Wow. This book will likely be on my mind for a while. It did not take the route I had expected it to. There are suspenseful, creepy, supernatural aspects to this story. There were times where I was just mind blown. I couldn’t believe how it was playing out. I was so angry and stunned. Since this book took the route it did, I found the end very fitting and mostly satisfying. I still had some questions.
There is so much I have to say about this book but I don’t like putting spoilers in my reviews.
I both listened and read the ebook. It was a little hard to concentrate on the ebook at first. I found that the audiobook helped me get into the book and once it got to a certain point, I was able to read the ebook no problem. I enjoyed the narrator. She kept me wanting to listen to more, kept me on the edge of my seat. I feel like this would have been incredibly easy to binge if I had had all day to just sit and listen.

This was a very creepy thriller that sucks you in. You want to know why Alice is having these witch-like symptoms. Mina wants to think rationally, but things just don't seem real. I really enjoyed this read! The audiobook was a great listen too!

*Thank you partners @minotaur_books and @macmillan.audio for the #gifted e-galley and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

This was a witchy, drama, thriller, horror novel. Was a fairly good read but left me with questions.

Mina recently became a child psychologist, and is also having a really difficult time with her brothers death that was years ago. When she’s attending a loss support group, an opportunity presents itself to potentially hear from her dead brother on the other side, and to help a little girl using her recent achieved skills. The little girl Alice claims she is being haunted by a witch, and her family is in desperate need of help for her. Mina is determined to uncover the truth and get Alice back to normal, but while doing so, some things seem to come out that were not meant to.

Pros
Many different genres included here
Engaging
Like bake characters

Cons
Still left me with questions unanswered
Slow start

The water dripped down the crumbling bricks, the leak growing larger every day. Sometimes the water would run clear, but other times it would be tainted black. She sat there, mesmerized, watching the water fall, wondering if it was possible to drown.

Something in the Walls is a horror novel following Mina, a child psychologist who is starting her first case. Alice, the girl she is studying, says she is possessed by a witch.

This book’s premise was immediately gripping to me and the story had a lot of horrifying elements that kept me on edge. But I ended the book with a lot of questions and things that were never really explained or fully explored. I wanted more from the ending, more explanation of the paranormal phenomenons that were going on. This book is definitely haunting and was entertaining in certain aspects, but it lacked some things that could have made it a lot better for me.

If you like paranormal activity, witches, hauntings, psychological horror… then this may be a book for you!

Something in the Walls pulled me in with its eerie atmosphere and promising setup. However, after a slow build to the climax, the story rushed to the finish without a satisfying resolution. The main character’s rash and immature decisions made it difficult to stay engaged, especially given her supposed professionalism. What started as an intriguing read ultimately fell flat, leaving me with unanswered questions and unresolved plot points. While the story had potential, the ending didn’t quite deliver for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for the advanced reader copy.

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: I don't really know where to start with this review. This was not a book for me. I'm not in the business of bashing books so I will just plainly say what I didn't like. There is an overgeneralization of mental health symptoms, I understand what the author was going for but it just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. The story starts off very fast and does a lot of telling instead of showing. We don't get a lot of connection to the characters or really a desire to understand them or their motives. The way the psychologist gets involved in the case is hard to believe and very unethical. I'm not a stickler for these things in books but lets at least make them make some sense.

This ended up being a DNF for me, I just could not bring myself to care about the characters and felt too frustrated by the way it was written.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for my copy of SOMETHING IN THE WALLS. This one publishes Feb 25.

This book just didn't do it for me. The premise that these grief stricken people can help a girl with some sort of supernatural abilities just didn't seem like anyone in the liked the idea. They're all so lost and sad, it was hard to focus on the ghost stories. I don't recommend this one.

WOW! This book was amazing. Very well written and atmospheric. I totally ate it up and was telling everyone who would listen while reading about it. This book is a trip. I felt genuine dread and terror while reading. I was shocked many times.

The adventure between Sam, Mina and Alice was so unpredictable. I didn’t know what to believe who was bad and who good, what was real and what was fabrication. I am mind blown, the realization and reveal was amazing.

I highly recommend and I will be looking into other books by the author, I loved her writing style.

Honestly the cover drew me to this book and it being about a witch possession, say less. This book dives right into it and had me keep turning the page to know more. The possession aspect was definitely creepy and gave me goosebumps at times. I loved the twists and all the build up gave me Midsommar vibes. I do wish there was more closure on the possession part of the story, I felt like it just fell off after the big reveal and left me wanting more.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and recommend it for anyone who enjoys possession stories and the Salem witch trials. This one would be perfect for spooky season!

In this superbly creepy thriller that blends elements of folklore and horror, newly qualified child psychologist Mina Ellis takes on her first case, the case of a young girl called Alice Webber who believes a witch haunts her.
Amid a sweltering summer heatwave in Southwest England, and uncertainty about settling down with her distant fiancé Oscar, Mina jumps at the chance to take the mysterious case. She learns about it through Sam Ellis, a journalist from The Herald who she meets at a local bereavement group, who sees a great story; Mina is eager to explore a mental health explanation for Alice's strange behavior and to find out why everyone in a tiny Cornish village is under the illusion that a young girl can perform miracles.
The pair travels together to Banathel to investigate, both sensing an eeriness as soon as they arrive in the close-knit, isolated village. Mina discovers more than she bargained for when she meets Alice and her family, neighbors, and friends; she finds that her unresolved trauma of losing her brother at a young age colors the case and haunts her thoughts. The backdrop of the stifling heat throughout the novel adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere, dread, and anxiety that build to the book's climax. These elements combine with the tone and ambiance created by the villagers' increasingly suspicious attitude toward Mina; the feeling is reminiscent of witnessing the Salem witch trials or watching films such as Midsommar and The Wicker Man. The story reveals bizarre village traditions and small-town hysteria. and dark secrets are uncovered to expose a surprising ending, leaving readers feeling relieved to leave the town of Banathel, but thrilled that author Daisy Pearce took us there.

I was engaged throughout but was left really let down with the ending. I think the author tried a lot and just failed to land the plane.

Mina is a freshly graduated child psychologist with a rough past that put her in her path. She meets a man named Sam at a group grief meeting, and from there everything changes.

Alice is a teen girl seemingly possessed by a witch in a town still living in the days where witch trials exist. The small town basks in its bleak history and poor Alice is stuck in the middle.

When Sam catches wind of what’s happening he drags Mina along to help? to diagnose her? to witness the madness? You see Sam is a journalist out for a story, but he and Mina have something in common, they both have suffered a major loss and cannot let it go. They set out to find answers to what happens in the great beyond, but what they actually find in the small town of Banathel is so much more than they bargained for.

This had such a good start, but the plot twists left me with more questions than answers. Well written fast paced. Disappointing ending.

3:75 stars. A creepy enough tale of an inexperienced child psychologist (with issues of her own) dealing with a young girl presumably possessed by a witch. Eerie atmosphere of a strange town with weird people and a disturbing folklore/history of witchcraft. The main problem I had was that the psychologist was so unprofessional and just didn’t seem to know what she was doing. The young girl definitely needed serious help. However, a decent resolution finished off the book.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I’m not sure why the author sometimes used words that didn’t fit in with the storyline or the storytelling style. (rictus, somnolent, punctilious, etc.) It took you out of the story when she dropped one of these words.

I also didn’t wholly like Mena, but that’s not needed to enjoy the story. She wavers between being too pushy or too disbelieving. The witch aspect of the book is left unresolved, which is so confusing because it is central to the storyline.

But I really dig the atmosphere happening here and like the overall vibe.

3.5 I wanted to love this so much but it just seemed to be too slow for me and unfinished. Maybe I'll come back amd re read but it definitely had great potential to be super creepy

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce. This eerie psychological thriller blends supernatural horror with slow-burning suspense, creating a chilling and immersive atmosphere. Pearce’s writing is vivid and unsettling, drawing me into the claustrophobic setting of a house filled with dark secrets. The creeping tension builds effectively, though the pacing felt uneven at times—some moments were truly gripping, while others dragged slightly. Additionally, while the protagonist’s paranoia and fear were well-crafted, certain character motivations felt underdeveloped, making it harder to fully connect with their choices. Despite these flaws, Something in the Walls delivers a haunting, spine-tingling read for those who enjoy eerie domestic thrillers with a supernatural twist.

his book is one of those books that will have you wondering what in the world did I just read?
Mina and Sam have both lost someone they love. They go to a super creepy town to try and help a young girl named Alice.
I had the bad guy pegged pretty early on but I was not prepared for the Riddance. Man I winced in a few places thinking ouch. Kudos to the author for the writing being enough to make me physically cringe while the ceremony was being described.
I received an ARC of this title, all opinions are my own

This is a really great paranormal, witchy read!

Filled with darkness, grief, terror, and monsters (both paranormal and human), this book kept me hooked and desperate to know what happened next.

It's definitely one of my favorite reads so far in 2025. I look forward to reading more from this author!
4⭐️

As always, I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to have an advanced ebook copy of this book.

Okay so this was a super fun perfect length horror thriller! This book was super successful with its horror elements, the descriptions of the haunting and what was happening to characters was so well done and spooky. I really liked how this story developed and that it very much remained in the supernatural realm throughout! One of my peeves is when books back out last minute and explain supernatural events as “just something real” happening that is misinterpreted by the MC. I also liked this “small town” don’t question the folklore mentality in what resulted in a really sad story about trauma and child abuse. I liked our MC Mina and progressing through the story with her while also uncovering things about her past. The ending of the book was super good and wrapped things up well, I would discuss things more but you really have to read it to appreciate the ending fully!


Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. “Something in the Wall” will be published February 25, 2025.

I really wanted to love this book, but in the end, it was just okay. For the genre, I found the pace to be way too slow, and the tension was lacking. The ending was more intense, but by then, it was too little too late. Sadly, I never really connected with Mina. There were a number of creepy scenes, along with some confusing ones, but the latter might have been done on purpose.