Journalist, Rowan Blake is convalescenting in Wasdale Valley. While his body is in recovery, his mind is active. He needs another big story or he might lose his mind. His next big break just sort of falls into his lap.
Thirty years ago, three girls went into the woods and only two came back. The two surviving girls have spotty memories about what happened in the woods, and no idea where the third girl is. Police investigation lead nowhere, bringing everything to a halt.
Rowan wants to know what happened to the missing girl. What he uncovers is something sinister.

Into The Woods sucked me in. Marks words cast a spell that holds you hostage until the end. His writing style is beautifully descriptive with hints of sarcasm. You definitely don't want to skim through the book, or you will miss the meat of the story.
The book is a slow burning read, it took me a few days to finish. Thats purely because I did not want to miss a thing. I honestly wanted more character development for the girls, which would have made the book even longer to read! The big twist was perfectly timed and unexpected, but led to the end too quickly. I wanted more!
I felt like the book would make a wonderful season of True Detectives on HBO. With hints of the occult, police cover up, and suppressed memories, the story would be amazing done on TV.
I really liked this book. I do feel it could have been darker, focused more on the occult aspect then the investigation. But then again, I always want writers to go darker..lol

A twisty turny foray into the shamanic world and the crimes that ensue. Plot twists galore kept the story interesting albeit a bit confusing toward the end. Loved the names of the characters and the irish backdropped plot but didn't get enough of the backstory of the main character to feel any attachments good or bad. A good overall first impression of this author.

Thanks netgalley for this arc

David Mark continues his forays into the darkest sides of life with his latest slow burn of a mystery novel that ventures into horror territory. Rowan Blake is a washed up journalist, with ruined badly injured hands, convalescing alone in remote Bilberry Byre, being supported by eager and enthusiastic 12 year old Snowdrop, the daughter of hippie sister, Serendipity aka Dippy, once again coming to his rescue as his world collapses. A selfish and resentful man, he is desperate and in debt, having spent a publishing advance for two true crime books. His first, on serial killer Gary King, was critically acclaimed but a commercial disaster, and he has nothing when it come to the second, trying to avoid contact with his publishers, but time is running out. Snowdrop worships Rowan, even though he has a history of letting her down, she wants to be a journalist and pushes him into letting her help him work on his next true crime story.

Rowan begins to think there might be potential in looking into a local story, where 30 years ago, 3 girls, from the alternative new age Silver Birch Academy in Wasdale, went into the woods with a stranger but only 2 came out, their memories shot to pieces, with no real idea of what happened, left with remnants of troubling hallucinations caused by drugs. In a narrative that goes back and forth in time, we learn of Violet Sheehan, a girl with problems and a shadow side that bullies others, her relationship with best friend, Catherine Marlish, the daughter of a vicar, and her efforts through the years to bury deep what happened. However, in more recent times, Violet has been seeking to come to terms with her past and on a quest to recover those long lost memories of what happened but is currently travelling abroad. As Rowan chases a story that will put him in grave personal danger, he begins to suspect that all might not be as it appears, that Violet might once again be missing, in this creepy and horrifying tale of evil, that includes the practice of soul retrieval, travelling through the veil, efforts to locate a missing girl, a school healer who disappears, and deaths galore.

This is not a fast paced read but one to take your time over and savour with its wide ranging cast of offbeat and odd characters, such as Pickle with his 'decompression' sessions, the gentle Mr Sixpence, the school healer, retired police officer, now private investigator, Derek Millward and his reclusive protege, DCI Eve Cater, and when it comes to the wonderful Snowdrop, she just captured my heart. The novel drips heavily with its dense atmosphere of dread and menace, as a reader you are well aware nothing good is on the cards, and the weather descriptions simply echo the ominous feel. This is an intensely dark, complex and engaging mystery with a terrific sense of location, utterly riveting and compulsive reading. This book may not to be everybody's tastes, but I loved it, I think it will particularly appeal to those readers who love the author Phil Rickman as there are echoes of elements to be found in his writing. I cannot wait to see what David Mark comes up with next! Many thanks to Aria and Aries, and Head of Zeus for an ARC.

It’s not very often that I find myself unable to finish a book. I don’t like to give up and so try to read the majority before I admit defeat.

I don’t know what it is about this particular novel that made me quit. I managed to get to 60% but it struggled to hold my interest and I just found myself doing anything other than reading (which isn’t normal for me!)

I was hoping for dark, tense and with a bit of pace and instead I had slow and meandering. David Mark’s style of writing is undoubtedly beautiful, his descriptions are vivid and thick with emotion. This book held echoes of Mo Hayder’s ‘Pig Island’, Sarah Hilary’s ‘Fragile’ and Tana French’s ‘The Searcher’.... if you enjoyed those books then perhaps this will be for you?

I didn’t like the weird character names. There, I said it. I may be on my own with that view but I struggled to take the mystery seriously when I’ve got a ‘Snowdrop’, ‘Serendipity’ and ‘Pickle’ to contend with!

Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a tricky review to write because I’m still not quite sure how I felt about this book. I mainly liked it but I thought it belaboured some things too much. It was (almost) creepy which I did like but it still didn’t creep me out. Rowan Blake is a has-been writer. He’s written one true crime book which was a critical success but a commercial failure. In deciding to focus on writing books he has let a lot of other opportunities slip. And when shocking injuries to his hands hamper his ability to write he turns to his big sister, Serendipity, who is always ready to rescue him. She puts him up in a crude cottage off the beaten track and makes her young daughter, Snowflake, available to help act as her uncle’s hands.

But Snowflake has other ideas and eggs him on to find a story and research it, she thinks of herself as a cub reporter. To be fair, she is quite helpful to him. Rowan soon zeroes in on a story about 3 teenagers who disappeared from a local “alternative” school in 1991. Two girls returned but still claim they can’t remember what happened during the 3 days or so they were missing. The third girl is virtually never spoken of again. It’s all very mysterious. There’s also talk of a boy who was at that school before the girl’s time who was totally off the rails and “evil”. No one seems to know where or how he is either.

The book details Rowan’s search for answers which was interesting but I got tired of his constant uncertainty about his life, his writing, his “goodness” or otherwise. He is portrayed as a bit of a lad who just can’t help “colouring outside the lines”. I’m getting sick of this line of thinking which is often used to excuse inexcusable behaviour by men - boys will be boys, it was just a joke, he didn’t mean any harm, he’s basically a good bloke who made a mistake - blah blah. Guys - grow up! The dialogue was initially entertaining but then I wearied of it, nothing was ever serious for Rowan. Until he nearly loses his life! And I did think the book could have been creepier. Nevertheless I was keen to see how it all turned out. This will appeal to those who like ‘mild’ horror or dark thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley, Aria and Aries and David Mark for providing a copy for me to review. My opinion is my own. 3.5 stars rounded up.

I requested this book thinking it would be like the one by Tana French. The similarities end with the title and the blurb. I somehow couldn’t get into the story. I don’t know if it’s the plot or the narrative. I still feel the storyline is good but the execution spoils it. Sorry.

What a shame....when I read the synopsis for Into The Woods it sounded like a book I’d finish in one night....what follows is a book that you’ll be struggling to get into for weeks.

I’ve tried so many times but this isn’t a book I can get behind. Middle rating for fairness since I didn’t complete this.

While staying with his sister convalescing, Rowan Blake looks into the mystery of 3 school girls from an alternative school, who went into the woods but only 2 came out.
A gently paced book with a build up to the finale.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC. I loved the description of this book. When I started reading the prologue was kind of creepy in a bad, gross way. I think that turned me off to the book but I continued on, because I believe in respecting the work of the author. Sadly, I was unable to really get into the story. I found the parts in the past interrupted the parts in the present and oddly enough vice versa. I don't know if I am just burned out right now and can't concentrate. I will say that I don't like reading about pot smoking and drugs. I am not going to post this to Goodreads because I don't share low reviews. Maybe Netgalley could let us read an excerpt before requesting.

It is very rare that I cannot get into a book. Many books begin very well, then fizzle as you go. This book unfortunately had a very poor beginning., it all felt very disjointed.

I'm a big fan of David Mark and enjoyed most of the books in his Aector McAvoy series (not that I didn't like the others, I just haven't read them yet). In this series David Mark has a very distinctive voice.
The first thing I noticed when reading Into the Woods was that David Mark uses a different voice to tell this intriguing and sometimes confusing story. Character Rowan Blake, a journalist with lots of issues among which the fact that he cannot use his hands at all, is not always likable but why should the main character always be likable? Another important character is his niece Snowdrop, daughter of his hippy sister and her businesswoman wife. Snowdrop is twelve going on thirty and she is great. She really believes in Rowan and that's what he needs when he picks up stories about missing girls, a hippy school, tales of missing people and the police not doing enough.
Once Rowan learns more, he is adamant he needs this story to save his career. It will cost him dearly but it will learn him lots about himself.
There are many interesting characters and even the weather plays a big role. This story is gloomy, the weather is gloomy and most characters are gloomy.
Reading this book was a whole new experience; sometimes I had to stop and think about what I've just read. There is more than just the words on the page.

Thanks to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for this digital review copy.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Into the Woods by David Mark. This is a dark tale that looks back at a strange crime that happened thirty years ago. Three young girls went into the woods following a stranger, but not all of them returned. No one knows what happened. That's until an author decides to delve into this story. Rowan Blake thinks this might be the one - he has issues, he's in debt, and he thinks he may just have a good story to boost his career. He gets more than he bargained for and the evit that waits for him may just be what he never expected.
Slow beginning but does build. Lots of angles and plots.
3 stars.

Thank you to Aria & Aries for the ARC of Into the Woods.

There were some interesting elements to this crime\mystery\thriller, but it was not thrilling to me in the least. About 30% in the story picks up, but there is A LOT happening. There are quite a few characters and I wasn’t interested in any of them. Rowan Blake is the classic desperate journalist looking for a good cold-case scoop, but I found the most pleasing dynamic was between him and Sumaira. That was where he seemed the most honest and personable to me.

Something about the ending just didn’t do it for me, there wasn’t a building to the climax that made it pay off. I’ve heard good things about the author and would definitely try some of Mark’s other works, sadly this one wasn’t for me.

Really good book. Kept me reading into the night and then thinking about it the next day. Going to definitely look out for more books by this author.

The beginning of Into the Woods by David Mark was slow to start. I was never able to get fully absorbed into the story or with the characters. There seemed to be a lot going on, and things didn't always connect, which left me frustrated. The story reminded me of the Tana French book In the Woods with children going into the woods and not all of them returning. I, unfortunately, could not get into the book. I was able to finish it, but it fell flat for me, and toward the end, I didn't really care how it would turn out.

This was a 2.5 star for me.

#IntotheWoods #NetGalley

**This review will be posted on my Instagram book blog and other social media platforms close to the pub date**

An unconventional school, a hippy caretaker of the grounds. Three odd friends who walked into the woods, but only two came out - bloody, bruised, incoherent, and with no recollection of what happened. The case was closed without proper investigation, but one journalist is willing to go into the depths of the woods to find out what really happened all those years ago.

A missing kid, cults, old rituals, and weird practices, what’s not to like?! This was so epically good, like, seriously, and I loved it! Layers upon layers of story and just so exceptionally well-written I was in awe! So gripping, and captivating, I legit could not put it down. I’m not a fan of supernatural thrillers, but this was so well-done, none of it was unbelievable.

It’s just a tad bit slow in the start but once it picked up, it was great. Very creepy and chilling throughout, and with just the right amount of wit to cut through it. The ending was great too, a perfect end to the supernatural part of the story. Initially, I felt a little dissatisfied and wanted more answers but the more I think about it the more it makes sense, it couldn’t have been better imo. If cults and ancient practices are your thing, this is absolutely recommended!

I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley, authors, and publishers. All opinions are my own. Pub date Jan 21st, 2021.

A book written characters and suspicion. I would characterize his great work as a mystery and part psychological thriller. I enjoyed it immensely and recommend it strongly.

Thirty years ago, three girls followed a stranger into the woods. Only two returned. The surviving pair have never been able to remember what happened or what the fate of the third girl was. Local rumours talk of hippies and drugs and mystic rituals, but no one has learned the truth.This story is just what Rowan Blake needs. He's in debt, his journalistic career is in tatters – as well as his damaged body – and he's retreated to the Lake District to write. Yet even Rowan isn't prepared for the evil he is about to unearth, for the secrets that have been buried in that wood for far too long. This sounded like a reasonable premise for a story although it wasn't overly original. I generally like this author but this book really seemed different. I found it hard to like any of the characters and the plot just got disjointed after a while. Way too much going on and not connected very well. I skipped through a lot of it. I won't say it was bad....it actually could have been really good but all in all it was disappointing. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

The premise of this book really grabbed me and I was already a big fan of the Aector McAvoy series, so was keen to get stuck into this one.

However, I have to say I enjoyed this less than the McAvoy books. Clearly characters don’t have to be likeable or even someone you can really identify with, but somehow McAvoy held my interest in a way Rowan did not. For reasons I can’t quite articulate I found Rowan quite unlikeable.

The writing style also seemed quite different and there seemed to be a few too many themes going on. The opening chapter gripped me, but i struggled somewhat with the middle of the book, though it did pick up the pace towards the end.

David Mark is definitely a talented story teller and I’ll certainly be reading more of his work, but this wasn’t his best in my opinion. Hoping for a swift return of McAvoy!

2.5 rounding up to three stars


I'm sorry to say,there were times where I skim read parts of this book.

Rowan himself was a fascinating character I really enjoyed his parts,and his niece made me smile.
The story of the girls though,felt too slow.

By the ending,the pace had picked up and I enjoyed it.


Will post to goodreads closer to publishing date