A Dark and Secret Place is the first thriller from author Jen Williams and her first foray into a new genre lives up to its title. A Dark and Secret Place is a dark, atmospheric exploration of a young woman's search for the truth in the wake of a horrific tragedy. What she discovers is unsettling, upsetting, and related by Williams in a compulsively creepy and frightening manner.

Williams employs alternating narratives in a tale about a young boy who escapes some form of imprisonment, emerging into the woods where he is met by a man who takes him in and raises him. There, under the tutelage and with the encouragement of the old man, the boy's evil pursuits proceed. Why? Williams answers that question only in part, which may leave some readers frustrated, feeling that the story is incomplete.

In the present day, Heather has returned home after receiving news of her mother's sudden suicide. Heather and her mother, Colleen, had a troubled relationship, especially after the death of Heather's father. With him gone, it became clear that he was the one who held their family together, and Colleen blamed his death on Heather. "You know what you've done" she told Heather. Now Colleen is gone, too, and has left a suicide note that Heather shares with her best friend, Nikki. In her final message, Colleen explains that she can no longer live with the things she knows and the decisions she has made over the course of her life. She declares that her actions will not be understood because no one knows about the "awful shadow I've lived under forever. All those monsters in the wood never really went away, not for me." Heather is puzzled by the fact that the note is addressed "to you both," because, to Heather's knowledge, she is her mother's only surviving family member. And she has no idea what decisions Colleen references. Even more baffling is the fact that Colleen's life seemed to be proceeding normally. She was even in the process of creating Christmas-themed crafts, perhaps to be delivered to a local retirement home. As Heather peruses the state of Colleen's home, she wonders, "What made someone put down their cozy crafting project and think about ending their life instead?" Clearly, something was very wrong, but Colleen never shared her troubles or feelings with Heather.

Heather becomes determined to learn what suddenly drove Collen to suicide when she discovers bundles of letters sent to her mother for years by serial killer Michael Reave from his prison cell. It is apparent that Colleen also wrote to him. In his letters, he talks about a commune where Colleen lived in the 1970's, but Heather has no knowledge about that aspect of her mother's past. Heather reaches out to the police to advise them about the letters in case they might contain information that could help solve the current case of a murdered woman whose body was staged just as Reave, the notorious "Red Wolf" posed his victims. Heather becomes embroiled in a cat-and-mouse game with Reave as she embarks on a journey for answers that could cost her her life. She agrees to visit him in prison in an attempt to extract information from him, but he seems to be interested only in telling her fables she cannot decipher.

As Heather moves closer to the truth, it becomes apparent that someone is watching her . . . and leaving startling and disturbing clues for her in and around her mother's home, including a note: "I know what you are, and I think you do, too." Even though someone is entering Colleen's home in Heather's absence, she does not involve or seek assistance from the police. And she will not be deterred from her search for answers, as flashes of long-buried memories begin to surface and it becomes clear that she is in danger. A copycat killer is stalking young women and staging the crime scenes in the same style as the "Red Wolf." Heather could be setting herself up to be the next victim.

Williams weaves a cleverly constructed tale about her Colleen's past, family secrets that Colleen hid from Heather her whole life, and the shocking events that drove Colleen to take her own life. Williams' alternating narratives proceed at a steady pace as details about the commune and its inhabitants, the boy's upbringing in the woods, and Heather's quest for answers gradually provide insight into what happened to Colleen and, more importantly, why.

Heather is a recklessly determined, headstrong young woman who places others in danger with her and naively trusts seemingly benign characters. But when she begins to unravel the her family's complicated history and her place in it, she understandably cannot stop until she knows everything. The story is gripping and once Williams unveils the mystery at the heart of it -- the nature of the relationship between Heather's mother and Reave -- her deftly-timed delivery of clues hold reader interest. Williams expertly uses the settings she establishes to full advantage, incorporating them into the story as inanimate supporting characters that add nuance and depth to a tale that will appeal to fans of both fictional thrillers and true crime.

A Dark and Secret Place is more than a horrifying story about evil people and their horrific deeds. It is also an intriguing exploration of family dynamics and the fractious relationship between Heather and Colleen, a relationship that, tragically, the two did not have an opportunity to repair. Through Heather, Williams examines the extent to which family history informs self-concept, and challenges readers to ponder how learning that that everything you grow up believing about yourself and your family is untrue might impact and change you. And, ultimately, it's a story about forgiveness.

Ruined by an amateur protagonist.

I'm all for suspenseful books where a "real life" person comes in to solve the mystery. However, I had a really hard time relating to Heather. A Dark and Secret Place let me down a bit. I would say it would make for a decent library book, but I would have been upset if I had spent money on it.

DNF at 15%. I am not connecting to the story at all and feeling like I’m forcing it when I try to read. This could be a case of right book at the wrong time or I am not the right reader for this book. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

Jen Williams writes a great thriller in A Dark and Secret Place. Heather has been estranged from her mother for a while, and returns to her hometown of Balesford after her mother's suicide in order to handle funeral arrangements and settle her estate. The return home brings back unhappy memories, but mostly it brings unsettling surprises and secrets. Heather finds out she really didn't know her mother, Colleen, at all. Just what did that suicide note mean...and what's with the old letters she finds in the attic....from a man who is in prison as a serial killer called the Red Wolf? After informing the police about the letters, DI Parker unexpectedly asks if Heather would be willing to visit prison and talk to the Red Wolf, Michael Reave., hoping that the letters will help to solve questions regarding new killings happening - which are copycats to those of the Red Wolf. Finding the answers to these questions takes the characters, Heather and her friend Nikki on a dangerous journey....all leading to a suspenseful, heart-stopping ending. Well worth the read...definitely a good example of "mystery and thriller"!
It was a GREAT mystery and thriller book. There actually were times that I thought to myself "I don't know if I can read this any more" but knew that I HAD to!! And THAT is how you want this type of book to be! Good job to Jen Williams! Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. #NetGalley #ADarkandSecretPlace

Heather returns home after her mom commits suicide and while going through her things she finds letters to a serial killer and there’s a copy cat killer in the loose. Not sure how I feel about this one not a big fan of past and present alternating chapters

A psychological thriller about a woman named Hannah who returns home after the unexpected death of her mother. In cleaning up her things, she finds letters from a serial killer known as the Red Wolf. Why is a serial killer writing to her mother and how is her suicide linked to a recent dead body found?

A Dark and Secret Place is a terrifying thriller that begins when Heather Evans returns home after her mother’s shocking suicide. Their relationship was difficult and full of conflict so Heather swings between anger, grief, and confusion. Adding to her confusion, she finds a stash of letters her mother has saved from years of correspondence with an infamous serial killer named Michael Reave, infamous as the Red Wolf who dismembered women and placed flowers in their bodies.

A woman has recently been murdered, her corpse placed in a tree in a way eerily similar to the Red Wolf murders. Hoping to help, she takes the letters to the police and begins working with the homicide detective Ben Parker, visiting Michael Reave in prison, in hopes of getting insight into who the Red Wolf may be.

And so begins a tense, and intriguing thriller with long, lost secrets, mysterious cults, and one of the most seriously twisted serial killer plots I’ve ever encountered.



I was completely engrossed by Dark and Secret Place though I did not always want to be. The characters were well-developed and the plot was fair, disturbing as it was. There are narrative shifts between Heather today, the Red Wolf in the past, and the present-day victims. The Red Wolf narrative gives us an insight into the creation of a murderer, but the true scope and purpose will still be a surprise because, despite the fairness, most people are just not that twisted.

Seriously, this is a disturbing story. I was completely captivated, but it has many disturbing elements including child abuse and ritualistic murder.

I received an e-galley of A Dark and Secret Place from the publisher through NetGalley

A Dark and Secret Place at Crooked Lane Books | Penguin Random House
Jen Williams author site

For most of this book, I felt a little off kilter. I think a lot of that had to do with the main character, Heather, and how unmoored she felt during a majority of the book. Her mother has died and Heather has returned home to deal with the funeral and house. If that weren't enough, she starts uncovering mysterious things about her mom and herself. This is where the reader really starts to feel like there is no solid ground beneath them. Like a fun house (which I never really thought were very fun), Heather is surrounded by illusions, wrong turns, and people that aren't what they appear to be. To continue the carnival analogy, the reader finishes the book a little green and sick to their stomach from the roller coaster ride. It was well worth the trip but now we need a little peace and quiet to process.

I did Finish this book but unfortunately,’it just was not for me. I found the storyline a bit ..... I’m not even sure what it was.... not my kind of storyline.

I’m sure others will
Enjoy.

This is the stuff nightmares are made of. If you love creepy books that keep you turning the pages run out and get this one today!

Heather returns to her childhood home after her mother’s suicide. While they weren’t close, Heather is having a hard time coming to terms with her Mom committing suicide. While home, odd things are happening.

I liked the eerie setting and feel of the book. I had a hard time connecting with Heather. I can assure you you’ll never figure out that ending!

If you like overly eerie books with a hint of the old school fairytales, then this is your book.

I always feel bad about DNF-ing NetGalley books. I understand that there is a certain expectation, a contract if you will, in receiving, reading and reviewing ARCs.

Unfortunately, I’m stopping this one at 14%.

I am *just* coming out of a 2 month reading slump. The worst I’ve ever had. My motivation and desire to read is only just returning and this book is not the one to bring me further along.
I can’t gel with it. So I have to DNF it.

Apologies to all.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Pretty wild read ngl, liked the characters and story

I was afraid of this book at first. I spent the first 15% feeling grossed out and scared. Something about this book just didn't feel like my usual thriller, and it wasn't. Jen Williams has written a horror-ish thriller that is terrifyingly realistic and creepy. It's the book you can't put down, yet at the same time you feel like you need a shower to wash it from your skin and mind. Morbid fairytales, buried family secrets, and threatening notes make for one chilling read.

Heather has returned home to clean up her mother's home after her shocking suicide. Heather knows her mom as the orderly, strict woman she grew up with, but the reporter in her knows something had to be terribly off for her mom to go this route. Unable to accept what has happened, Heather begins to go through her mom's things and finds herself thrust into the middle of a serial killer investigation.

A Dark and Secret Place starts out morbid and slow, I nearly considered not continuing on, but I'm so glad I did. Jen Williams delivers a novel that is quite incredible, with multi-faceted characters and a story that is not just about the serial killer murders. Williams includes family drama, romance, and even my favorite part of any book, strange cult beliefs. There is so much to this book, so much to unravel and unwind, and once I was past the strange gore I could not stop reading. Williams gives readers a glimpse into a serial killer's mind, a reporter's curious thoughts, and the background into just how far a family will go to keep secrets buried. I highly recommend this thriller if you like yours a little darker than the rest.

Heather is left with so many questions about her estranged mother’s suicide. After she finds a box of letters that her mother wrote to an infamous serial killer, she begins to wonder if she really ever knew her mother at all. She’s compelled to find answers in order to understand and come to terms with her mother’s death.

If you’re looking for atmospheric and creepy, this may just be the book for you. There is plenty of suspense and unexpected twists and turns to keep you interested. The ending was unexpected but I did find myself wanting a bit more from it.

About:

After the suicide of her mother, Heather Evans returns to her family home, a place she hasn’t been to in decades, wherein she discovers hidden secrets about her mother’s past by way of letters written to her by a serial killer dubbed as The ‘Red Wolf.’

‘What did Heather's mother know? Why did she kill herself? And with the monstrous Red Wolf safely locked inside a maximum-security prison, who is stalking young women now?’

My Thoughts:

If you’re a fan of horror and mysteries, A DARK AND SECRET PLACE, which is dark and all kinds of creepy, might be right up your alley.

As a fan of both, I couldn’t wait to read this book. Though the execution was hit and miss for me, I liked the expected/unexpected ending.

Thank you, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, for loaning me an eGalley of A DARK AND SECRET PLACE in the request for an honest review.

This was not what I expected, in a good way! The story was told “before” and “now”. Heather Evans has returned to the family home following her mother’s suicide, as she is clearing some of her mother’s things, she comes across a shoe box full of letters from a serial killer dubbed “The Red Wolf”, Michael Reave, she is shocked beyond relief, the more she delves into it, the more she realises she knew nothing about her mother.

One hell of a suspenseful, scary, creepy and unpredictable ride with several twists and turns along the way. On more than one occasion I almost had to read through my fingers as I feared what was going to happen next… it certainly got the adrenaline pumping, the blood pressure rising and sent my heart rate through the roof (I’m an oul chicken!!)… I was gripped by the story and on the edge of my seat throughout.

I came in high expectations for this one, but this was too dark and creepy for me. I wish I could feel differently, but the ending just made it a whole lot worse for me. Bummer.

Heather Evans has returned home after her mother's suicide. As she's sorting through the attic, Heather discovers a pile of letters from serial killer Michael Reave, the "Red Wolf", known for a series of particularly grotesque murders over twenty years ago. Desperate to know what her mother's connection was to Reave, and attempting to help the police catch the person now committing copycat murders, Heather agrees to visit Reave in jail in hopes of getting him to talk. But Heather may not like what the Red Wolf has to say.

At first, I had a hard time getting into this book. The start was a little slow and confusing, and I had some trouble settling into Wiliams' writing style. But the plot intrigued me enough to keep going, and I'm glad I did.

The story progressed into a suspenseful, scary tale containing complex characters, big reveals, creepy forests (stay out of the forest, fellow Murderinos!), serial killers, a commune that may be a ritualistic cult, families that are not okay, dark fairytales, very spooky birds, and a lot of secrets from the past. While this may not be the best book I've ever read, this certainly was a unique and creepy story that I couldn't put down.

My very first thoughts after reading this book was “what the F just happened?!”. This books was told from several different perspectives with one of those being from “before”. The before chapters were some of my favorites as it slowly gave the reader a more in depth picture of what had happened in the past. This book kept me on the edge and was spooky AF at times. I found my heart racing throughout this book. Williams knows just how to draw the reader in and keep them wanting more after each chapter. This book is creepy, captivating and fast paced. Like mentioned, I really enjoyed the dual timelines. I also really liked the main character Heather even though some of her decisions were outright stupid. One of my favorite things about this book was the mystery of the “red coat”. Even though I really enjoyed this book, I am only giving it 4 stars because I feel the ending came very quickly and a lot was thrown at the reader (however, I did like the “breadcrumbs” left throughout the book that somewhat led us to the end…if that makes sense). Also there was one aspect of the book that wasn’t wrapped up for me AND I NEEDED MORE. Overall, I recommend this book if you like a creepy, captivating thriller that will have you quickly turning the pages.
 
TW: Animal abuse, suicide, kidnapping, incest, child abuse, murder
 
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, NetGalley and Jen Williams for providing me with an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.