The Dead and the Dark is fascinating and so well written! I think that both teen and adult YA readers will enjoy the journey created by Courtney Gold and she's definitely a YA novelist to watch.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Dead and the Dark is a YA paranormal horror that is set in the small town of Snakebite, Oregon. Something weird is going on, teenagers are going missing and it looks like the culprits are the popular ghost hunters who have just returned to town after many years. Their daughter, Logan, joins in on the investigation and when she finds things point to her dads she is determined to find out the truth.

This story is so deliciously dark. The slow pacing works well to enhance the overall creepiness. I was drawn into this story. I did figure out certain things before they happened but the how and the why still got me. Courtney Gould executed this book brilliantly from beginning to end. It's a wonderful debut.

The Dead and the Dark gave me strong Pet Sematary vibes. It has similar supernatural elements, dark atmosphere and the same slow eerie pacing. There are also similar themes throughout the book. With all that said, there are quite a few differences in the story that make The Dead and the Dark it's own masterpiece.

**Trigger Warnings** homophobia, child death, murder, claustrophobia, drowning and slurs

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I received an advanced copy of The Dead and the Dark through Netgalley so I could share my review with you!

Something dark lurks in Snakebite, Oregon. Teenagers are going missing, including Ashley Barton’s boyfriend. Though Ashley still feels his presence in town, his disappearance marked the start of a chain of missing teens with clues left behind. The only potential lead for the disappearances was the suspiciously convenient timing of a new family’s arrival to Snakebite. Logan Ortiz-Woodley, daughter of the stars of ParaSpectors, a ghost-hunting television show, is new to Snakebite. Bounced around from place to place following her fathers’ careers, Logan isn’t looking for a home in Snakebite. In spite of this, Logan still wasn’t expecting how cold and suspicious the town people would be towards her and her parents. Though Ashley doesn’t want anything to do with Logan, they will have to cooperate to unravel the mysteries of Snakebite.

You can get your copy of The Dead and The Dark on August 3rd from Wednesday Books

I had high hopes for this sapphic thriller, which promised plenty of small-town spooky vibes. Unfortunately, for me, the story missed the mark. I felt rather bored for the majority of the book, as it took so long for any action to begin. Additionally, I found the two leads to be less than compelling and two-dimensional. Though I liked the premise, the book fell far short of my expectations. Hopefully, Courtney Gould’s writing will continue to develop in her future writings, in which case I will give her next book a chance!

My Recommendation-
Although I was not personally a fan of The Dead and The Dark, that does not mean that you should not give it a chance! If you enjoy slow-build thrillers with mystery elements, you might enjoy this book.

It was good. Very dark. The mystery was great. Ashley and Logan were good characters. I don’t think the romance between the two characters was needed.

4.5 STARS

Snakebite, Oregon is haunted.

At least, that's what Logan believes. Why else would her dads, TV hit ghost investigators, have any interest in scoping out a small town? Not that they'd tell her. It sometimes feels like she's just along for the ride, and with her eighteenth birthday on the horizon, she's counting down the days until she can find home on her own. Lately, home hasn't been anywhere near her family.

And for Ashley, it's what she fears. If Snakebite is haunted, that means her missing boyfriend is dead, and something truly foul really is at work. If she keeps believing he's alive, though, if she keeps searching for him, then there's still a chance Tristan will come back, and everything will be right again. Even if there is a new family in town, one that everyone wants to blame for Tristan's disappearance. One with a deeper history in Snakebite than Ashley knows.

For all their differences, though, they're going to have to work together. Otherwise, Snakebite may never recover from the darkness lying underneath.


This is a book first and foremost about love and hate.

I lead with this for two reasons. The first is that homophobia is rife in this book. It shapes some characters' entire lives, while it impacts other characters in sharp, painful spurts. I wouldn't call it gratuitous, but I do think it's worth mentioning. There are some readers who may need time before picking up a book that so prominently features both the cruel sting and painful neutrality of small town homophobia, and I can't blame them. Sometimes, it can be hard to say what hurts more: outright homophobia, or people deliberately looking the other way, deliberately withholding support when it is most needed.

But I also lead with this to say that The Dead and the Dark is about finding love despite that hate. Love for yourself, even when you are at your lowest, and love for your family, even when your bonds have frayed. Queer love, too, even when the surrounding world wants to tear that apart and cast it away. It's about love as a force more powerful than hate, whether it's love for a passion, a partner, a place.

And it's also about how hard it can really be to choose that love, to lean into it with your entire heart, especially when you've already been hurt. Logan displays this most prominently, as her relationship with her dads, especially Brandon, is often tinged with neglect, but Ashley experiences it more subtle ways, sometimes getting false support instead of clear antagonism. Both girls are more than a little adrift in Snakebite, staring into uncertain futures, and choosing what or who they love is no small, quiet act.


If that doesn't convince you to read The Dead and the Dark, though, how about all the spookiness afoot?

I loved this book largely for the way it handles all the myriad responses to love and hate, especially since it covers those feelings directed at oneself. But I have to say, the paranormal elements were executed very well! The ghostly aspects of Snakebite reveal themselves slowly, one vision, one grave, one pinch of buried history at a time. No one holds all the answers, and sometimes, they learn hard truths not by choice, but by the whims of eerie glimpses into the past.

It combines shockingly well with the very real horrors of missing children, homophobic violence, and a growing sense of paranoia the longer questions linger unanswered. Most importantly, the paranormal doesn't overshadow normal (for lack of a better word) tragedies. It's born of them, bolstered by them, but doesn't eclipse them save for at a single, critical moment that is nonetheless carried out with phenomenal skill. I appreciated that in ways I'm not sure I can fully express, save to say that I'm grateful that the imaginary horror was not treated like something more horrific than the everyday real horror.

Also? I'm in love with the origins of the big paranormal bad, because it takes something commonplace and shows what a negative power it can become, what a danger. The best horror elements have some trace of reality in them, though, don't they?


This is a perfect read for the end of the summer, when the days stretch toward the first traces of fall.

It's crisp and full of heart (many hearts, in fact, some broken in ways that still have me moved), and it captures what should be a golden moment in a scenic small town just as the darkness begins to creep in round the edges. It's like a photograph, almost, taken just as the clouds roll in and cast a long shadow over someone's smile.

The Dead and the Dark will be on shelves in just a few days, starting on August 3rd, and if you haven't placed a pre-order or library request, I encourage you to make that happen. This goes double for anyone who likes sapphic stories, paranormal stories, or a combination of the two! This may be a story that explores the depths of love and hate, but I hope you're like me, and only find love for it in your heart.


CW: violence (including gun violence), loss of a loved one, animal death mention, child death, homophobia and related hate crimes, underage drinking


[This review will go live on Hail & Well Read at 10am EST on 7/31/21.]

Hmmm, this one started out REALLY strong then kinda stalled for me. I’d give it almost a 3.5

I was thrown a little by the relationship between Logan and her dads. Even with an explanation in the end, the rift that was there just seemed insurmountable and unlikely. Also, I was confused at the quickness in shift of Ashley's feelings, but did really appreciate her journey of self-discovery. The mood was superbly creepy and bleak, which was great. And the villain(s?) were absolutely horrible. Well done on those bits.

SO - if you enjoy queer YA magical/paranormal stories with a side of self-discovery and a middle finger to homophobia, absolutely give The Dead and the Dark a try. Maybe it's that paranormal isn't very familiar to me that this one didn't work out as much for me.

Thanks, Wednesday Books, for an ARC!

In Snakebite, Oregon, teenagers are disappearing. Between the disappearances and some other strange goings on, a ghost hunting couple (their show is called Paraspectors) along with their daughter, Logan.

There’s more secrets than the missing kids, and no one is giving anything up.

The Dead and the Dark is a dark supernatural mystery that I didn’t solve in 5 minutes. I’m used to supernatural mysteries being cheesy like the ones from my youth, but this one reminded me they’ve changed and I want to read more.

Thanks Netgalley for giving me a chance to read this debut.
3.5/5 rounded up

What an exciting murder mystery this was! I really loved it a lot. The plot is such a dark and mysterious one. I loved the paranormal aspect to the plot and it’s significant role to exactly what was happening. I could never figure out what exactly was going to happen next. It made me want to just keep reading. Once we got towards discovering the truth I just could not stop reading.

Logan and Ashley were good main characters and I liked following each of their roles in the plot. I’m glad to see they were able to find out their true selves more with the help of each other. I could not get over the truth of exactly what happened and how Logan and her Dads played a part.

The story is solid and develops well throughout the book. I recommend to check it out!

This debut novel is from an American author. It is a YA paranormal thriller, set in Oregon. We are introduced to Logan, a young gay teenager whose two dads produce and star in a ghost hunting television show. One of Logan's dad's has been in the town of Snakebite (his home town) for months and she and her other dad are finally joining him there. We also meet Ashley, another teenage girl who lives in Snakebite. Her boyfriend has been missing for months and is presumed dead by many. Logan and her dads are not welcomed in the town and face homophobic slurs, but Ashley and Logan end up as friends and together are determined to figure out what is happing to the town of Snakebite. This is a great recommendation for fans of paranormal thrillers and it reminded me of the books by Simone St. James. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press Group for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4/5 stars

The Dead and the Dark is a very spooky and chilling YA version of Stephen King’s The Outsider meets Ghost Hunters. It centers around two teens, Logan and Ashley. Logan is the daughter of two famous ghosthunters - Brandon and Alejo. When she is forced to go with her dads to the small town of Snakebite to research an episode, she meets Ashley. Ashley is grieving after the disappearance of her boyfriend. When Ashley begins seeing mysterious things and noticing the strange occurrences happening in the town, her and Logan team up to uncover the secrets of Snakebite.

Overall, this was a solid debut novel. It was a slow-burn and it didn’t grab me until around 30%, but it did contain a few genuinely creepy scenes. Gould wasn’t afraid to really go there and that led to some great twists and shocking moments. Logan was a great main character and I enjoyed her relationship with Ashley. I particularly enjoyed Logan’s dads and was very invested in that plotline.

Overall, The Dead and the Dark was a unique and chilling mix of mystery, supernatural, and horror. I highly recommend reading this when it releases on 8/3/21 to get you into the Fall spirit!

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Pick this book up NOW!!!

I absolutely loved this YA paranormal thriller. This book was so unexpected and full of dark twists and turns. I actually read this while camping in the woods (not sure that I recommend that) but it definitely added to the ambiance the book created. This one just sucked me in and I couldn't put it down.

Courtney Gould did such a great job of showing the pull of a small town and how lonely a person can be. In my opinion it showed more with Ashley than with Logan. How someone can seem okay but be hiding from everyone, even themselves.

This book was Stephen King's The Outsider meets Ghost Hunters. The perfect read for Halloween or if you're in the mood for a dark thriller. 5 stars for me!!

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

This book has "make a movie out of me" written all through it! Just this side of a campy teen-age horror blockbuster, Logan and her dads have returned to their home town. She isn't sure why, but her dads have been acting rather strange and the whole town feels like a throwback to a caricature of a small insolated town, one that doesn't condone that deviant homosexual behavior. The combination of these attitudes, supernatural events within the town, and Alejo and Brandon's profession as on-tv paranormal sleuths combined to create a story that felt on edge. To add a bit more to the whole thing, I enjoyed how Logan struggled to find herself and understand her own past and relationship with her dads. It all made for a well-rounded and engaging read.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould follows Logan and her two dads, who are ghosthunters on TV, as they return to Snakebite, Oregon. They quickly discover that something is wrong in this town, and teenagers in the town start to go missing... or turn up dead!

Logan Ortiz-Woodley is a great main character. She's not afraid of who she is or to go out in search of answers. I really liked her juxtaposition with Ashley, who is much more sheltered and worried about what people think of her in the small town. As a girl who grew up in a small town and moved away, I can relate to both characters!

Gould finds the perfect space between mystery and horror, revealing just enough to keep you reading past your bedtime without making the storyline too obvious. This is a super readable book, and I really enjoyed it.

I got about 40% through this and just did not enjoy it! I was very bored and just didn't cling onto the plot. It wasn't my cup of tea but it may be someone else's. I just felt like it was too much about her and her family and less about the dark and snakebite.

I was able to listen to an audiobook version of this arc and really enjoyed it! The narrator did a great job with all the individual voices and really helped up the creep factor! I think the audio really helped me get more fully enveloped into the story and all of the characters heads.

As for the story, I did like it! The slight fantastical element mixed in with this small town full of the types of people you’d expect as well as this simmering tension between the main character and her love interest definitely captured and held my attention throughout the book. I just wish we had gotten more in depth information about the darkness and where it originates from. I just felt like we could’ve went so much more into that but that could just be me since I enjoy more fantasy elements generally.

I did guess a majority of the big reveals which was kind of a bummer because I like being surprised but ultimately it still ended up shocking me as those reveals were shown and experienced! Some scenes were creeping me out, I had to pause for the night😅

Just a warning, there are a lot of homophobic comments and people in this book so if you are at all sensitive with this, I’d be cautious with reading this book.

Overall, it was a solid murder mystery/thriller with an interesting fantastical element, spooky scenes and a sort of enemies-reluctant allies-friends-to lovers sort of situation going on which I enjoyed! If you think this is the book for you, I’d definitely recommend it. A great debut!

3/5⭐️

TW: death, missing/murdered teenagers, blood, drowning, slight gore, homophobia, assault.

<i> "After thirteen years, the Dark has finally come home" </i>
<p>
Wowza was this book spooky... I slept with an extra night light on after finishing.
<p>
<b> TW: death, loss of a loved one, homophobia, blood, murder, and violence. </b>
<p>
We start out meeting Logan, the adopted daughter of two famous Paranormal Investigators, as she's uprooted from her LA life to join her two Dad's as they investigate the town of Snakebite, Oregon. Her Father's grew up in this small town and throughout this book we learn the many secrets as to why they left and why they came back.
<p>
Ashley, a popular local of Snakebite, is trying to cope with and understand the mystery behind her boyfriend Tristin's strange disappearance. After seeing the apparition of Tristin in the woods, Ashley goes to the police station where she meets Logan who is currently reporting a hate crime that was aimed towards her Dad's.
<p>
The people of Snakebite believe that return of one of the <i> ParaSpectors </i> investigators has something to do with missing teen which causes a lot of unrest and suspicion in the town. In order to clear her Father's names, Logan agrees to help Ashley find her missing boyfriend by taking some investigating techniques that she's learned while traveling alongside her parents.
<p>
While looking into this mystery, the two girls start to unravel clues and uncover secrets bigger that they could've imagined.
<p>
I throughly enjoyed this book even though I had to read it during daylight hours. Courtney Gould really knows how to set the scene and make you feel like you're watching a movie. This book is directed as a f/f enemies to lovers romance as well as thriller/mystery, but I feel the relationship growth between Logan and her two Dad's had the most impact on the story. At one point, I was so emotional I had to stop reading because I couldn't see due to the tears in my eyes.
<p>
I already can't wait to re-read this around Halloween time!
<p>
<i> The Dead and the Dark releases in the US on August 3rd 2021. Big thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this advance copy. All opinions are my own.</i>

*TW, provided via the author: Some of the thematic material in The Dead and the Dark involves child death and endangerment, violence including strangulation and drowning, homophobia and homophobic slurs. For a more detailed description of sensitive content please visit gouldbooks.com/books/tdatd


The Dead and the Dark was pretty fabulous, in more ways than one, so I am going to tell you about them!

►I was so pleasantly surprised by the character development and relationship development, especially for a mystery/paranormal book! Logan and her family have been going through some upheaval for some time, and the story delves so deep into their family dynamics. I also loved how we even got some insight into her fathers' relationship, too! It made me feel like her fathers were actual characters, not caricatures.

We also see wonderful development of Logan herself, and Ashley, who is so much more multifaceted than we initially think. At first, we think these young women will never be able to even stand in the same room as each other, but the more we get to know them both, the more we see how genuine each is- and so do they. It's also really interesting to see Ashley's relationships within her small town. The dynamics of Snakebite are so different, especially to Logan who has been all over the country.

►Because of how well done the characters were, the stakes felt so high. When you actually like the characters in a murdery book, you get really emotional when they die and such.

►The writing was so good! You know when the author just makes you feel stuff, based on just how beautifully they write? Yeah, that happened here. Not only that, but the author absolutely nailed the atmosphere. This is impressive for any book, let alone a debut!

►Huge focus on diversity and overcoming hatefulness. I love how the author wove these important messages into the story! All the characters had to contend with some kind of hate being thrust upon them, in some cases more than one instance, and the author brilliantly illustrated how Snakebite's bigotry was harmful to everyone in the town.

►Kept me guessing throughout. A few times I thought I knew. But I had no idea. These are my favorite kinds of books!

►There were some bananas twists and a plot that moved at a great pace. It was such a great combination of character development and plot that I never felt overwhelmed, nor did I feel bored. And when certain things were revealed, I was pretty blown away!

Bottom Line: A book that nails both character development and being thrilling, a rare feat indeed!

Wow! A fantastic debut!

This twisty, spooky tale is rich with a dark atmosphere in a small, conservative town, a mysterious Dark that is haunting the town and killing their children, and some great LGBTQ+ rep. (The main character is a lesbian who falls for a girl, whose sexuality is not explicitly stated, and the MC's dads are gay.)

This story wraps you up from the very beginning and keeps you wondering what will happen next through it all. It's not so much a "mystery that keeps you guessing" as it is a paranormal thriller. But the world Gould weaves is truly incredible. The dark atmosphere is expertly set and I love the "real" paranormal aspects of this, even if the idea of "The Dark" is a little hard to grasp.

This was an easy read that didn't take too much to get into, but that didn't stop me from getting invested in the main characters, the town of Snakebite, and the mystery behind the deaths/disappearances of three teenagers.

The main characters, Logan and Ashley, were both solid and fun to read. While sometimes their personalities bled into each other a little bit, for the most part, they were each their own person and came alive on the page. I cared for both of them and wanted to see everything resolved happily.

My only complaint about their budding friendship and romance is that it was a little difficult to get on board with in the last part of the story. From the beginning, Ashely is the grieving girlfriend of the first teen to go missing and Logan is the daughter of the two gay ex-townies, who most of Snakebite blame the disappearances/deaths on. Clearly, there are some things standing in their way. But after they get closer, there is a major betrayal that gets addressed, but not in any major way. After that, it's harder to just go along with everything progressing.

Overall, this was such a fun and spooky read and I'm really looking forward to hearing more thoughts on it from everyone else. Courtney Gould is an author to watch out for in the future!

Snakebite Oregon, even the sound of the name sounds lonely and desolate. That's what seventeen year old Logan Ortiz-Woodley thinks and feels as she packs up with her dad to go ghost hunting on the road again.. She just wishes she had a real place to call home. Her dads are the famous ghost hunter team Alejo Ortiz and Brandon Woodley from a very popular tv show and now they are going back to the hometown where they both were originally from to investigate the darkness and mystery that has always surrounded Snakebite. Things have gotten worse in their hometown because a teenage boy has suddenly disappeared and the people from Snakebite think Brandon has something to do with the missing boy as the darkness continues to seep more quickly into the heart of the little town. This family is not welcome in Snakebite and most of the people will do everything they can to push them away as the darkness grows stronger and and more teenagers are targeted by an evil that only Brandon and Alejo see and understand but this team may not have the ability to stop this evil unless one of them dies.

This was a creepy, fun and intriguing story about ghost hunting yet so much more. Logan is a beautiful young girl trying to find herself and wanting to have a stable and loving relationship with her dads but she yearns for more. There is a lot of mystery surrounding Brandon and also his aloofness with his daughter. The darkness in the town is very spooky and unsettling at times. The author did a great job of keeping the mystery going until the very end which continually had me puzzled and wondering how the story would play out. At times the story felt a little disjointed to me with timelines and some of the plot but it didn't change the enjoyment or the entertainment value. This was a very strong debut for Courtney Gould and I will definitely look forward to read more of her books.

I want to thank the publisher "St. Martin's Press" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this entertaining story and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this book a rating of 3 1/2 SPOOKY 🌟🌟🌟🌠 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read and review an advanced readers copy of this book. This in no way affects my review, all opinions are my own.

Courtney Gould’s thrilling debut The Dead and the Dark is about the things that lurk in dark corners, the parts of you that can’t remain hidden, and about finding home in places―and people―you didn’t expect.

This story was a fun, spooky, and heartwarming adventure following Logan Ortiz-Woodley with her ghost hunting dads and their explorations in Snakebite, an eerie town full of secrets. With a town name like Snakebite, you know this story was going to get very dark very fast.

I enjoyed this book more than I ever thought I would. I was afraid after reading the synopsis that this one might be too cheesy or unrealistic to the point where I wouldn't enjoy it, but wow was I wrong! Logan is a captivating character and I loved the back and forth we got to experience between her and Ashley. This is the perfect cozy, spooky read that'll keep you on your toes the entire time. I couldn't put this one down and was thoroughly invested until the end. The mystery aspect of this book was really well done and kept me guessing on how people were connected and what we would learn about their pasts. I also really loved the representation we got from the characters and felt very attached to them by the end.

I would recommend this for anyone looking for a good paranormal story that will capture their attention from the beginning to the end. I really enjoyed it and would definitely suggest picking this one up!