THE PERFECT CREEPY STORY. In England, in the 1600's a group of soldiers are on the run from ambushes and are forced into Moresby Wood. Only 2 survive to tell the tale of a strange and haunted wood. Many years later a small group of women head into the same woods to try and discover what happened to those men. Lead by Dr. Alice Christopher, the women enter the wood without trepidation.

However when trees begin to appear and disappear and they find themselves completely lost, the group wonders - are they alone? Told from two timelines, and two supporting casts' point of view, this story is COMPLETELY TERRIFYING and will thrill all you Halloween lovers to death! If you love a creepy story, supernatural and unexplained phenomenon, if you want to stay up all night with the light on, The Dark Between The Trees is for you!
.#Rebellion #TheDarkBetweenTheTrees #FionaBarnett #NEtGalley #NetGalleyreads

I got lost in the woods

First, thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion for an advanced reader's copy of this book!

The atmosphere in this book is incredible. I had chills running through my body pretty much the whole time as if I was the one there getting lost among the trees. It honestly made me a little unsettled. It is important to note that I am still testing out the horror genre. It was a little too much for me. However, I know quite a few avid horror readers who I will be recommending the book to. I think they will really enjoy it.

Beyond the weak nervous system, I really enjoyed the main character. Almost to the point where I wish I could have gotten more from her. I do like alternate perspectives, though, and the concept of getting the events from the views of the two parties across time was interesting. The ending wasn't my favorite. There were a lot of unanswered questions for me. I do think that was the point and I think it would be appreciated by someone who prefers this style of writing.

My thanks for NetGalley for this ARC — I wanted so much to love this based off the premise but the prose really dragged on and it gave no meat to the horror/thriller aspects that I kept looking for. This book was described as atmospheric but with the forest as a main character in its own right, the build up of that atmosphere was severely lacking.

A group of academics arrive at a fenced-off forest, unexplored for decades due to strange happenings: some kind of magnetic field is disrupting compasses, for a start. They’re there – oh so prepared, they think – to try to find evidence of a 17th century group of soldiers that disappeared after a civil war skirmish. Seventeen men entered the woods, but only two came out – with disquieting, fever-dream stories.

Alternating chapters tell their story, while the present day thread follows the women and their personal conflicts as their own expedition also takes a strange and deadly turn…

I suppose I need to come clean, that I actually know the author – we were in the same NaNoWriMo group! So slightly torn between needing this book to be awful, and hoping that I didn’t have to swerve talking to Fiona in the future :)

Alas – and hurrah! – the book is not awful. It’s pretty bloddy great, in fact (and no no, that’s not me turning greenish ;)). It’s a slow burn of parallel stories, getting creepier and darker, and revealing all sorts of psychological ticks to the characters. Soldiers battling with the idea of how they’ve lived their lives; an academic so obsessed with finding the truth to this centuries-long mystery and decades-long professional slights; a post-doc student struggling with common sense versus authority. It’s such a great twist on horror stories, where you’re often left screaming “Why would you do that?!” – well, here are some reasons.

I’m a giant wuss when it comes to horror, so I stuck to reading this in the daytime. It didn’t give me nightmares, though – it’s creepy and unsettling but not too much for a weakling like me.

My single complaint – which I’ve seen in other reviews – is that this isn’t the kind of book that hands you all the answers at the end. I get it, and it does work, but there is always that itch to know all the gritty details. But it’s a minor itch, still more than plenty to totally engross you in the story, following both groups into … well, you’ll just have to read it ;)

At times an effectively creepy, but overall a touch repetitive, folk horror. Telling two stories in parallel - in one a group of civil war soldiers and in the other a group of women on a university field visit- there is an intriguing build up of threat and incident, and the interlocked stories do combine to reveal both the cause and lay the ground for what’s to come next. However, at times the modern section was rather exposition heavy - “do tell us more of your research” - which felt unrealistic in the context of what was happening.

Enjoyable but flawed

I got about halfway though this book and it was boring and nothing was happening. Especially from the women's perspective. I thought it was going to be more of a horror book but instead it wasn't really anything.

I think the taglines for this book, calling it a mix of The Descent and The Ritual were actually along the right lines this time. I also felt some similarities, mainly to do with the forest itself, to Naomi Novik's Uprooted.

This book was at the same time both quite disorienting, but I felt it also kept a good steady pace throughout. The alternating chapters helped this, in my opinion.
I found it curious that even though there were two groups of characters with varying POVs, the wood still somehow stuck out as the main character to me.

I loved the sense of atmosphere and think you could read the respect the author has for the woods and forests (and their mysterious secrets) unwritten between her words.

Some of my favourite stories talk about old myths, and this book had that in spades. As the book tells us, the mystery here is older than the trees and mountains, and the devil himself.

One of my favourite aspects of this story was how it played with time, which you see towards the end of the book. I really appreciated that a lot of the answers were slightly out of focus like they still couldn't be pinned down, how neither the characters nor the reader sees whatever is stalking and attacking them on their journey. I think this also instilled a lot of dread and anticipation. But I know this choice of style in storytelling may not be for everyone.
Adding to that I'm not sure the ending will be, either. For those who like things neatly summarised with a bow, this may not be up your street. But I think this is worth a read for anyone who loves to spend time in the forest, imagining that there will still always be parts of it hidden to you.

A slow-burn horror lite, The Dark Between The Trees never fulfilled its promise. While it had a solid start, the telling seemed to plateau early without much pretense. The author manages a mysterious atmosphere, so the lack appears to be with the characters. I never felt connected with any of the female explorers. The characters of the past felt much more substantial than in the present day. I wanted much more of the Corrigan.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Great horror book - creepy and unsettling! Perfect for late night reading!

The people who live near Moresby Forest know to stay clear of it; or if you have to enter it, at least make sure you leave before dark. Its mythos is antediluvian: ancient, murky, biblical. Moresby Forrest: one of the most interesting—and flushed out characters—in the book.

The forest is designated as a “marshy microclimate”; the national park service labeling it “actively dangerous”. There are no man-made paths; compasses/GPS’ do not work; a giant oak tree appears and disappears; and the surroundings appear to change at a drop-of-a-hat. As one character puts it, “What (we were walking through) was not all there was to walk through, and what they were seeing was not all there was to see.”

There is a surreal sense of time, place, and identity throughout the novel. The basic plot is about a group of present-day women who enter the forest to find evidence of a 17th century army company that entered the forest and disappeared. A deserter was the sole witness to the party entering the woods; his story is what impels Dr. Alice Christopher to put together an expedition and—against all advice--enter Moseby Forest.

Through the eyes and thoughts of a couple of men, we learn about what happened in Moresby Forrest after the army deserter left. It is 1643 and Captain Alexander Davis’ battalion has been ambushed by an unseen enemy. Only 17 of the original party make it into the forest; several of whom are injured. Chapters switch between the two groups (the present-day women, and the men in the past) as they experience parallel situations.

This was an enjoyable read. The paranormal juxtaposed over the actual physical and mental hardships of the people involved made for an exciting read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Solaris Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was so good! I'm a sucker for a proper horror story and this is fantastic- just the right amount of dread, folk horror, and unknowable, uncaring forces of the universe, joined with some truly great characters on both the modern-day research team and the company of Civil War soldiers trapped in the woods.

I was especially pleased that Barnett didn't feel the need to explain everything- I think a lot of stories fall down at this part and I'm glad that the book left a lot up to the reader's interpretation. It's scarier that way, the old adage of 'never show the monster' proving true yet again.

If you like your horror slow burn, smart and historical- pick this up immediately. You won't regret it.

This book is written with a great creepy tone that really adds to the story. I have not read this author before and look forward to reading more.

I decided to read this after spotting it on NetGalley the cover and blurb drew me in.
Initially it took me a few chapters to get my head around the fact that they spring from present to past.
A great story Dr Alice Christopher is a professor with an obsession with Moresby forest a place where people have disappeared her main focus is a party of soldiers who entered and only 2 men came out.
The chapters with the soldiers themselves were great the way you take yourself back to where might makes right and the fear of the unknown.
The forest it appears has two levels which Dr Alice and her group find on the first night upon being given permission to enter. This forest is fenced in and kicked off too many stories of darkness and fear means special permission is to be granted. Entering with a young pre graduate Nuria and 3 guides to assist they find themselves lost within the forest. No digital devices work here batteries drain almost immediately it’s eerie and engrossing.
There is a feared spectre here who haunts the woods named after a family whom wanted to live within the woods and then all but disappeared within.
A thoroughly engaging read I don’t want to plot spoil but a great read.

Sometimes I read a synopsis that immediately attracts me to a novel. Fiona Barnett’s brilliant debut novel, The Dark Between the Trees is one such example. The story takes place in Moresby Wood, England, and flits between two points in time. In 1643, we join a group of ambushed soldiers, who flee into the wood for cover. However, two of their number are aware of the terrifying reputation of the wood, and the monstrous Corrigal that dwells within. They urge their comrades to venture no deeper, but the soldiers obviously ignore the warnings, and their numbers quickly dwindle.

Then we leap to the present day, where a group of women, led by academic Dr. Alice Christopher, enter the forbidden woods to investigate the past weirdness. For Dr. Christopher, this is the realization of a life-long dream, previously denied due to sexism and general academic prejudice. Dragging four unsuspecting women behind her, their experiences begin to mirror those of the 1643 soldiers.

The Dark Between the Trees ticked so many boxes for me. Potentially spooky woods, yes; Blair Witch-style impossible loss of sense of direction, yes; modern technology quickly failing, big yes! Early on in the novel, one of the current-day characters affirms that there is no possible way they could get lost, with their handy GPS and spare batteries. Oh, you poor fool.

The chapters alternate between timelines, and complement each other beautifully, and show the timeless nature of fear. There were parts of this book where I was genuinely scared, and half turned my head away from the page so I could quickly look away if things got too hairy. Barnett does a fantastic job of building tension quickly, and manages to keep it going throughout.

I loved this book. It’s scary, it’s fun, it’s interesting, and the characters are fantastic. I think monsters that may, or may not be, living in the woods, is my new favorite genre (see also Christina Henry’s Near the Bone, and Laird Barron’s horrifying short story, Tiptoe).

This book lies squarely in the “oh no, don’t go in the forest” genre of horror, alongside Blair Witch or The Ritual. Barnett intersperses the story of a present day expedition of academics with the story of the long lost soldiers whose disappearance they’re investigating. Some of the outcome is predictable, but there were a few elegant twists that I didn’t see coming.

I enjoyed this read and it was a great book to accompany my own forest vacation. However, I deducted a star because of the historical segments—the narration and dialogue frequently contained modern idioms and it kept jarring me out of the narrative. That said, I enjoyed the read and would definitely eagerly pick up another book by this author.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

I've come to love books that take place in the forest. I think in large part due to my fear of the unseen. This book was capable of keeping me on my toes. Although, it didn't scare me in any way, it did keep me turning pages with a bit of edge of your seat suspense. That is by no means an insult to Fiona Barnett. I am hard to scare. After countless years of reading horror and watching horror or thrillers, it's hard to get under my skin these days. I would suggest reading this book. For those like me, it's just plain fun. For those who are not yet jaded, you might just get a bit scared!

I've been really into stories that are set in the wild, particularly where there is something or someone lurking by.

This book definitely had that, it was absolutely thrilling, creepy and gripping and kept me hooked until the end, I loved it! I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a creepy and atmospheric read then this is the right book for you!

A big thank you to netgalley for a copy of this wonderful book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this novel. I am rating this book based the stars due to lack of time to leave a full review.

This book was so creepy and atmospheric! I loved the creepy, supernatural aspect of it and was anxious to find out what was lurking in the woods. Unfortunately the ending was anticlimactic and left me with a bunch of questions. This book will definitely make me think twice before entering the woods.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the setting and how creepy everything felt. The atmosphere was great, it was so scary to read. It plays with your expectations in the best way and really pulls out all the stops with what it has to work with. I really enjoyed the dual timelines and how we get to explore more of the background as well. The Dark Between The Trees is a stellar novel.