A slowly unfolding, intricate story following 2 young girls, Charlie and Emily, who are on a beach holiday with their families in 1988. They spend a summer together attempting to summon a local legend named Stitch Faced Sue. It begins as a fun game but someone is taking the game more seriously, soon sending things into dark territory. We also follow one of the girls as an adult in present time as she returns to the coastal community where the tragic events unfolded. The third timeline involves a seemingly unrelated character whose storyline eventually crosses with Charlie and Emily's story.

I found the timelines easy to follow. The chapters alternate between the three storylines and are marked to indicate which timeline a chapter covers.

I really enjoyed the seaside town setting and thought the location was vividly described, giving the story a well established sense of place and atmosphere.

Some patience is required for the first half of the story, as the story progresses at a slow, more character driven pace until the final third of the book. At that point, surprises, twists, and turns start being thrown the reader's way and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, though things took a very dark, unexpected turn toward the end. The story was riveting and well constructed, the characters nicely developed, and the tension gradually built to a creepy, shocking ending. Readers who enjoy a slow burn mystery with thriller and horror elements will find a lot to enjoy with this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me a copy to read and review.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Crooked Lane Books and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A bit of a slow start. The characters are well written as is the story.

DNF this book, at no fault of the book. The writing is wonderful and its easy to get wrapped up in the plot. I didn’t realize just how creepy and spooky it was going to be, and I’m a huge baby!

What exactly happened to Charlie when she was a child? Why is she back where it all began and calling herself Sarah? Where are all of these girls disappearing to? Do monsters really exist? Jen Williams uses legends again in this thriller about on event that sets something much larger in motion.

***

I really struggled with this title. As other reviewers have pointed out, the drama unfolded incredibly slowly and the ever shifting viewpoints and timelines were exhausting to keep up with, and I didn't find the resolution of the book to be satisfying enough to justify slogging through it in the first place.

Definitely a spooky read. If you do not mind alternating perspectives and timelines, it may just be the book for you!

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I had read the author's past novel, A Dark and Secret Place and loved it, couldn't put it down. While I enjoyed this one, it was a tad slow so I did find myself picking it and and putting it down, especially the first half. It does pick up in the second half of the book. When Charlie, who now goes by Sarah goes back to the small seaside town where her world fell apart decades ago to write a book, she finds her past and present intertwining all over again. Told between her perspective when she was a child, now and another person's perspective, we see how the past and present merge into one shocking event. An interesting read about how what you have done as a child can shape your entire existence and adult life.

This suspenseful novel brings in elements of superstition and the supernatural as Charlie, with her niece, Katie in tow, conducts research for her book on folklore in Hithechurch, England. Ostensibly a holiday, the gloomy seaside town and creepy caves do little to inspire relaxation. Add in the fact that teenage girls are disappearing from the town (again), and Charlie is left wondering if the felt and straw creation she constructed so many years ago has somehow taken on a malicious life of its own. The perfect blend of superstition and suspense, this is a highly enjoyable novel

Absolutely amazing! I loved every minute. I will be recommending to anyone who loves a good suspense novel.

Thank you for sending me an arc of this in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a bit slow for a thriller, and I felt like I would never get to the ending due to how many times the perspectives changed and you slowly got bits and pieces of the story as you went along. Overall just wasn’t for me.

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book. It’s great for any mystery and thriller fans. The characters are charming, and the plot is, can’t miss!