Cover Image: A Dark and Secret Place

A Dark and Secret Place

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Member Reviews

This title archived before I was able to download and read it. I was able to borrow it from the library, but I couldn't get into it. Hopefully I'll try it again in the future.

*Thank you @dreamscape_media for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon/Goodreads because less than 4 stars or DNF.*

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I definitely think I’m in the minority here but I really did not like this book. It was a quicker read so I did appreciate that. However, I struggled so much with caring about this storyline and characters. It started out super promising but soon lost that. I also really disliked the ending and this book as a whole.

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Definitely not for me! I got to 24% and couldn't handle anymore. Too morbid and gruesome for my taste but may work for fans of horror novels that get into more of the gory details.

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Audiobooks on NetGalley are usually hard to rate because they sound a lot worse than what will actually be released. I love serial killer books, give me a serial killer and I’ll read it. I liked the dual timelines and the ending was thrilling

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When prodigal daughter Heather Evans returns to her family home after her mother's baffling suicide, she makes an alarming discovery--stacks and stacks of carefully preserved letters from notorious serial killer Michael Reave. The "Red Wolf," as he was dubbed by the press, has been in prison for over twenty years, serving a life sentence for the gruesome and ritualistic murders of several women across the country, although he has always protested his innocence. The police have had no reason to listen, yet Heather isn't the only one to have cause to re-examine the murders. The 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.
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?

💭 This definitely hit all the creepy notes with the Little Red Riding Hood vibe. While a lot of it missed the mark for me, just beyond my ability to suspend disbelief, it led to a fantastic book discussion because there were so many differing views. The audio narration of the book was well done and also contributed to the atmosphere in the story.

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This was a twisty thriller that took some time to get into. It was at times very dark, and for some reason, I found it difficult to relate to the main character. Overall, this was a miss for me.

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I really wanted to love this one. I felt like this was right up my alley.

After her mother’s suicide, Heather finds letters that prove that her mother had been corresponding for years with the Red Wold, an infamous serial killer, Michael Reave, who has been in prison for 20-years for his crimes.

After reading that premise, my hopes were pretty high! However, those hopes soon extinguished themselves. I just couldn’t get into this book, I started listening to it on Audiobook in July and just finished in December, and I felt like it was excruciating to finish.

This is an extremely slow-paced mystery, and the characters aren’t really fascinating.

The ending picked up a bit, but still, at that point, I had enough and didn’t really care anymore. I hate to say it, but this book just wasn’t for me.

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This story is for fans of true crime and psychological thrillers. The main character, Heather, starts off the novel by returning home after her mother takes her own life. While at home, she begins to learn more and more about an infamous serial killer.

This story was dark, yet predictable unfortunately. Heather is better than most thriller protagonists (less forgettable, makes fewer awful decisions), however, she wasn’t gripping enough to redeem the story for me.

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Heather discovers that her late mother was corresponding with serial killer Michael Reeve aka Red Wolf. She naturally wants to know more about this friendship and visits Michael who has been in prison for over twenty years. He might know why her mother committed suicide. To make things interesting similar murders are discovered and since Michael will only speak with Heather the police use her to try to get some information out of him. Heather has no idea what she’s in for as she needs some answers herself. You’ll have to read the book to find out how this story evolves , twists and all.
This is one of those thrillers where you have to be patient and trust the story line. The audiobook gives it a dark creepy eerie vibe which I enjoyed.
A Dark And Safe Place would make a great late evening read with a glass of wine or hot chocolate.

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“…this is a man that carted parts of bodies around the country then planted flowers around them. His behavior isn’t necessarily rational or predictable.”

I am not a big fan of books about serial killers, but this one was creepily entertaining and held my interest. The book alternates between two time periods. In the present, when Heather goes to clear out the house of her estranged mother following her suicide she discovers that Colleen has been corresponding with the convicted serial killer Michael Reave. In the past, Michael’s backstory is revealed.

While Heather tries to find the connection between Colleen and Michael, a copycat serial killer is operating and someone is leaving Heather weird clues involving a lot of feathers. The book didn’t make a lot of sense, but I liked it.

I received free copies of the ebook and audio book from the publisher.

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A Dark and Secret place is an incredibly dark and soul crushing thriller that will give you nightmares!! It’s a very slow paced disturbing kind of listen. I enjoyed the narration. However. I like my thrillers to be face paced and that was the only downfall for me for this one. I do recommend this one still. I enjoyed reading along with the physical book as I listened to the audiobook. Such a good reading experience.

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As a true crime lover I was excited to read this book based on the main character meeting with a serial killer. It definitely did not disappoint.

Hannah loses her mother by apparent suicide and when Hannah gets home she finds so many questions about her mothers life. Hannah uses her investigative journalist knowledge to untangle truth and lies. At this same time someone is going around killing women in the same way Micheal did in the past. Hannah realizes Micheal was a part of her mother’s past and hopes he can give her some answers. Hannah meets with Micheal also hoping to learn more about him killing in the past and who could be doing it now.

The interviews with Micheal were so good and exactly what I was picturing before reading this book. There were a few twists especially at the end that I did not see coming and they were great!

There were so many little pieces it was hard to keep them all straight and figure out how it all connected. I think this would be a book I would need to read again to put more of it together.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/ 5

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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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. I listened to this title and the narrator was able to sustain the suspense throughout the novel and was a great voice for this title. This book is recommended for mystery and thriller readers.

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Thank you to Dreamscape, Netgalley, and Jen Williams for this audio in exchange for a review. The narration was well done, it was intriguing, kept wanting to listen to find out what happens in the end. The ending felt a little rushed but all in all it was a good book. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 solid rating.

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I was excited for this NetGalley audiobook, it looked like just the kind of psychological thriller that I would usually love. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. One of the main voices was difficult to listen to (which definitely influenced my feelings on the book) and the story itself felt predictable.

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I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Even though I'm super late to this book party, I am glad that I finally penciled A Dark and Secret Place into my schedule. From the very beginning, I was completed hooked and just wanted to know every little thing that I could get my hands on. Especially after getting to meet the main character, Heather Evans.

Now she was a very interesting character in my eyes. She is definitely not the luckiest with the family department. After losing her father when she was a teenager and then her mother in her thirties.. I just fee like she needs a hug and a huge glass of wine.

While going through her mother's belongings, in the creepiest place ever, she starts finding the most random shit I've ever heard of - flowers and bird feathers. Then on top of that she feels like something, or someone, is constantly watching her within the dark shadows. At this point, if I was going through this and felt this? I would most definitely burn the place and move. Far away.

But wait, there's more.. the cherry on top - Red Wolf.

Honestly, this whole thing was chaotic from start to finish. I had no idea who to trust or who to label suspect #1-1000. Which is probably why I enjoyed this little thriller so freaking much. I'm pretty mad that I waited so long to jump into this but I'm very happy that I finally did. I will definitely be looking out for the next book Jen writes.

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Thanks #netgallery. This was a great book. Creepy but not over the top. I struggle with books that try to go over the top with the creepy/unnatural vibe. The author was able to not go over the line in that aspect. I definitely recommend this book.

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A Dark and Secret Place starts with Heather returning to her mother’s home after her mother’s funeral. As she is cleaning the house, she finds letters between her mother and a notorious serial killer who is now in prison. Murders like his have started happening again and the police want her to try and talk with him to figure out who is committing them.

CW: Graphic animal abuse. Skip Chapter 13. Please check all the content warnings before reading this.

Three words to describe this book: Forest. Dark. Moody.

Cover: I do think the cover conveys one important aspect of this book – the forest. Overall, it fits the book, but I do not find it memorable.

Character Development: There is a little bit of the Heather character but not enough for my tastes. We do not really find out what makes Heather tick. There is a bit of information about her previous job and some about her childhood and her relationship with her parents, but it was not well-developed.

World-Building: This was a definite highlight of the book. This book feels like you are in a dark forest in the UK after it has lightly rained. This world ups the creep factor.

Plot & Pacing: This is my major critique of this novel. The plot goes all over the place. It starts with a possible serial killer type of story/clues sprinkled into fairy tales then switches to a cult investigation and sprinkles some supernatural vibes in there. Even with all the different plot directions, I felt like the book plodded a lot. There is also a plotline about Heather evaluating and understanding her relationship with her mother – so has family drama mixed in too. This book could have been fantastic if it had stuck to one plotline. Additionally, there is also some graphic animal abuse that is described in detail and not necessary. That ruined my experience reading. I’ve read a lot of serial killer-type books and I know hurting animals is a key characteristic of serial killers. So is murdering people. Why isn’t that enough?

Narrator: I loved the narrator, Lorna Bennett Her voice fit this moody dark thriller. I’ve heard her narrate other books, so it was good to hear her voice again. Her voice is a bit slow but is amenable to higher speeds.

Verdict: Personally, I would pass on this thriller especially due to the unnecessary animal abuse descriptions and unwieldy plot. I love dark and messed up books and this was not an ‘enjoyable’ read even for that type of book.

ARC was provided to me by Crooked Lane Books, in exchange for an honest review.

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First, her mother’s suicide felt suspicious, then she finds out that her mother had been writing to a serial killer for years. If that weren’t bad enough, now there are copycat murders in the area so she has to meet with the serial killer to find out what is going on. Yikes.

It’s a very exciting plot, but, unfortunately, I couldn’t quite say the same for the book itself. I thought it was just going to be kind of a slow burn, but it just stayed slow until the very end, which seemed rushed and, if I’m honest, didn’t come together as well as I would have hoped.

Though getting to the initial plot point was slow, I did enjoy that once there, my attention was easily kept with the writing style. Sometimes alternating perspectives can be rough for me because I feel like I get taken out of one too soon, but I never felt that way. I always felt like everything was wrapped up well & transitioned well into the next section.

At the end, I still had a lot of questions, but most specifically I still wanted to know why the killings happened. A reason was given & a slight connection was made, but I didn’t get enough how and why from “then” to know why it was happening to make the connection to what was going on “now” (super confusing without any spoilers!).

I would like to thank NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Jen Williams for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Creepy, dark and mysterious, this is the story of Heather who comes back home to settle her mother's estate after her suicide. Her mother has letters from a notorious serial killer who is behind bars, yet there are killings still happening. Can Heather figure out what is going on and just how is her mother wrapped up in all this?
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I enjoyed Heather's character because she is far from perfect. I love it when there are flaws laid out for all to see. I also really enjoyed the multiple POV's. I think it’s great getting multiple sides to a story. I thought the setting added so much to the story. I connected with the narration on the audio as well. I feel like great narration brings a book alive.
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