This book is very intriguing and suspenseful for the first three-quarters or so, then completely falls apart at the end. The ending is so nonsensical and annoying that I would never recommend this book to customers, despite the very good earlier sections. It doesn't resolve the main story at all, swerves off onto a weird tangent to the main plot, and concludes with one of the dumbest plot twists I've ever encountered.

Atmospheric and twisty. This one was filled with witch hunters and folk lore, I am here for it!
Mina was a good narrator for our story, overall reliable but jaded to the local stories and superstitions. It reminds me a little of "Skeleton Key" as the proof mounts against a mundane explanation.
Mina has a few skeletons in her own closet that haunt her, this only adds another layer to the story.

Very enjoyable through audio. I would certainly recommend!

Free copy provided for review via NetGally and did not affect my overall enjoyment of this novel.

Happy reading!

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martins Press for an ARc in exchange for an honest review

This book was just… boring. I tried, I really did, but I was constantly confused about what was happening. The plot felt disjointed and I couldn’t follow along with the characters' motivations or the supposed mystery. Gave up about a third of the way through. One star

The first 75 % of this cook was captivating & had me well entertained. However, the last 25% left me with so many questions. I'm not sure how an author could write a book and end it like this. This had many disturbing aspects. There were also some horror aspects to it. I was actually scared when i goto the part with the entity crawling out of the chimney. I loved the witchy aspects of this story & i would say this would be appealing to some readers. I will rate this one the middle of the road.

Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce; unfortunately, not for me. I was expecting a different vibe from the blurb, and what I found didn't exactly vibe with me.

ֆօʍɛȶɦɨռɢ ɨռ ȶɦɛ աǟʟʟֆ
᥇ꪗ: Daisy Pearce

“Unbearably tense, utterly propulsive, and studded with folklore and horror, Something in the Walls is perfect for anyone who loves Midsommar and The Haunting of Hill House.”

Qυσƚҽ: "I know you had good intentions in coming here.
Maybe you thought it would almost be fun—a little trip away, some spooky goings-on—'cos everyone loves a ghost story, don't they? Everyone loves to look into the darkness."

Fαʋσɾιƚҽ Cԋαɾαƈƚҽɾ: Alice. I don’t want to get too into it because I never want to spoil the story, but I just think she deserved way better and she’s obviously a tough girl!

Wԋαƚ I Lιƙҽԃ: This book definitely gave me the creeps! It’s hard to find a book that has me running from the darkness in my own house, and I was definitely sprinting up the stairs without looking back! The cult feeling you get while reading this is so disturbing. The author did an amazing job with creating such an intense atmosphere. I also lovedddd the ending!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books for this gifted copy.

This book starts off intense and it does not slow down. I was hooked from the very beginning.

Navigating the small town and creepy superstitions to help a young girl is Mina - our fresh-out-of-school child psychologist with some childhood trauma of her own and an upcoming wedding that has red flags all over it. She teams up with Sam (hello more characters with trauma), to evaluate Alice - is she actually being haunted by a witch or is this just a psychotic break?

There are scenes in this book that are so well written that I had to stop reading and go turn on the lights. It was downright terrifying. And you can bet I am never going to look up a chimney.

Some of the events in the book seem predictable, but the way they unfold kept me engaged and desperate to know what would happen next. All in all this was a wild ride and I LOVED it!

This was a really interesting book. Part horror and part thriller, I was skeptical but scared with the number of spooky things happening. I wanted to send in the Evil trio to solve this puzzle, but Mina did good on her own.

Mina is a newly minted child psychologist who is still struggling with her brother’s death from years ago. She thinks he might be trying to contact her, but doesn’t truly believe in that. She’s summoned to a village to help a young girl, and is trying to find a non supernatural explanation for what’s been happening to her. There’s mysterious deaths, a ghost story about a witch, and plenty of creepy characters to propel this story forward.

I found the conclusion to be satisfying, and the story kept my interest throughout. At times it did feel like there was a bit too much going on. I could’ve done without Mina’s fiancé and the issues there. But overall a good horror thriller!

Creepy and scary and spooky vibes, would be great around Halloween time. Enjoyed the book! The intro hooked me. Would recommend!!

I had high hopes for this book but found it lacking a conclusion and thought some of the side characters were unnecessary and distracting. I am still not clear on what was happening to Alice or why. Interesting premise but missing some key elements. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for the opportunity to review this book.

Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce is a very well-written thriller that presents both a mystery and a glimpse at how communities can create their own boogeymen.

The first part of the book was spellbinding, great descriptions that present an ominous environment. It did slow a bit for a while but I think much of that was to present the various possibilities and threads, but even then the writing was still engaging. Then it picked back up and rocketed to the end.

The ending seems to be where I am seeing some dissatisfaction in reviews I've read. I am one of those readers who don't mind every thread not being tied up as long as the main mystery or conflict is resolved. So I am less bothered by some things being left to my imagination to "write" in my own mind. I also think about them as potential starting points for sequels from the author, which again sets my mind to thinking about possible outcomes. That said, there are some points that aren't fully terminated and if you prefer everything tied up at the end, you might be less than fully satisfied. But I would still recommend the book because the writing and the story is good enough that you will likely still enjoy it.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

Mina is a newly graduated child phycologist and somewhat adrift in life, even though she is engaged to the stuffy Oscar. She meets Sam at a grief session (she's still mourning the death of her brother five years later), and Sam suggests Mina might take a job counseling Alice, who lives in a small town and is displaying freakish behavior and people are saying witchcraft is involved.

I had seen the old 1970s movie The Wicker Man not too long ago, and the mood and atmosphere of this book very much reminded me of that movie. Basically, a small town where everyone is influenced into thinking there is witchcraft about.

Mina's presence does not help Alice, in fact, things accelerate. It becomes evident everything is heading toward a crash.

I very much enjoyed the mood and atmosphere that Daisy Pearce creates. It is spooky and creepy. The story frustrated me at times. I felt a little confused with some of the actions. Nevertheless, it kept me involved and reading. I think this book would be a good discussion group book for topics such as group hysteria mindset and other mysteries.

I was left with a couple of questions at the end, mainly between Mina and her brother.

This was probably a 3.7 read for me. Rounding up.

Thank you to NetGalley, Daisy Pearce, and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had an interesting enough premise. I was willing to overlook some things that didn’t make sense, (like why did the newspaper reporter and child psychologist stay with the poor family in their home?), but the latter part of the book was just downhill. It was entertaining in the first half and I don’t regret reading it, but would not recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

A vicious heatwave has struck late 1980s England, but newly graduated child psychologist Mina Ellis is never far away from the icy cold that changed her life forever when she was just a young girl. The death of her beloved brother Eddie marked her deeply, and fractured her family for good.

Perhaps it’s no surprise then that she wound up engaged to a pompous older man named Oscar. While he encourages her to attend meetings of a bereavement group, he’s less than thrilled when she makes the acquaintance of journalist Sam Hunter. Sam has also lost someone. The death of his young daughter Maggie subsequently ended his marriage. He and Mina bond over their losses, so when a unique opportunity arises, it seems almost natural for Sam to offer it to Mina first. Oscar is downright discouraging, but almost to her own surprise, Mina takes Sam up on it anyway.

In the Cornish town of Banathel, a teenaged girl named Alice Webber has started seeing visions of a witch. She’s also been displaying signs of possession and mediumship, which very much interests Sam’s bosses at The Western Herald newspaper. Sam invites Mina down to stay with him at the Webbers and to give her psychological evaluation of the situation.

Upon arrival, Mina is taken aback by the weirdly voyeuristic reaction that the rest of the town has to Alice's plight. Desperate strangers loiter outside the Webbers’ home, several of whom force Mina to defend her own presence there, as she claims:

QUOTE
“I’m here to assess Alice.”

“She’s here for the same reasons we are,” the woman says. The dog is panting, unfurling a long, pink tongue. She jerks the lead. “To see if all that they’re saying is true.”

I can’t meet her eye because she’s right, isn’t she? That is why I’m here, with my photograph [of Eddie] and my expectations and fragile, beautiful hope. I told Oscar it was research and told Sam it was a learning experience, something to shore up my qualification–but underneath it all I’m just like these people, needing answers. I suddenly feel exactly as Oscar told me I would. Unprepared and overwhelmed.
END QUOTE

Despite all her entirely reasonable arguments for being there, Mina is actually desperate to contact Eddie once more. Even though the logical part of her psyche believes that there must be a rational explanation for all the surprising symptoms Alice is displaying, she very much wants to be reassured as well that there is an afterlife where her brother is at peace. She’s not the only one: Sam too has his less than professional reasons for wanting to either debunk or be persuaded by Alice’s claims.

But Banathel is a town with a frightening history of witchcraft. The more that Mina and Sam investigate, the darker the secrets they uncover. Some things they try to chalk off as coincidence, but how to explain the appearance of the shoe that looks just like Maggie’s, nestled in the ashes of a fireplace in a supposedly haunted house?

QUOTE
Sam’s brow knits together, his face drained of colour, and I don’t know how I know it but I do, it’s a trap set just for him. It’s bait. It’s a fucking lure.

A scraping comes from above us in the chimney and I have a vision of the witch folded up in there, eyes wide and luminous in the dark, arms knotted over her head, legs crooked and bent, knees jutting somewhere up near her ears forming impossible angles. Her broken bones grind as she moves, desirous to be free. Her tongue will be long and black and spongy like a cancerous lung, and in her hand a piece of fishing wire, the end of which is tied to that single child’s shoe, half-buried in the soot. She is drooling with excitement.
END QUOTE

Whether caused by imagination or otherwise, the fear of the townsfolk is infectious, even to relatively skeptical outsiders like Mina and Sam. The heat, or perhaps the weight of history, is slowly driving the inhabitants of Banathel to great and terrible lengths to rid themselves of the purported witch plaguing their town. Will Mina be able to protect Alice as people start dying? And is the killer really a supernatural force, or a much more mortal enemy?

Daisy Pearce has written an affecting horror novel whose roots are lodged firmly in the tragic history of witch hunts and the sheer depredation behind them. Driven by the need for absolution, Mina and Sam will eventually find themselves at odds over everything but Alice’s protection. To them, her innocence is undeniable, even as they find themselves engaging in desperate measures to make sure she comes out of this ordeal alive. Mina’s growth, in particular, makes for compelling reading in a book that masterfully combines two different eras to showcase how some things can take centuries to change.

Very creepy. This went way darker than I was expecting. This story explores how the past and the present can collide and sometimes old traditions never really die.

The premise of this book is undeniably compelling, and it delivers on many fronts. The horror elements, disturbing details, eerie mystery, and the quality of the writing were all executed brilliantly. I was completely hooked from start to finish, and the narration further enhanced the experience.

However, the ending ultimately fell short of the buildup. It felt underwhelming, and this disappointment somewhat overshadowed an otherwise captivating story. I was hoping for a deeper explanation or at least a theory regarding what was truly happening with Alice, but the narrative left much to be desired—no clarity, no resolution, just an abundance of unanswered questions. While I thoroughly enjoyed the journey and was engrossed for most of the book, the lack of a satisfying conclusion left me feeling unsatisfied. It’s a shame, as this book had the potential to be extraordinary.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a readers copy of this title. My reviews never contain spoilers and are freely given.

Wow! I loved this book. Mina, a newly minted child psychologist is contacted by a journalist to accompany him to investigate a haunting. A teen girl, who everyone believes to be possessed by a witch, is the subject that Mina is to evaluate as her first real case. The investigation leads Mina and Sam to question what is real and what is a manifestation of a young girl’s imagination.
Highly recommend.

First time reading this author and there is a lot to enjoy about this spooky book perfect for around Halloween and/or turn of seasons. Solid writing although there are many unanswered plot lines which might leave the reader frustrated - could this be for additional books to come? Mina is a child psychologist who is hoping to start working in her new career while also making upcoming wedding plans with her fiancee Oscar who works as science researcher. Mina has always struggled with her brother's death from years ago so she attends a bereavement group where she meets Sam who also continues to grieve his little sister who disappeared long ago.. Sam is a journalist and works where the stories take him. The two bond as friends over their painful grief and share some of their personal history as well. One day out of the blue Sam calls Mina to offer her a job to consult with a thirteen year old girl named Alice who lives in a small village hours away. Alice's family does not have any extra money to see a seasoned psychologist to find help but they are at the end of their rope trying to get her help. Alice has been seeing things and also claiming a witch lives in their chimney who tells her to do bad things. Her friends and others have become afraid of her so she had to leave school because her behavior had completely gotten out of hand. Overall, this book had so much potential to be amazing, and while I enjoyed the ride, the lack of resolution made it feel incomplete. Thanks to NetGalley, Daisy Pearce, and St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books

The description of this book really drew me in. But unfortunately, I really struggled to connect with Mina, the main character and POV of this book. I felt like I knew nothing about her personality, I only knew what was happening to her situationally. For a child psychologist, I expected more discussion and theories from Mina about what was actually happening with Alice. We never really got any sort of answer or resolution surrounding Alice, and she was the entire premise of the book. I would've liked to see Mina put her recent education into more action in her conversations and evaluations of Alice.

The entire side story of Mina's cheating fiance Oscar felt unecessary and dragged on so long that I just didn't care anymore. Both characters were done with the relationship, and so was I.

The buildup to the climax felt quite off the rails and left me disappointed and underwhelmed. I almost DNF'd at 80%.

While this originally held promise, I found it ultimately unengaging and lacking in substance.

2 out of 5 stars / 5 out of 10

"… just after Christmas, Alice Webber started to get sick. She complained of pains in her sides like needles being pressed there. When they lifted her shirt, there was a pinprick rash and blood welling up as if the skin had been broken. A few days later she started vomiting. By this point Alice was too weak to get out of bed so her mother put a bowl beside it. When she came to empty it, she found watery bile and clots of black hair, like you’d pull out of a plughole. Another time Alice coughed up a handful of sewing pins bent into strange shapes. She developed a fever which made her start seeing things. She got delusional.”
“In what way?”
“Alice told her parents that a witch was spying on her through the chimney breast. She said the witch had a black tongue and her face was ‘all on upside down.’"

"'She was saying such odd things. At school, then here at home. Sometimes it was like she was listening to music you couldn’t hear, you know? I’d catch her just staring at the fireplace and her lips were moving but no sound was coming out. When I asked her what she was doing, she said'—here Lisa sighs, fretful and ill at ease. It’s clear she isn’t comfortable talking about this—'she said that the dead wanted her to open her throat.'"

When Sam Hunter and Mina Ellis pull up at 13 Beacon Terrace in Banathel, an English backwater, there is a crowd gathered. Mostly people wanting something from the girl inside. They seem to think she can communicate with the dead, and there are people with whom they would love to reconnect.

Sam is a reporter who specializes in debunking superstitious claptrap and fraud. Mina is a recent graduate in child psychology. Sam had asked her along to offer an evaluation. Well, there is certainly something off happening at the Webber household

Alice Webber has tales to tell. (She’s the girl you see giggling with her friends at the back of the bus or fooling around in the arcades. Normal. Unexceptional.) She believes there is a witch living in the walls of her bedroom. She can tell because she sees the witch’s eyes looking at her through gaps in the brick chimney. It began when a group of (not really) friends play a mean trick on her at a supposedly haunted house. Now she hears and speaks in voices.

"For a moment I think she is speaking—I can see her shoulders twitch, her mouth slowly moving—but the voice I hear is slurring and thick, heavy. Like a throat full of molasses. It is a language I don’t recognise, Germanic maybe. The words spread like a ripple, like oil on water, dark and tainted. It fills me with something icy and unknowing and I taste the bitterness of bile in the back of my throat."

Both Sam and Mina (“It’s my dad. He took my mother to Whitby Abbey while she was pregnant with me. My poor brother narrowly escaped being called Van Helsing.”) have arrived with significant emotional baggage. Sam lost his seven-year-old daughter, Maggie. Mina lost her brother, Eddie, when they were kids. Both Mina and Sam hold out hope that they can somehow reconnect with their lost ones, maybe reduce the guilt they both feel. Is there any chance Alice can actually help them? Alice may look like an average teen with professional aspirations that end at the beauty salon, but what if there is something operating through her?

The novel has a feel of both contemporary spook story and a folk horror tale, rich with back-country superstition, practices, and beliefs. Banathel has a long history of belief in witches, and a rich supply of hagstones everywhere you look. It is reminiscent of works like Tom Tryon’s novel Harvest Home and the 1973 horror classic, The Wicker Man, reliant on deep rural isolation.

The tension ramps up with every strange new event, encouraged by the persistence of contemporary doubt, ancient superstition, the growing crowd and its increasingly threatening regard for the girl. Do they want to help her or use her, or do they want something else? In addition, while there is a mystery in every horror tale, there is also a tension between where magical manifestations leave off and human agency steps in. Ditto here.

While it certainly seemed fun for Mina to have such a nominal root in classic horror, (a pearl among women) it did not seem to me that enough was done with her nifty name. And for a psychologist to be entangled with someone so clearly wrong for her was disappointing. (Although I suppose many of us have had that experience.) As for seeing someone looking through gaps in bricks, did no one consider maybe a bit of plaster, spackle, or poster of a favorite musician to cover the spaces? Or maybe hiring a handyman named Bert to have a go at clearing it out?

On the other hand, the lovely details of dark manifestation that Pearce weaves into her tale, the sights, sounds, and textures, add that frisson that every good horror novel needs. The overarching heat that bears down on all provides another layer of dread. It might even enhance the feel of this book for readers to take it on in July.

I have a particularly high bar for fright. It is a rare horror novel that keeps me up at night. There are real-world stresses and manifestations of evil that offer that service quite happily. Something in the Walls came close, but caused no lost zzzzzzzs here. Not to say it will not for you, who have a more usual receptivity to such things. It did, however, offer an appealing lead, a tantalizing mystery, a colorful portrait of a tucked-away place, and kept up a brisk tempo.

Most witch hunts are a bad idea, but it might be a better one to track down Something in the Walls. There may be a thrill or two just lying in wait for you.

"If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." – Friedrich Nietzsche

Review posted – 4/4/25

Publication date – 2/25/25

I received an ARE of Something in the Walls from Minotaur in return for a fair review, and my agreeing to get the hell out of their chimney. Thanks, folks, and thanks to NetGalley for facilitating.