I wouldn't consider this book a thriller, more of a slow burn psychological suspense, with a dash of the paranormal. Book of Knives wasn't quite the book I expected, but I did enjoy the themes of grief, loss, and adaption weaved throughout. What kept me turning the page was the desire to know what the heck was actually going on at Hidden Lake, and the reason this is a three star book for me is because I felt there was a lot left unresolved, for seemingly no reason.

While Gabe's flirtation with Nora was quite overt, I felt like the sudden assumptions of abuse from him came out of nowhere, and I felt like I was supposed to have realized this all along, but there was barely anything shown, it was more that we were told. I really thought there was more to Catherine and Walter's storyline, and I still don't quite understand what happened with Walter's murder. I thought at one point, based on a line from the grandmother and the mention of children being taken in the dutch letter that 'the boys' were actually Catherine and Walter's and that Emmet and Elizabeth had taken them, which would have been more interesting, but that never came to fruition.

But perhaps the most frustrating of all the unsolved mysteries, and what really compelled me forward, was never finding out exactly what was going on with the knives. I suppose it was implied by the end that the ghosts were responsible for the knives, but I would have appreciated more information. And lastly, I'm still scratching my head over who wrote the dutch letter. It was initially implied it was Catherine, but then Nora notes that the handwriting is the same as Gabe. But there is no explanation given, and it doesn't make any sense to me why he would have written the letter... and really, we never even find out exactly what it means, as the translation from the friend was quite spotty.

I felt the premise was very intriguing, and even though I came for a paranormal summer camp story, and left with more of a human drama and a story about grief, it was the lack of resolution to the mysteries that left me wanting.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced read copy.

Nora and Paul go to Hidden Lake Camp to help take care of his aging parents. Creepy things keep happening like disappearing knives turning up in weird places. The whole family is dysfunctional and creepy.
I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. It was very suspenseful and I rushed through it.
Thanks NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC!

This book did not connect with me as much as I hoped it would. The writing is beautiful but I just didn't feel myself connecting to the plot or characters unfortunately.

Based on the summary, I thought I'd love this book. Sadly, that wasn't the case. It was lackluster overall. The pace was way too slow for the genre, and the mystery/thriller angle was lacking. It was a struggle to read, as I just couldn't connect with the characters or stay engaged with the storyline.

Man this made me really really sad. I thought it was going to be really good. I felt it was really lackluster. The chapters were pretty boring honestly.

This book ..... oh this book. I have had this book on my TBR since I heard about it. When I was given the opportunity to read this book in advance I squealed. Unfortunately that is where my excitement ended.. I got to about 30-30% before I had to just put the book down. I was drawn in by the whole idea of the story, but sadly for me the story was just slow. When it comes to mysteries or thrillers, I love me some good fast paced drag me into your world stories. I thought this was going to do it for me but it didn't. This was also a first time read by this author for me, and regardless of not enjoying this book, I would still look into other books by them.


Thank you to the publisher and to net galley for this advanced copy

I wanted to love this book and I gave it until 25% and then I gave up. I was so excited about the setting of this book at a run down summer camp, sounds creepy but it was just too slow for me and I like a good slow burn.

OK, the plot sounded interesting and intriguing and the book cover is appealing and so I decided to try this book out.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book as much I thought I should be and almost DNF the book.

Nora agrees to accompany her husband Paul to Hidden Lakes to look after Paul's elderly parents and was surprised to see the camp in ruins. Paul's brother Gabe and the kids are also at the camp with a Gabe's wife named Salish as well. Then for some reason or the other, the thirteen knives start disappearing one by one. There is a rumor of a ghost hunting around the cabin and also a murder that had occured in the camp. And while these things are happening, tensions start developing between the family members.

First of all, I am not sure which type of genre it belongs to--horror or a mixture of horror and thriller? Second of all, this was a slow burn and there were few parts of the story where it was really boring and there were some parts in the story that I didn't really understand. The ending to me was somewhat confusing. I don't know whether it was just me, but honestly, I didn't really enjoy reading this book. The plot was interesting but the way the story was executed was poor. Overall, a 2.5 stars for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

I thought this was going to be fast paced and exciting, but unfortunately it was slow and mostly boring. I still don't fully understand the ending and all that happened so it would be nice if the author shed more insight on everything. I gave it two stars because I liked Jones' character and the cover.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Newly remarried to a close friend after the death of her first husband, Nora agrees to accompany her new husband, Paul, to his family’s summer camp property to make repairs in hopes of getting the place ready for sale. But what she finds is a family pushed to its edge from isolation, haunted by unseen forces. Soon, knives from Nora’s sister-in-law’s prized collection begin to go missing, and the family’s tenuous grasp on reality slips even further, as Nora document the entire ordeal on camera. But can Nora prevent disaster from happening in front of the lens before it’s too late?

This book isn’t a slasher-type horror, it’s written more like a literary type horror novel, with the author writing great descriptions of both the settings and the characters as the events proceed. You can feel the tension in the air as each new knife is reported missing and more unexplained events begin to happen around the group. Plus, each of the characters around Nora slowly begins to lose their grip on reality, which we get to watch in great detail and with a great atmosphere around the whole story. It all ads up to an amazing story overall.

I did not guess the ending at all. It really wasn’t what I would have expected to happen, though it makes sense given how things were coming to a head. It certainly packed a punch and I could feel the frenzied pace as things hurtled toward the ending.

The only thing I wish was different was that we didn’t get a lot of resolution to some of the supernatural/spiritual aspects of the story. I don’t want to give to much away, but we don’t get to learn too much about the haunted aspects of the camp. I wish we got to explore that more. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was atmospheric and thrilling. And very, very suspenseful.

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. It was definitely slow burn, which I’m not a fan of. The chapters were long and for the most part boring. For awhile it felt like nothing was happening until the last few chapters. The ending was lackluster and you are left with more questions than answers.

Norah agrees to accompany her husband Paul and his son Leon to his family’s property Hidden Lake Camp to take care of Paul’s elderly parents. Paul’s brother Gabe and their kids are also at the camp. Paul promised it would only be a few months, long enough to fix up the camp and sell it. For some reason knives start to go missing and some other disturbing things occur. Is it a ghost? A curse? Needless to say tensions mount leading to an unfulfilling ending.

Book of Knives is available October 4,2022.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

You had me at dilapidated summer camp! This book was so fun! Terrific writing, suspenseful and a touch of creepy sealed the deal! A few twists and turns and a bit of an "eccentric" family with an odd collection. I loved this book! Thank you so much!

I was in the mood for a ghost story and that's what I got. Enjoyable with some eclectic characters. Overall moved at an entertaining pace with some gripping, twists and turns - just like you'd expect from a ghost story. As for the ending??? A wee bit disappointed, left me wanting more.

First of all, I really like the cover of this new thriller! It matches. I repeat it matches with the plot and it built the right kind of vibes when I picked up the book.

The blurb is quite interesting. I would suggest you to read it beforehand. No spoilers there but it will make you more interested in the story.

The writing is really good. It kept me hooked throughout the entire read. However, some parts in between do slow down a bit but the pace picks up soon. So not much of an issue there.

The plot is different. The characters aren't that complex to figure out. However, the main part of the thrill lies in the unassuming normal day activities and the dialogues.

Believe that it's somehow literary and do not expect a hard-hitting thriller as the blurb says.. Thank you to netgalley and the author

Book of Knives by Lise Haines is definitely interesting. Nora is still grieving losing her first husband when she temporarily moves to Hidden Lake Camp with her new husband, Paul, and his family to help fix it up. Special knives begin to disappear, and Nora is on the hunt to find out what is happening.

The story is a slow burn, and the ending fell a bit flat for me. I liked Nora, but the other characters were hard to care for.

I would recommend this book to those who like ghost stories and a quick read. I rate this a 3 out of 5 stars. I may check out other books by this author.

#NetGalley @PPPress

Nora didn't expect Hidden Lake Camp to be in a state of ruin?dock full of rotten boards, smashed windows, cabins falling apart. To her new husband, Paul, the camp is the past he'd just as soon bury. Nora agreed to drive north with him to get his elderly parents settled while he makes enough repairs to sell the property, which will only take a few months. The summer camp, however, and its deep lake have other plans. After Nora's first meal with Paul's difficult family, one knife?part of a prized collection?goes missing. By the time the fourth and fifth vanish from behind locked doors and out from under watchful eyes, Nora can barely sleep. There's talk of ghosts, secret rooms, and someone at the summer camp found dead in the tall grass. Unsettling, gripping, and totally original, Book of Knives is a literary thriller that shows how one person's unraveling can bring the whole house down.
Really enjoyable read totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press
I just reviewed Book of Knives by Lise Haines. #NetGalley

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Nora is coping with the loss of her husband Takeo. She finds comfort and companionship with Paul whom she eventually marries. When Paul’s parents health starts to decline his brother Gabe calls and ask him to come help fix up the old camp his parents still own but no longer go. When they arrive strange things occur and no one can explain them. This books has great detail and is a slow burn. It isn’t like any other book I have read before. I wish the pace was a little faster and the scares a bit larger. Otherwise the book was still well written. Thank you @netgalley for this advanced readers copy. #bookreview #bookreviewer #suspensebooks #paranormalthriller

Nora is a widow who still sees the spirit of her husband Takeo. She marries her husbands best friend Paul. Paul is called back to his family home after a long separation to help care for his parents and repair the family campground for sale. Also at the camp is Paul’s brother Gabe his wife Salish and their four children. The eldest is an aspiring ghost hunter and Paul’s oldest child an aspiring rock star. Throughout the stay Salish’s prize knife collection starts to turn up missing one by one. Nora is investigating the disappearances of two past staff members in addition to the disappearances of the knives. She is dealing with Salish’s odd behavior the tension between Paul and Gabe and the care of the parents the dad being abusive to his sons and his wife. The story was a very slow burn with enough twists and turns to keep me going.

I wanted to like this book more because horror at a camp…yea please!

But this book was just confusing. And there were way too many characters to try and keep straight.

Also, Nora has zero character development because she is always talking about her late husband. I am not even sure why she is married again.

Unfortunately, not for me.

Love the cover, though.

There is nothing like a Summer Camp to incite horror is there? And a dilapidated Summer Camp? With dementia-addled relatives in the attic, a kid who only wears superhero costumes, and a paranoid mother with a knife collection? Also for no reason at all one member of the family is filming a documentary? And also GHOSTS?!? This book had so many little plot points the author could easily have been unable to keep the whole thing going. But it really worked for me, and I think it will work for other readers. Thank you for the ARC.