I loved this one! So fast-paced and sinister, with a perfect ending. I will read more from this author.

Easily one of the best horror/thrillers I've read all year. It's told mostly in two points of view with some accessories. It alternates between 1978 with the past being told by Violet Hildreth, granddaughter of Dr. Hildreth who is the head psychiatrist at the Inn, a private mental hospital in rural Vermont. Vi's part of the story is centered over her and her brother, Eric (both of them orphaned and being raised by their grandmother) and being asked to help and be siblings to Iris a young nearly feral girl with a head injury and other trauma (so yes there is trauma to children in this)

The other main story point of view comes later with Lizzy Shelley. It's 2019 and something unspecified (in the beginning, it'll be revealed in slow stages) to destroy the family. The children have all changed their names and aren't much in each other's lives. Eric has a family of his own and wants mostly to be left alone but to be sure his sister is safe from The Monster (she is another point of view). Lizzy is a monster hunter, for real, much like half the current Travel Channel shows, she is criss crossing the United States looking for Bigfoot, wendigos and other monsters (all the while looking for her sister). Lizzy lives out of her research van, has her own podcast and has been on TV which she didn't much care for.

The other points of view (other than the Monster) are a book written about what happened in 1978 and a book of monsters written by the children in 1978.

So it ping pongs back and forth in that forty year span without ever feeling jarring or confusing. The voices are well differentiated and oh so involving. Lizzy is being led back to Vermont which she has avoided in all those decades, back to where it started because the one thing she knows is young girls are going missing across the country and the only thing tying them together is all of them claimed to meet a cryptid just before going missing. Lizzy is sure it's her sister and she wants to end this once and for all.

The way the past is revealed and woven into the present is masterful. It never feels too slow and the bread crumb trail lead easily to what Hildreth was doing. That really wasn't the twice but there are two big ones. All I want to say about them are they were great. They were surprising without being so out there you're rolling your eyes. I was sorry to see it end (because this definitely feels like a one and done) and I'll definitely be looking for more from this author.

I have never read a book by McMahon so I really was excited to be approved to read this. This was such a unique light horror book mixed with interesting characters and plot lines. Can I also say what a unique idea for a book??? Loved it.

What I enjoyed:
-I usually don’t enjoy slow burn but this was so fun and it worked!
-the character development
-tension buildup
-present and past perspectives
-plot twists were deep and connected

What could have been better?
-the ending was a bit flat and I expected more but it still was intriguing. This is why it wasn’t a 5 star for me; it felt too quick.

An interesting take on what separates humans from monsters with a wicked (and delicious) final twist that wrapped up a 5 star read perfectly. (Honestly, if you pitched me a book about a monster hunter without sharing the author, I never would have picked this up. Glad I did. McMahon doesn't disappoint.)

I often read thrillers or mysteries and have them figured out in the first quarter of the book. Not this one! The twist definitely caught me by surprise. This is a creepy tale of children being raised near a mental hospital and how that influences their childhoods. Are the things they see real or imagined? Who can they trust? A story I haven't heard before and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the e ARC of The Children On The Hill by Jennifer McMahon. I really enjoyed the writing style, the pace of the story and all the twists and turns that McMahon delivered. I liked this book better than The Invited. This keeps you on the edge of your seat to keep up with all the surprises that come at you. It is a 3.5 rounded up to a 4 for me.
#NetGalley

You know I seriously have a LOVE-MEH relationship with Jennifer McMahon books. This was one I was gobbling up in the beginning and it had promise of being the favorite kid, but then it started to lose it at the end and I found myself getting easily distracted towards the end only reading 3% if I was lucky. While not horrible, not even bad, it definitely isn't my favorite from this author.

What is really irritating me is that I can't grasp when this book lost my interest or why. I will say that I can see why this book is garnering the 4 and 5 star reviews it is. It just lost this reviewer.

Reviewed for Publisher via Netgalley.

Jennifer McMahon repurposes Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in a fascinating and deadly cat-and-mouse game between sisters. Toggling between the past and the present cleverly prolongs the mystery, filling in the necessary details at a measured clip. The past builds atmosphere and dread effectively; you're waiting for the shoe to drop on pending tragedy. The present is less engaging as the podcast Lizzy Shelley tirelessly pursues a sister she's sure is taunting her with deaths. How these two timelines eventually intersect leads to what feels like a rushed conclusion, and familiarity with Frankenstein might make it much easier for a reader to connect the dots ahead of reveals.

Such a fun and interesting book! To weave Frankenstein and Eugenics together is so smart! I will be excited for her next book!

Oh wow. Just when you think you have it all figured out - you know nothing - the clues mean nothing. The story has left you twisting in the wind. The perpetrator is hunting the victim - is that right or reverse? What a masterful story of gothic horror except it is steeped in truth, history and what has gone before. Oh, the words - the images they convey - the staccato punches of phrases and what they might mean but maybe not. There is a sense of normalcy - almost. But something is slightly off - just enough to make you want to look behind the curtain, dig a little deeper. Be careful because there are outrageous thoughts and actions and scary stuff lurking just outside the carved wooden sign that spelled out “HOPE”.

Warped genius, freakish experiments, closed and locked doors, terror within Vermont’s Hillside Inn, considered one of the best psychiatric facilities- and in that one word is the beginning of all that is to come. Eugenics - it should make your blood pressure spike and reveal that horrors abound.

Remember, “monsters are unpredictable. This is one of the things that make them truly dangerous and must be remembered whenever you face one.” Beware you are about to face the worst of them.

Thank you NetGalley and Scout Press for a copy of this astounding book.

*Thank you to Gallery books, Jennifer McMahon, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Previously at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/the-children-on-the-hill/

“Sometimes human places create inhuman monsters.”

‒ Stephen King

Do you believe in monsters? In Vermont, in 1978, Violet and Eric are living their best lives as carefree children, taken in by their grandma after their parents die in a car accident. They are home-schooled, but no one is actually teaching them. The children teach themselves; they ride their bikes; they make their own lunches, and they start their own monster club. Vi and Eric even have a home in the woods for their monster club, where they have their monster tools and monster book to help them hunt. Their grandma is the director of The Hillside Inn, a lunatic asylum, deep in the woods of Vermont. They are home-schooled because they are not allowed to mingle with townspeople or other children. Their Grandma thinks they are too smart for everyone else.

When Gran brings home Iris, she is very secretive about who the young girl is. Iris is a shell of a girl with scars all over her body and selectively mute. Their Grandmother tells them to be good to her and to report back on how she does. To “treat her like a sister”, she instructs them. Vi, being extremely intelligent with a natural curiosity, she can’t let it rest. She is determined to find out who Iris is, especially because Vi’s scars match Iris’ almost perfectly. Vi investigates the locked basement at the asylum, BWest, that their Gran told them never to go into.

The Children on the Hill has dual timelines; 1978 when they are all children and 2019, where Lizzy Shelley is a popular podcaster and monster hunter. She has become famous for her role since she was on a TV special about hunting monsters. But in actuality, she spends her time looking for her long-lost sister, whom she believes is a serial killer, responsible for many teenage girls who have gone missing. The dual timelines work well in this book, as we get to know Vi and Iris as children and as adults.

All of Jennifer McMahon’s books have a dark aroma to them. This is no exception. It is at once, creepy, dark and isolating, where the reader (me) wants to turn on all the lights in the room. The author has a way of creating multi-layered characters, with creepy atmospheres and surprising twists. There are always unreliable voices and a perfectly put together story that only makes sense as you get to the last pages. It is a direct parallel to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, where a monster is not born but created and it does not end well.

Another reader described the twist at the end as delicious, and that is very true. I did not see it coming, and it made this amazing horror story even better. Kudos to Jennifer McMahon for a horror book that has you looking under your bed before you go to sleep to make sure there are no monsters hiding.

Finished this fun monster hunt today. Another solid McMahon novel. I loved the dual story lines and am a sucker for the science gone wrong trope. I figured out the first twist early on, but it let me read the book from a different angle and did not take away from my enjoyment of the story. The ending was unexpected and satisfying, like most of her books. This would be a fun series; I'm hoping for a sequel.
Thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for an #arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to publisher, author, and NetGalley for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review!

W O W! What a thrill. This book kept me engaged and focused. It kept me guessing and I had no idea it was going to end the way it did! What an incredible story. If you’re looking to read a quick engaging thriller, this is the one!

Interesting concept for a thriller. I'm not much into the "monster" theme, so I wasn't sure I would enjoy this, but the way it worked out was well done. I am fascinated by the horrible way we once treated the mentally ill and this provided a new look into an old concept (I won't reveal it to avoid spoilers). While it was horrifying, it was not surprising. Great character development and I appreciated not knowing for sure who the main "now" character was in the flashbacks until the end - I definitely was guessing the entire book, but didn't feel completely sure until the reveal. I didn't like this as much as a previous McMahon book I've read, but it was still good and I'll definitely read more.

This book was well-written and suspenseful. There are many twists and turns and an ending that is not expected.

The story follows the exploits of a doctor at a mental institution and very grandchildren. The kids are fascinated with monsters, and this fascination continues into adulthood, as told in alternating storylines: their lives as kids in the 1970s and their adult lives now.

The kids watch monster movies, form a monster-hunting club, and write a "book" about monsters and the truths they came up with--oddly correct truths for ones so young.

The book explores the nature of monsters, leading to a conclusion about what monsters really are.

I've read hundreds of horror novels and stories, and this is one of the best.

I don't know exactly how to describe this book, which is a mixture of the thriller, horror, and mystery genres, so I'll defer to the book description:

"1978: at her renowned treatment center in picturesque Vermont, the brilliant psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hildreth, is acclaimed for her compassionate work with the mentally ill. But when she's home with her cherished grandchildren, Vi and Eric, she’s just Gran—teaching them how to take care of their pets, preparing them home-cooked meals, providing them with care and attention and love.

Then one day Gran brings home a child to stay with the family. Iris—silent, hollow-eyed, skittish, and feral—does not behave like a normal girl.

Still, Violet is thrilled to have a new playmate. She and Eric invite Iris to join their Monster Club, where they catalogue all kinds of monsters and dream up ways to defeat them. Before long, Iris begins to come out of her shell. She and Vi and Eric do everything together: ride their bicycles, go to the drive-in, meet at their clubhouse in secret to hunt monsters. Because, as Vi explains, monsters are everywhere.

2019: Lizzy Shelley, the host of the popular podcast Monsters Among Us, is traveling to Vermont, where a young girl has been abducted, and a monster sighting has the town in an uproar. She’s determined to hunt it down, because Lizzy knows better than anyone that monsters are real—and one of them is her very own sister.

The Children on the Hill takes us on a breathless journey to face the primal fears that lurk within us all."

OK, one other reason I did that is this book is so amazing and creative, and it's best to go into it as blind as possible, and I don't know exactly how to go about describing it without giving away too much information. It's like an amazing puzzle that you can just tell from the beginning is going to be beautiful and extraordinary when finished, so you just enjoy the ride getting there. An wow, is it a good ride!

The book is told along two main timelines: the 1978 timeline from Violet's point of view, and the modern-day storyline with Lizzie, interspersed with excerpts from the "Book of Monsters" written by Violet and her siblings as children and some chapters by "The Monster." The book flows really well between each viewpoint and I was never confused or overwhelmed by the storyline. And the ending was just perfect for the book overall. It was such a great fit. That's all I can say.

I cannot recommend this book enough for lovers of mystery/thrillers, horror, suspense and everything in between. It was a great time reading and left me wanting more from this author, who has proven her writing chops time and time again.

Don't miss out on this one!

Jennifer McMahon has never let me down! The story follows Eric and Vi as children through adulthood. They are raised by their grandmother in an unconventional fashion. She is an esteemed psychiatrist and works at a mental hospital on the same property as their home. The children are used to her bringing home different patients. They are really happy when she brings home another child called Iris. The kids take her on as an adopted sister. They soon learn that Iris has no idea where she came form and set out to solve the mystery.

The book has lots of twists and turns and will keep you guessing until the end.

The Children On The Hill by Jennifer McMahon

I want to start out saying I have read a ton of books this year already I believe I am 80 something books in for the year and well this is the best book I have read this year so far it is that good. This is a retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and boy oh boy Jennifer McMahon did not disappoint. I read this book slowly because I did not want it to end and I wanted to savor each little morsel of this great story.

The main characters are Dr. Helen Hildreth who appears to have a god complex but when you read this you will understand. Violet Hildreth or Vi for short she is someone you connect with instantly in the story she starts off as a young girl along with her brother Eric they formed a monster club. Later in the story another sister arrives who is Iris.

This story follows two time lines one when they are kids and one timeline the adult version of the kid. The story had a little creepy vibe to it and that made the story even better. I cannot stop speaking about this book. I recommend anyone who likes retelling's or a good creepy story this book is for you it is that good.

There are some surprises where you get the WTF moments and that add so much to the story. This is a book that I will return to and read again in the future it is one that just needs to be read.

Lizzy Shelley is a pod-caster who talks about the monsters amongst us. I like the bits about the monster it is something that just connected with me. I cannot stop giving so much praise to this book. I will go back and read other things from this author she knows how to hook her reader in to her in depth character development she throws a few twists that give you the WTF moment that makes for great story telling.

All you horror lovers need to read this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for a free copy of this book for an honest review.

While I finished this entire book, I did have some qualms with it. Mainly that I enjoyed the sections concerning the children's past more than I did the discoveries the reader made while reading what was happening to them in the present. I do think that readers who enjoy thrillers ans mysteries and are squeamish about horror novels will enjoy it. I just personally felt that some sections left something to be desired and I wish the reader had been left with more ambiguity about the Frankenstein connection instead of being hammered over the head with the word monster. That being said, I would absolutely give reading Jennifer McMahon another shot.

A great read! As a fan of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," I enjoyed how the story was inspired by this monster classic but still told in a unique way. "The Children on the Hill" contains many characteristics that I believe readers will be attracted to; while multiple mysteries are unraveling we're also hunting for monsters and tracking down missing persons cases. There's mystery, psychological suspense, supernatural elements, and even family drama with some twists to keep the reader guessing!