featured the making of a small boy to a killer man and the scenes of animal cruelty were way too hard for me to read, it was disgusting. There was also subtle mentions of all kinds of child abuse which were hard but at least not detailed. I probably would not have picked up the book if I knew ahead of time about this tidbit, so here is an FYI for you.

Heather has the curiosity and drive of a journalist but makes some very naive stupid chosen in the book that I wanted to yell at her to take back. Overall this was an ok read, the suspense was nicely done, I put together a lot of the mystery aspect but the reasons behind the actions/plot did not make a lot of sense and I was confused by some of the character's choices. I am sure others will love this book but it fell a little flat overall for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this!

I was instantly intrigued by the synopsis of this book. This book instantly drew me in, I got to explore through the eyes of our main character and this is always my favorite way to discover these details of the story and, it was done very well in this book. I really enjoyed this book and the plot. This author did amazing. I loved the writing style.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

This novel sounded like it was going to be good and creepy and I was quite excited with a mystery unfolding as a former journalist begins to discover the mystery of her mother's death and the connections to a notorious serial killer. This novel started out relatively good, albeit CREEPY, and had a good tempo for a bit. Then some parts of the novel got quite dark and disturbing. As the novel continued it just became predictable and the last few chapters/ending of the novel just seemed ridiculous and rushed. The final chapters just supposedly tied everything in a nice pretty bow, except that I have SO MANY unanswered questions. Did the author just have a deadline and ran out of story to tell? Disappointing and eye rolling ending. Hence why such low stars. It wasn't bad overall, just as the novel finally finished up.

Heather Evans returns home for the first time in many years after her mother's death. A former journalist, Heather is baffled by her mother's suicide and determined to find out what led to it. As she reconnects with old friends, she learns that the area is once again being haunted by the disappearance and murder of young women. Even worse, the murders are an exact replica of murders that plagued the area years ago, those of The Red Wolf.

As Heather investigates her mother's death, she learns a secret her mother hid for years. Her mother was a correspondent of The Red Wolf for years. How could that be? Was her mother one of those women who idolize serial killers? What would draw her to this man, Michael Reaves?

Then another surprising call. DI Ben Parker tells Heather that Michael Reaves wants to talk to her. The police suspect that the new murders are being done by a copycat killer who idolizes Reaves but he refuses to talk to them. He insists that he will only talk to Heather. Will Heather find the courage to talk with Michael? Will she find out how her mother was involved with him? Can she find out what Reaves knows about the copycat?

Jen Williams has written a taut thriller that will keep readers involved. The mystery is revealed in surprising pieces and the book goes in directions that can't be expected. Heather is not a heroic character; indeed the reader may not like her much at all. But she is the character that is in a unique position to discover the secrets around the The Red Wolf murders both past and present and Williams does a great job keeping the reader in anticipation throughout the book. This book is recommended for mystery and thriller readers.

Heather returns to her parent's house due to the sudden death of her mother. It's immensely difficult for her to be at her mother's house, especially under the circumstances. Too many memories. They didn't get along, and this got worse after her father's death. Therefore, she left home as soon as she could and had quite a distant relationship with her mother.

Once she's at her childhood's house, she discovers some secrets about her mother. It starts with a ripped page from an old fairy tales book, feathers scattered on the floor, strange notes, the book itself, and some letters. Her mother was exchanging letters with none other than the Red Wolf, a serial killer. Why did her mother write to him?
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After these discoveries, Heather is able to visit the Red Wolf who is still in prison. She thinks it may help her know the truth about her mother's death and the police thinks it might help to catch the Red Wolf's copycat. Little by little, Heather is going to unveil some horrendous and shocking secrets.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Creepy, mysterious, serial killer, and a cult? Yes, please!

After Heather's estranged mother commits suicide, Heather is cleaning up her effects and trying to make sense of everything. Then she finds boxes of letters from The Red Wolf, a serial killer who has been in prison for 20 years. And now young women are turning up dead, posed in the same manner as Michael Reave did all those years ago.

With DI Parker, Heather goes to prison to talk to Michael about his connection with her mother and the murders, past and present. What she learns takes her to the former site of a cult her mother was involved with and turns up clues to her past.

The mystery angle was clear pretty early on, but that didn't take away from the creepiness as pieces fell into place.

My thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the chance to read A dark and secret place by Jen Williams.
When Heather Evans returns home after her mother's suicide, she comes across piles of letters from
from serial killer Michael Reave also known as The "Red Wolf". Reave has been in prison for over twenty years for murders of several women but has always maintained he was innocent. Now, a body of a young woman has just been found, dismembered and placed inside a tree, the corpse planted with flowers. Just as the Red Wolf once did. Is it a copycat, or was the real murderer never caught? Did Heather's mother know something? Why did she kill herself? I must admit this book was not for me. I didnt like the characters, I had issues with the writing style, and it was just too slow paced. 2.5 stars rounded up 3

I love serial killer thrillers and this one did not disappoint! Very dark and haunting and kept me turning page after page!

This book gave me chills! Heather's mom dies and she makes a discovery that leads her to suspect that her mom was connected to a serial killer - one who is still active!

Wow, this one was good! It's creepy and sinister, and it will keep you up all night reading! I loved the way the plot unfolded! It's full of secrets and surprises! This is great for any thriller-lover!

A Dark and Secret Place tries to do a whole passel of things in the course of its tale. Most of it is terrific. Prodigal daughter returns home to small town after her mother commits suicide only to find her mother had quite a number of secrets.

The prodigal daughter is Heather Evans, who heads home to deal with her mother's suicide and to clean up the things a long life leaves behind. In the course of her cleanup, she discovers a large number of letters from a rather gruesome serial killer who is currently in prison. What did her mother know? Heather's investigation leads her into some dark and creepy and cultish angles. In fact, the sheer number of things this investigation winds up including is a bit much.

Otherwise, the book is creepy and thought-provoking (on the nature of relationships, evil, and other things). The stakes are upped when ore young women are killed, something the police initially chalk up to a copycat. When it becomes clear they are not Heather works with DCI Ben Parker to solve the mystery. We also get what I saw as a bit of a gratuitous romantic arc.

That brings me to my only other minus: the ending. It's a bit over the edge of what I was willing to suspend my disbelief for.

For the things I saw as a negative, though, the rest of the book was quite good. I'll give it a solid four out of five stars.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the reading copy.

Heather has to go back to her hometown to take care of closing up her moms house after her mother commits suicide.
Upon arriving there she has to deal with her memories and this leads her to sort thru bills, and just take a look around …who had her mom become that she would kill herself.
Ultimately she finds letters in the attic that her mother had received for years., from a serial killer
Naturally she begins looking into this and you won’t believe where it goes from there.
Thoroughly enjoyed this one. A little creepy, a bit bloody but well constructed.

Tense and scary. This is a book for people who love a good mystery and serial killer tales. Had me second guessing myself as well as checking my wardrobe before bed! 5/5

Not many books can actually scare me, but this one managed to do it! I usually read my kindle at night before bed and there were a few times I had to stop reading this before bed. I enjoyed the plot a lot but wasn't the biggest fan of Heather. The twists at the end were enjoyable and while I was able to predict a few, some of them really got me. A good spooky read!

This is the creepiest book I've read this summer. It's dark, twisted and unfortunately I just wasn't that into it. For me the beginning of the book just moved so slowly and that made just rush to finish. It's not a bad book by any means, just not my cup of tea.

good things:

- very compelling, i read most of it in one sitting
- some truly sinister and creepy elements
- doesn't shy away from disturbing and fucked up shit
- relatively well-written and very atmospheric

not so good things:

- tries to do way to much, bringing together cults and creepy lore and serial killers and grooming and incest and not really exploring any of it fully enough
- ending was a little disappointing; i wanted more explanation and exploration
- ending was also, frankly, kind of hard to swallow; it was all just too bombastic to be believable
- main character makes a lot of stupid decisions, like not telling anyone someone is clearly stalking her, which makes no sense at all, or trusting the wrong people
- a very predictable and cliched ~romantic~ thread that didn't need to exist

overall i think this was a pretty entertaining thriller that would make a really great bbc crime series

While I hadn't read any of her books before, I have always known Jen Williams as a very well established fantasy author. When I heard she had written a crime novel, it's safe to say I was intrigued! A Dark and Secret Place is a dark and thrilling crime novel filled with secrets and lies

I tend to have mixed reactions to crime thrillers, but I ended up really enjoying this one! Williams creates a dark and atmospheric story that is tense, believable, and harrowing. There were twists and turns aplenty, and I really appreciated Heather as a realistic, although sad, character. She's not an unreliable narrator, but she's messy and conflicted and I really enjoyed reading her point of view. I also enjoyed the fact that she isn't the only POV character — A Dark and Secret Place shifts between past and present, from character to character, in an incredibly effective way.

As per usual, I don't feel like I should say too much when reviewing a crime or thriller book, so I won't say much more. If you enjoy dark, psychological thrillers, I'd highly recommend picking this book up! Once I picked this book up, I couldn't put it down — it is a perfect read for your autumn TBR!

What an amazing read. I have truly enjoyed going through this phenomenal work.As far as the writing style and narration is concerned, it is really good. Overall, a good reading experience. Highly recommended

The novel is often chilling, a dark story that is incredibly atmospheric and eerie. There is an overwhelming sense of danger throughout
The sense that Heather is being watched is both sinister and anxiety hits you with every turn of the page. And there are so many questions that keep the pages turning. Who is watching Heather? What do they want with her? Why is this happening? The first half is a slow burn as the story unfolds. And the second half is full of twists and turns as the story deepens before finally concluding in unexpected ways.

This book kept me guessing right up to the last page. I wish it had been a bit faster-paced, but I enjoyed the ending a lot.