Got better with every chapter. Kept me interested from beginning to end. At times it felt very dark and hard to read but overall, I pretty solid read.

eerie, atmospheric read that keeps you on edge from start to finish. The tension builds with every chapter, and the sense of something lurking just out of sight is palpable. Pearce does a fantastic job of blending psychological suspense with a haunting mystery, making it hard to put the book down.

"If enough people start telling you you're a witch, then sooner or later you're going to start believing it."

It's the summer of 1989 when new child psychologist Mina has her life upended. While attending a bereavement group to mourn the loss of her late brother, Mina meets a journalist names Sam. He tells her about a girl named Alice who's believed by everyone in her remote village to be haunted by a witch. Mina and Sam both see Alice as a way to move forward in their careers, so they journey to Banathel to determine what's truly haunting this girl.

SOMETHING IN THE WALLS by Daisy Pearce is a haunting gothic horror that really studies adolescence and "misbehavior" in an intriguing way.

I could feel the pressing heat of the unnaturally hot summer, which seemed to hit a boiling point as the hysteria of the townspeople continued to increase, and the stench and gruesomeness of the killing room floor lingered on Alice's father when he graced the pages.

This story is dark and heavy from beginning to end, but Mina and Sam both brought a light to the story.

The ending didn't fully work for me in terms of the arc of the story and I was left with quite a few questions, but this was a solid book regardless!

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review - out February 25!

Mina goes to a grief group to help possibly process the loss of her brother whom she sees even when he has been dead for many years. Sam, a father whose daughter passed away and he decides that there is a case he wants Mina to work on since she is an inexperience child psychologist. (This is the 2nd book I have read this year where someone who has experienced a loss becomes a psychologist to deal with the loss) Problem is they haven't dealt with there own demons yet.

Alice the young girl Sam wants her to speak with.. may or may not be possessed by a witch. I actually liked the beginning of the book. But then I felt like the ending happened and everything that was built up was lost. Is there another story to this. I still don't know what was happening with Alice. Maybe I will re-read this later on. I feel so lost on the conclusion and it truly bothers me. I also didn't like Mina at all. Could not sympathize with her and honestly thought she was annoying. Grow up. I wouldn't take my child to her.

Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

okay this book was very well written for a Horror book and highly recommend even if Horror isn't your jam! I was a little skeptical given it was set in the 80s and revolves around witches and hauntings. But it wasn't overly gory or unbelievable. It felt like a slow burn but I also couldn't put it down! ..except when it was at night. It felt so real, that I was afraid to read this before bed😅 I would love to see it turned into a movie!

The reason I rated it 4⭐️ and not 5, was because I didn't care for the ending. I feel like it abruptly stopped and I wanted to know more about what happened to the characters after "the event".

The story will more than likely make you feel uncomfortable and a little creeped out, which I didn’t mind but there were a lot of implausible things happening here. Overall, I felt pretty disconnected from the characters, and as a result was never fully immersed in the story. It was unique and had bits of horror sprinkled in, but I found it pretty predictable.

Mina has been attending a grief group to help deal with the loss of her brother years ago. Here is where she meets Sam Hunter who is a journalist and has an interesting offer for her. Mina has been struggling to gain any experience as a child psychologist since she recently graduated from college. She thinks that this may be her opportunity to change that.

Sam invites Mina to accompany him to investigate an alleged haunting and other disturbances surrounding a teenage girl in a remote village. Mina anxious to get the experience she needs and Sam ready for a lead story. Yet neither of them are willing to admit to their ulterior motives, and neither are prepared for what they find in the home of Alice Webber or the village of Banathel itself, for Banathel is a village steeped in superstition where the doorways are decorated with hagstones (witch stones) and the children taunt each other with stories of witch curses.

I really enjoyed the first ¾ of this book. It had that atmosphere of dread and uncertainty when we are in the Banathel village. The ominous descriptions of creepy figures glimpsed, heard and felt, but never seen directly, definitely had me looking over my shoulder. The last part of the book, unfortunately fell flat for me. I felt that all of the buildup vanished. Maybe I was hoping it would take a different turn, but that is just my opinion. Overall, I did enjoy the book, and it was a 3 ½ star read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital advanced readers copy. Something in the Walls will be available on February 25, 2025.

Something In The Walls - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This read was so eerie and terrifying! The setting in old fashioned Banathel and the issue of a young girl being haunted by a witch really set the tone for the book early on. I loved the mystery of not knowing if something paranormal was actually going on or if there was a realistic explanation to everything. Mina, a new child psychologist, really had no idea what she was getting into when she agreed to help get to the bottom of Alice’s ailments.

I had a feeling the story would go the way it did, but it still shocked me when everything played out the way it did. I wasn’t completely in love with the ending, but overall I really enjoyed the book. A disturbing horror read everyone needs to read!

Chilling, dark, and GRIPPING. I couldn’t put this down! It was the perfect mix of horror and folklore to creep you out but keep you reading to find out what happens.

Mina, a child psychologist meets journalist Sam Hunter in a grief support group. Together they team up to help Alice, a teenager in a small village who thinks she’s being haunted by a witch. The more Mina and Sam learn about Alice and the village, the creepier things become, and the worse the haunting appears.

This book will leave you with some unanswered questions, but it doesn’t leave all loose ends united. Almost halfway through, I able to guess part of what was going on. Despite the “predictability” of one part of the story, it was still beyond worth the read and a solid 4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

I really enjoyed how this book started off! It was witchy and creepy it had all the vibes going for it, but around 50% the book did a 180 degree turn and we lost pretty much all of the vibes. I got completely turned around and just was confused overall for the rest of the story. We were also left with some plot holes at the end and I wasn’t fulfilled with the ending. Overall it just felt like I started reading one book and ended up reading a different book. I still definitely recommend looking into it if you enjoy horror!

2.5 out of 5 stars

I was very excited when I read the description for this book. and was hoping it would play out a bit different.

The story overall felt like it would build into a great suspense story and I feel like it was predictable and didn't fully get there. Our heroine Mina missed every clue even thought it was right in front of her. (think oh let's go into the scary dark woods instead of getting in the running car.)

Mina has just graduated as a child psychologist and she has her first “job” going with a person she met in a grief group to try to help a girl that needs an "exorcism" as she is being haunted be a "witch".

She then moves to this town where everyone is a bit strange and peculiar.

Not my cup of tea but thank you netgalley for the eARC

I couldn’t tell right off if this was gonna be spooky or horror or what. I did like at the end how the tables were turned on the psychiatrist

Mina is a new child psychologist, that is still in trying to process and grieve her brother. She’s asked to come to this small town to help figure out what is happening to Alice. A young girl that expressing some really creepy symptoms The whole town and everyone in it give you those what the hell I going on here vibes. . They had me so nervous. I couldn’t imagine experiencing them . The atmosphere has this tension and just sense of wrong that kept me propelling through to figure out more about what is happening in this small town. The build up is fantastic as things go from bad to worse and so strange.


Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for my #gifted copy

I struggled a bit with how slow of a start this book was, but it starts picking up at Chapter 10. I really enjoyed that Pearce included lots of different witchcraft lore, it gave a believability to that small town mentality in warding off spirits. Unfortunately though, the book left me with unanswered questions and a not so satisfying ending.

I went into this blind and I was pleasantly surprised with this witchy horror novel! I guess you could also call it a supernatural/psychological thriller, but to me this was a horror novel.

As I read this I was filled with an almost constant sense of dread and unease. It felt like nothing was going right for our main characters, and it was only getting worse and worse. I do wish we explored more of the witch lore, because I felt like some of those bits and pieces were left open ended. It wrapped up very quickly after a wild ending, but the ending was satisfying.

I enjoyed Daisy Pearce’s writing style so I will have to check out her backlist!

Mina takes on one of her first cases as a child psychologist. Alice is a thirteen year old claiming to be possessed by a witch. Her town has a long history of witch lore and many believe she is evil. It’s up to Mina to find the truth.

This one was really creepy! I love stories with teenage girls not acting right.. is it possession? A witch? Or just adolescence? It’s creepy from the very beginning and slowly becomes more horrifying. The ending becomes straight nail biting action. I loved how it ended as well.

“That’s how it felt inside that house. Slow moving, suffocating. Like drowning in tar.”

Something in the Walls comes out 2/25.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Macmillian Audio for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion!

Mina is a child psychologist who still suffers from the lost of her brother when she was a child. She attends an emotional grief support group and connects with Sam, a journalist. Together they become interested in a case about a young girl Alice who claims she is possessed by a witch. They travel to Alice's town and immediately weird things start to happen. Mina and Sam can't tell what is real and what is fake, and honestly as a listener, I couldn't either the whole time. I truly had no idea where this was going the whole time, it was creepy and kept me on my toes. Paranormal thrillers can be hit or miss for me but I enjoyed this one! It's definitely more trippy horror movie vibes (so Midsommar was a great comparison) then the typical thrillers I read.

I found it slow to get into, and I think that was partly due to the narrator. I wasn't a huge fan of hers. But the story itself drew me in and by the end I found myself reading the e-book to see how it ends fast.

This is a difficult one to review. Straight up, loved the vibe of the book. Pearce does such a great job describing the town of Barnathel that I felt like I was there. The Webbers house was so vividly written and the atmosphere is nailed. I struggled with the characters a bit. Mina made some strange decisions and honestly Sam and the rest of the town just kind of eh. Despite this, I want to stress I found this book addictive and couldn’t put it down. It’s more literary horror and the action is sparse but I love a good, slow burn.

Something in the Walls follows recently graduated child psychologist, Mina. She’s engaged to a stable guy but still struggles with the death of her younger brother five years prior. She meets Sam, a journalist, at a grief support group and he tells her of a possible haunting/possession he’s investigating. Mina comes along to assess the potential possessed girl and ends up with much more than she anticipated.

I was chugging along up until the ending. I liked the ending, found it fitting and didn’t feel it overly rushed or too abrupt, but Pearce never really connects three major components of the book. I don’t like books that spell everything out for you, but in this case I couldn’t piece together how certain things would have affected each other as described in the book. The why and the how were just left a bit murky to me. I still really enjoyed the book hence my four star rating. I do wish things were explained a bit more but between the prose and atmosphere of the book I couldn’t rate it any lower. I’d recommend this to those who like more literary horror, but again, this felt a bit unresolved.

Super suspenseful! Definitely scary and I couldn't tell what was real. Perfect for fans of Midsomer.
Mina is a brand new child psychologist who just needs to break into her own field. During her visit to her grief group, she meets Sam Hunter who tells her about a 13 year-old named Alice who believes she is possessed by a witch. They journey to Alice's superstitious small village in order to help her. Almost immediately, strange things start to happen. People start dying around Alice. Mina can't tell if Alice is faking it so her family can benefit from the attention, or if she is actually possessed by an evil witch.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this digital e-arc.*

I was able to read this ARC ebook thanks to NetGally. This book was everything I wanted in a spooky story. It has been a while since I have read one that actually scared me! The spooky vibes were there and I could not stop readinf!