This is the perfect read for October - it's got a great plot, witches, murder, and plenty of shocking twists. I just love the Lockhart series in general and I enjoy reading Alice Blanchard. The character of Natalie Lockhart really has remained a deep, well written character.

Rating: 4; dark, twisted, exciting: The Shadow Girls is the fourth book about detective Natalie Lockhart that has me wanting to read the first three.

I’ve read a lot of mystery novels out of order, but this was not the series to do that with. I’ll preface this review by saying I have not read the first three Natalie Lockhart novels, but I could follow along with context clues. It was a bit hard at times, so I highly recommend you start with Trace of Evil. Don’t make the same mistakes I made.

Natalie Lockhart has seen some things. In The Shadow Girls, Natalie Lockhart has solved a few high profile cases in her small town of Burning Lake and is contemplating quitting until she is presented with a murder at a costume shop in March. Slowly, she starts to unravel a bigger plot in her witchy hometown.

Natalie was incredibly fun to follow around because she reacted to events with poise and logic (which was so refreshing). She had ups and downs, and they all felt real and sensible. You do follow her through more than just solving a single case (she has some extreme baggage and trauma, plus some romance troubles), so if be prepared for some more personal drama, too.

Because this is the fourth book in a series, seemingly unrelated strings get tied together in incredibly interesting ways. Small details came back into play after you were sure it wasn’t important; the reader is rewarded for paying close attention. I really wish I had been reading the series from the start, because it was mind-blowing.

If you’ve been looking for a female detective series, this is a great one. It was a bit of a slow start for me simply because I had no clue what happened in the past books, but once I got the hang of things I was hooked. It felt incredibly cinematic at times, and I’d love to see these books as a TV series.

The Shadow Girls explores dark and heavy topics, so if you have any concerns about content and triggers, please reach out.

Thank you to the St. Martin's Publishing Group Influencer Program for for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I picked up this book not realizing that it was a third installment of a series. Although I had not read the previous stories I was able to piece together the characters and plots and was happy to plug along. Lots of action kept me interested but I wish I had started at the beginning. All in all a good read.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

The Shadow Girls is 4th in the Natalie Lockhart series

With this series, I recommend starting at the beginning. I'm all for a great mystery but struggled a few times to stay connected with the story. It's got a great mix of action, mystery, romance but just wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC copy.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Natalie Lockhart works a detective in the small town of Burning Lake, New York which is famous for it's incomparably enticing and spectacular Halloween celebrations in the U.S. and people come from all over to see and take part in all the festivities that Burning Lake has to offer with all of the uniquely charming and whimsical shops that are run and owned by real modern day witches. The town still has many covens of witches who practice and deal in white magic magic with their healing herbs and potions etc. Natalie has gained unwanted notoriety with the last two cases she solved that has left her with a lot of emotional and psychological baggage which has left her seriously thinking of leaving the police department.

Before Natalie has a chance to catch her breath another savage and gruesome murder takes place inside the wonderful Halloween store which is opened year round carrying the best costumes anyone could imagine wearing to any type of costumed occasion. Still reeling from the critical shooting of her longtime best friend Luke Pittman from her unsolved previous case Natalie knows she's not going anywhere which doesn't sit well with her current boyfriend who wants Natalie to settle down with him and leave her stressful work life behind.

While investigating this current murder Nat discovers a mysterious house of hidden horrors that may be tied to many unsolved cases going back a few decades and wonders if her friend (Bella) who disappeared when they were teenagers might also be part of this case. Natalie has never recovered from Bella disappearing without a trace on their high school graduation night so she is always trying to find her even though it was listed as an official closed case and Bella being confirmed (with evidence) as a runaway. As the cases get more complex with so many suspects involved Nat finds herself being watched or maybe stalked and realizes her life is now in the crosshairs of one or more dangerous unknown persons who want to see her as their next victim.


This was another entertaining and atmospheric book in the Natalie Lockhart series. Natalie is a wonderful character with a life full of unwanted drama which follows.her everywhere. I enjoy watching her growth as a woman and a detective. The town of Burning Lake is so enjoyable with all of it's history and atmospheric back stories of modern day witches and and the lovely whimsical shops that tourists love to come and visit especially during the Autumn season. While this story takes place in March and early April, the author "Alice Blanchard" never fails to bring a creepy atmosphere to her books which is delightfully and wickedly mysterious. I enjoyed this book very much especially since it wrapped up many missing pieces from some previous cases.

This book can be read as a stand-alone as the author does a great job of bring the reader up-to-date on some real puzzlers although I would recommend reading book #3 "The Witching Tree" first if possible especially, since it was a fantastic and eerily, scary story and is very intertwined with this book and I believe it made this book more enjoyable for myself. I can't wait to read more books with Natalie Lockhart and the town of Burning Lake and I certainly hope (cross my fingers) there will be more written in the future!

I want to thank the publisher "St. Martin's Press/ Minotaur Books" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this complimentary digital copy and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this entertaining book a rating of 4 PUZZLING AND DEADLY 🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

thank you to netgalley, the author and the publisher for this advanced copy

a fantastic thriller that kept me guessing

The Shadow Girls is the fourth title in the Natalie Lockhart series, but it works fantastic as a standalone too. I often find that when reading a book that's part of a series out of order, there will be mention of people and events, but no explanations. I thought that Blanchard did a fantastic job of providing explanations for any characters, events, or scenarios that happened in previous books, which made it easy to follow along.

As a whole, this book was very fast-paced and I found the storyline to be really unique. I loved the way all of the characters intertwined and had a hard time putting this book down. I'm definitely looking forward to checking out the previous three titles.

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

This was probably my least favorite of the series. Why do my favorite characters have to be killed off?! I still don't understand that part. None the less I will still read what Alice Blanchard writes.

Another great read by Alice Blanchard!

I missed the first two books in the series but am so glad I found book 3 and have now read book 4.

I love the main character but not some of her choices. The stores are interesting and interconnected. It’s not necessary to have read them all but it does bring some deeper understanding of what’s occurring in the story.

This one may have some trigger warnings for some folks so please check before hand if needed.

Looking forward to the next installment.

While The Shadow Girls is a series, this was my first from Alice Blanchard and I could easily follow along with the plot and cast of characters. I recommend this detective mystery novel to anyone who enjoys watching Big Sky and trying to solve mysteries while reading!

I wish I had known this was the 4th in a series. I felt lost, not having much background on the characters or their relationships before jumping into the middle of the mysteries. I'd really recommend that readers begin with the first in the series as these are not stand alone novels.

This novel is set in a small upstate New York town which seems to have all kinds of witchy and occult events going on. I didn't have a clear understanding of how all this tied in until the end because I hadn't read the first three books. Overall, the mystery was ok, there was just enough gruesome violence to make me not want to pick up the first three in the series because that's just not my thing, but I am quite sure that those who read police procedurals regularly won't be bothered by it.

Long story short - if you are a fan of police procedurals and have read the first three in the series, I think you'll love it. The writing is atmospheric, with a feeling of menace emanating thoughout. Lots of threads were tied up at the end, which should satisfy readers of the previous novels.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Shadow Girls is the 4th book in The Natalie Lockhart series by Alice Blanchard and it was a dark and creepy storyline. Natalie has been involved in quite a few major crimes that she has helped solve and this one was full of lots of twists and turns. I would recommend this book to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

This was not what I expected. Every single time I see this cover, I am so pulled in but it didn't have much mystery to it, I was lost in the storyline and characters and found out that it's a series and I had no idea what was going on. If you read it in order maybe you can be pulled in but it was not for me.

I have no issue reading companion mystery series out of order so I didn't hesitate to pick up this one. But apparently this is not a companion, but a proper interconnected series. I was intrigued how this one opened and would love to experience this series in the proper order.

The Shadow Girls picks up right where the last Natalie Lockhart mystery left off--with Natalie at the bedside of comatose Luke Pittman, her boss, childhood friend, and not-so-secret crush. But she's called away to investigate yet another murder, that of the creepy Randolph Holmes who worked at a local costume shop. Murders are sadly commonplace in Burning Lake, but when Natalie searches Randolph's home, she makes a shocking discovery.

It doesn't take long for her to connect Randolph with other murders in Burning Lake, but her burning question is whether he was involved in the disappearance of her childhood best friend the night of their high school graduation? While the police long ago wrote off the disappearance as a runaway, Natalie has always had her doubts.

Meanwhile, as Luke recovers, Natalie is once again evaluating her relationship with the fabulously rich, but ridiculously controlling Hunter. He insists he's tracking her for her own protection, but Natalie finds his behavior intrusive and occasionally disturbing. And his insistence that she quit her job and move away with him doesn't make her love him more.

I read a lot of books, so series that are continuations can be problematic for me. I managed to pick up the thread on this latest installment, while author Alice Blanchard sewed together quite a few hanging threads, making me wonder if this series is ending. The upstate New York setting appeals to my northeastern heritage, and the car search through the snowy mountains had my heart pounding. #TheShadowGirls #NetGalley

More romance than mystery. Having not read the previous books in the series, I was lost throughout most of the story. Definitely not a stand-alone book. No real likable characters for me and not my preferred writing style. The book starts off well, but just gets too muddy with romance versus mystery. Maybe starting at the beginning of the series would have helped.

This is the fourth book in the series. I need to go back and read the first three in order to totally understand some of the backstory. I did enjoy the police procedural and the historic town of Burning Lake. This is a mystery thriller, with a lot of things going on. A police lieutenant is attacked and left in a coma. Then a murder and then another dead body is found. There are many twists as the pages are turned. I enjoyed this book, but wish I had read the series in order.

I received an eARC from the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A Natalie Lockheart is called upon to solve an unsolved murder of a witch in Burning Lake. Luke Pittman is still in the hospital in a coma and the long-lost disappearance of Natalie’s old best friend. Finding secrets Natalie is determined to finally get answers. She wants to tie up loose ends before everything comes crashing down. Will she succeed. A new horror has been found. The dark path that Natalie causes her to deal with many things that have been in the back of her mind. What are they? Natalie has to find the truth which leads to a struggle between good and evil.

It is a fast paced novel. The plot with Natalie and the investigation of the witch’s death was done expertly. There wasn’t many twists in this plot. Natalie was also investigating a murder at the Halloween store. There wasn’t many twists and turns in this investigation. The part of the story that was about Natalie, her missing best friend and the investigation with personal issues was too sad. It’s a well written novel that I liked in spite of the fact that I have not read the three previous novels that are Natalie Lockheart’s series. I will be going back to read the first three volumes as I enjoyed this volume.

The Shadow Girls is the 4th installment in the Natalie Lockhart series. I didn’t realize it was a series and read it standalone, I think it would have been helpful to read the first three books for background history. That being said, it worked as a standalone as some of the blanks were filled in. I’m planning to go back to book one and read the entire series, I was blown away.



I loved this book, Natalie Lockhart is a badass, intelligent and strong female protagonist. From the first chapter I was hooked and flew through this story, thankfully it was fast paced because I couldn’t get enough. It’s a pretty damn good police procedural and thriller.



Thank you to netgalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: Netgalley gifted me this and I'm leaving my review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.
Not a huge fan of cops, sue me. This book, in my opinion is copaganda. If that's your thing, and you like detective novels, you may like this. I think I requested it bc of the title.
It's a very slow paced book. There are a lot of twists (almost too many, imo). You go in thinking it's one person who's behind it, just for there to be a big reveal and it's someone else. Rinse, repeat. Then you find out it's a group. Then it changes again.
Premise is cool, but this wasn't for me.