🐝🐝🐝.5 / 5

SOMETHING IN THE WALLS by Daisy Pearce

happy pub day! and thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for early access to the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

quick thoughts:
⭐️ 3.5/5
🧙🏻‍♀️ child psychologist takes on her first case: a teen girl claiming to be possessed by a witch
😱 psychological horror, paranormal mystery
✍🏼 single POV, shortish chapters
🔮 witches, history, folklore, supernatural
🤷🏻‍♀️ might not be for everyone, but i think horror lovers will enjoy

i requested this one on NetGalley because the cover is so creepy, and the synopsis sold me. though the story changed directions and ended up not being what i expected, i still enjoyed it!

🎶 “now i’m no longer alone”

this story was so dark and had fantastic horror elements. i was pretty creeped out throughout, which is a testament to the author’s exceptional writing. i had no idea where this one was going, and then when i thought i did, the story did a complete 180. trying to be brief about what i didn’t like so i don’t spoil anything, but i wish more of what was in the first half of the book was in the second half. however, i still think this one was an entertaining horror read!

This book was not for me. I did not care about it, and it did not keep me engaged. The description was amazing but the execution, not my favorite.

The first half of this book is mysterious and tense. The second half of the book felt lackluster to me. It was my first time reading this author. I do feel they are talented and I would try another book by them.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Daisy Pearce for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Something in the Walls coming out February 25, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I can’t remember if this is a debut author, but it’s the first book I’ve read by her. I really love creepy horror books. I also love witch books. I thought this would be perfect for me. I thought the first half of the book was really mysterious. I wasn’t as into the second half of the book. This book wasn’t quite for me. I would check out other books by this author.

This book sounded spooky and eerie and I was 100% here for it, but the payoff wasn’t as good as I was hoping it’d be.

I liked the 1989 small town in England setting, and thought it was perfect for a witchy, folk horror plot. The start of the book felt a bit disjointed, like maybe too many things were happening without enough background info, but once we got to the small town, things felt more smooth.

I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likable, but I did find the dynamics between the “outsiders” (Mina and Sam) and the townspeople interesting. I also liked seeing Mina’s interactions with certain people as the story progressed, and the uncertainty of who could be trusted, including Mina.

There were moments where things felt creepy and unsettling, but nothing really scary. I did find myself wanting a little more from the witchy plot, as there wasn’t as much there as I was expecting given the synopsis, or at least not in the way I was anticipating; I think we could’ve gotten deeper into the local lore of witches. The ending seemed a little abrupt, and didn’t wrap up as nicely as I usually like (but for people who like ambiguous endings, you’ll like this one).

This was a book that held my attention but might not be that memorable for me.

I couldn’t put this book down, the author did a great job at building suspense and creating a rich, disturbing atmosphere, and creating interesting characters. I was hooked from the very beginning and basically feverishly read it all in one sitting because I HAD to know what happened next!

The reason for the rating is the ending and a few discrepancies along the way. I was confused and I felt certain things weren’t explained and unfortunately in this kind of book I think you need a really strong ending for a higher rating. But I did overall like this thriller/horror and would recommend it to others who like the genre!

I binged this book in a single evening. Something about Mina's character, flaws and all, drew me in. She lost her brother young, and it's impacted her life and career decisions. When she meets a newspaper reporter named Sam at a grief support meeting, she finds herself pulled into the case of Alice Webber. Alice is exhibiting bizarre behavior and claims to be haunted by a witch living in the chimney. Mina does everything she can to try and help and when she gets to the shocking truth, the story takes a crazy turn. The narration of the audiobook by Ana Clements was very well done. I highly recommend this book for fans of lore, paranormal, and spooky thrillers.

This definitely took me a while to get through only because of my other reads but was a good read.
It follows a child psychologist, Mina, and her friend Sam who is a reporter, that wants to study this young girl, Alice, because of stuff that has been happening to her. Upon her study, there are many things that are uncovered. There were plenty of creepy moments and some very interesting ones.
This was my first psychological horror and my first time reading anything by this author and hope to read more.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this experience

Mina just received her degree in child psychology. Mina attends a grieving group to help her process the loss of her brother. While she was at one of the meetings, she meets a journalist named Sam that has lost his daughter. They get to talking and he tells her about a girl he is doing a story on in a village of Banathel named Alice and how they think she's been taking over by a witch. The whole while she's there, shes trying to get answers but she feels shes going around in circles. Mina experiences odd things happening around her that she herself couldn't wrap her mind around.

Is Alice really possessed by a witch? Or is the town just as crazy as it seems? You'll have to read this book if you want to know!

I myself enjoyed the book. It was very slow in my opinion. I felt myself put it down and pick it up a couple days later because it didn't latch on like I wanted it to. The last 30% did work it's magic on me though. I didn't like the ending much. I felt it wasn't really justified. The book was dark, mysterious, psychologically disturbing and I felt myself make the 'ick' face a couple of times. Also giving me cult vibes.

100% would recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to review this spectacular book!

There’s something about folkloric horror and thrillers that always captures my immediate interest. Such was the case when I first heart about Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce. Set in a small English town in 1989, it follows a recently graduated child psychologist, Mina, and her first patient, a teen girl named Alice who claims to be haunted by a witch. Is this girl right about her fears, or is something going wrong with her mentally? And what is up with the strange beliefs held by the people in this town?

Why I Chose This Book:
I love psychological horror and thrillers, and Something in the Walls promised exactly that. There are also themes of mental health, folklore, and history, all melding together to make it unclear what is going on with Alice. Schizophrenia or witchcraft? Crowd delusions or something more calculated and sinister?

What I Liked:
- Psychology and discussions of mental afflictions. Mina might have little work experience, but she knows a lot about different disorders, their symptoms, and their causes. It was interesting to learn here.
- Superstitions, witchcraft, and old-fashioned beliefs
- Heat wave adding to the tensions
- People in this town are… kind of weird, right?
- Past traumas and regrets
- Hauntings?
- Real-world evils
- Should Mina really be marrying Oscar?
- Morally gray?

Final Thoughts
Something in the Walls is a bewitching novel that makes the reader question everything. Is it supernatural or just real life, human issues? Witches or trickery? I enjoyed puzzling through the events that arose and the surprising turns this novel took. It didn’t end where I expected it to, but sometimes that’s exactly what I need from a book. I’m excited to read more from Daisy Pearce.

Something is wrong with teenage Alice, something that has drawn the attention not only of the locals in her small village but also of journalist Sam Hunter. When Sam meets our main character, Mina, at a grief support group, he finds out that she recently graduated with a degree in child psychology, and thinks this could be a good opportunity for the both of them: practical experience for Mina to add to her resume, and an intriguing story for his newspaper. But when they meet Alice, the two aren't prepared for what's haunting her.

I was hooked from the beginning of this story and found Mina a sympathetic if somewhat passive protagonist. There is also some genuinely creepy imagery in the book and a great sense of dread throughout, but the last 10% of the book lost me. The big twists (if they were in fact meant to be twists?) were pretty obviously telegraphed earlier in the story and that made all the reveals seem to drag a bit. Still, I liked it well enough and wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading it or anything. 3 hagstones out of 5.

Thank you Netgalley & Minotaur Books for an eARC ❤️❤️

The book is about young child psychologist, Mina, who's trying to make a name for herself in a super competitive field. But things take a dark turn when she meets journalist, Sam, who's investigating bizarre case of a 13-year-old girl named Alice who claims she's being haunted by a witch.🤯
At first, I was like, "Okay, this is gonna be some creepy, supernatural stuff." But as I kept reading, I realized it was so much more than that. The village of Banathel, where Alice lives, is like whole different world, steeped in superstition and witchcraft. And the people there... they're not what they seem.
Mina's all about finding logical explanations for things, but the more she digs into Alice's case, the more she realizes that nothing makes sense. And that's when things start to get really freaky.
I loved how Daisy Pearce wove together all different threads - psychology, folklore, mystery... it was like perfect storm of creepiness. And Mina's character... she's so relatable, you know? She's got her own baggage, her own demons to deal with, and that just makes her more human.
Anyway, if you're in the mood for something that'll freak you out, keep you up at night, and make you question everything... then this book is for you.👍🏽

At first this book took a bit to grow on me; it felt quite confusing because a lot of character names were thrown around but after the first few chapters it finally smoothed out, especially once Mina hits the road with Oscar to see about the strange occurrences happening in a small village in far western England where a young girl is said to be haunted by a witch. As this story unfolds you learn more and more about the little village, its people, and what is truly haunting them.

Overall I enjoyed this story a lot. I would say it gets better as you get closer to the ending. In the beginning the writing feels a bit clunky but as the story grows and the plot has more to go on, the writing gets so much better! I loved the overall premise and this idea of the witch haunting a local girl while also tying in other stories at the same time. Mina is a likable character, albeit sometimes a bit annoying, but her tenacity is well demonstrated and received in this book. I almost always enjoy a strong female lead and by the end of this one Mina is just that and more. I LOVED the ending of this book and all the conclusions you, the reader, get to draw as it is ending. I do wish that maybe the storyline had a bit more supernatural elements to it but we all know that humans are usually the scariest beings in a room.

Something in the walls
This was a suspenseful, witchy, dark edge of your seat read! The tension built as the story went on in a town full of secrets that kept me glued to this book!
Would recommend to anyone who likes
horror/mystery.
Thank you net galley, Minotaur Books and St. Martins Press for this ARC.

As a horror aficionado, when my buddy-reading bestie passed along the synopsis for Something in the Walls, I knew immediately that I needed to read it. The strong first half had me excited for the creepy vibes and storyline—the blend of psychological horror with witch-hunt and folklore elements was very well done—but the ending didn’t quite deliver what I was hoping for.

It’s slower-paced than a typical horror novel, which helps build suspense. However, despite that buildup, it felt like we never fully reached the payoff. Maybe I’ve read and watched too much in the genre (I’ll admit I’m hard to scare), but the execution felt too soft, never quite landing that truly menacing feeling.

If you enjoy slow-burn horror mixed with psychological and folklore elements, I think you’ll love this book. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Something in the Walls is a compellingly premised in which a new child psychologist travels to a small English village rooted in witchcraft to investigate a teenage girl said to be haunted by a witch.
For the most part, it was exactly as the premise promised. The pacing was great, there was incredible intrigue, and the creepy mystery was captivating. The horror elements were amazingly well done and I developed a strong sense of foreboding the longer the main character spent in this little village where something is clearly just not right. The haunting itself was utterly terrifying and I was fully invested in figuring out what was going on.
This is where things fell off, unfortunately. After so much thoughtful buildup, the conclusion felt underwhelming and while I can appreciate the “ordinary evil” plot line, I admit I was disappointed. While sinister, I felt like the explanation was lackluster, and while the “who” was uncovered, there wasn’t much “how”, which left me with almost more questions to begin with.
Also the main character’s guilt and grief plot line felt somewhat out of place and haphazardly shoved into the story.
Overall I do think this could have been a great book, the potential was absolutely there, unfortunately the ending was not executed well in my opinion, which made it veer off course from the rest of the book.

Thank you to the author and Minotaur Books for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley.
Publication date 2/25/25

✨This releases February 25✨

I love a good gothic style thriller with a nuance of witches and curses. This one took you on a journey of wondering what’s real and what is beyond reality. Set in the early 1980’s the FMC Mina, a newly graduated psychologist follows a journalist, Sam to a remote English village to try and determine what exactly is happening to a young girl that is believed to be possessed or cursed by an ancient witch. Mina and Sam both are silently dealing with their own personal loss and being in the village starts to stir up feeling of grief that may alter their purpose there. But for Mina when she sees and feels unexplainable things, she is more determined to find the truth. I enjoyed this fast paced gothic story with twists and chilling scenes that made it so I didn’t want to read it late in the evening🫣
There are many characters woven in that made them suspect. Some are frustrating others manipulative or just creepy. And so as the reader you’re turning pages trying to determine what’s real. This is my first introduction to Daisy Pearce and I look forward to reading more from her.

Thank you to Daisy Pearce and NetGalley for opportunity to read and review this arc.

I could not put this book down. It felt so eerie. The town this story takes place in felt like some spooky wormhole alternate reality where our MC Mina may be one of the only sane people around.

This book reminded me of how i felt when I watched Wicker Man back in 2006— but better. I also was… 14 back in 2006, so take that with a grain of salt. It just felt weird, and culty, and scary. I’ve seen some others compare it to Midsommer, but I have to admit I never saw that one.

This book did leave me with some questions, but I was so entertained, and it was more resoution than In the Woods which I had finished right before, I was unbothered

Many thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this creepy tale by Daisy Pearce, wonderfully narrated by Ana Clements. All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4 stars!

Mina is a newly-certified child psychology with little experience and unable to find her path. She meets journalist Sam Hunter at a grief support group, and he approaches her with a proposition. Alice is a 13-year-old who supposedly is being haunted by a witch in the remote village of Banathel. Alice feels this is an opportunity to gain experience and improve Alice’s life. But Alice’s behavior becomes more disturbing, and the townspeople feel that she is evil and they aren’t shy about expressing it.

This was such a creepy, atmospheric story and I thought the writing was hauntingly beautiful. The narration of the book just added an additional layer. Mina is dealing with past trauma and has some ulterior motives in connecting with Alice, as does Sam. This is a dark and twisty tale that will have you guessing just where the evil lies.

This is how I like my horror - spooky AF but will a strong message about society. Alice’s skepticism worked so well with the townspeople who believed strongly in witches. The setting and its oppressive heat really added to the tension as you can understand how the weather adds to the craziness. I do not recommend reading this late at night when you are alone in the house as I did. Every noise had me spooked!