DNF 30% in. I didn't like the way that the story was being told and I discovered that I don't like creepy kids

Something in the Walls is a chilling folk horror novel set in rural Cornwall. Mina Ellis, a grieving child psychologist, investigates a teenager's alleged possession, uncovering dark village secrets. Pearce masterfully intertwines psychological tension with supernatural elements, creating a suspenseful narrative. While the pacing occasionally lags, the atmospheric setting and emotional depth make it a compelling read. Fans of folk horror and psychological thrillers will find this debut novel captivating.

DNF @22%

This wasn't what I thought it was going to be. Maybe that's my fault for not looking more into it. I didn't care about the paranormal aspect of the book and it felt weird and boring at the same time.

I wanted to like it so I kept on reading it. But I couldn’t stand the main character. I felt like she was suppose to be this frail woman but to me it didn’t come out that way. I listened to the audiobook and followed with the e-book. I did like the premise of the story, and it was sad, unsettling. But I saw everything coming together. The very ending though, I wanted that side of her to be out during the last three chapters. But it was an enjoyable read. Thank you NetGalley for the e-book.

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Minotaur Books for this free copy of "Something in the Walls."

In this very chilling and unnerving book, is a child in the little British village of Banathel being tortured by witches? Or does the child need psychological help? Or is the haunting being staged by the parents to help generate money to pay their bills?

Fledgling psychologist Mina and journalist Sam get permission to stay with the family to write a series of articles and help the child with counseling.

But the villagers have a long history with witches and centuries-old traditions and they're eager to cast blame and resistant to change

Do you believe in witchcraft? Possession? Mina has come to diagnose teenager Alice with her friend Sam. Both Mina And Sam have lost loved ones and are haunted by their loss. Alice lives in a town that still believes that the girls can become possessed with witches. A haunting tale with murder and destruction.

*spoilers in this review*

This was an interesting and let’s be honest very creepy modern take on satanic panic and the way a town of people can fall into the carefully laid trap of a man to punish the women around him by just the whispered word of witch. Grotesque and sometimes uncomfortable in nature, as it was intended. I do wish the child psych aspect had been a bit more flushed out, but I may be alone in that regard as I am a therapist who works with adolescents so I just find that aspect personally interesting. My skin definitely crawled with this one, and though I saw the twist quite early on, it may have been the point, as my skin crawled with frustration at the idea of this person “getting away with it.”

I am a big fan of possession stories, ever since reading The Exorcist decades ago. This book had some really creepy scenes and set a very ominous tone from the beginning. What is really happening to Alice? Is she really possessed or is it just her family making her this way? Lots of creepy and disturbing scenes in this book and I really tore through it having to know what was going on!

What let me down was the ending. Sadly I felt like we were left with a lot of questions. I normally dont mind ambiguous or open ended conclusions, but there was really no resolution.

3.5 stars rounded to 3!

I had such high hopes for this book because of the premise of the story. This book was SCARY in the best ways but I also found it lacking in other aspects. There is a scene with **something** crawling out of a chimney that made me actually have to put my kindle down.... Thank you to NetGalley for my copy for review!

Just okay - I see a new wave of thrillers coming up that are soooo predictable. This is one of them :(

Something in the Walls is both unsettling and haunting but I also found it a bit frustrating and struggled to connect with both the story and the characters.

Thank you Daisy Pearce, Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

It took me quite a while to get into Something In The Walls. The writing was really good and I really enjoyed the characters. I will admit it got a bit confusing in places, but kept plugging away till it made sense. I still think about the ending, as I'm still slightly unsure what actually happened. All in all a good compelling read, but I wouldn't say a favorite. That said, I'd definitely try Ms. Pearce's future books!

The first like 50% of this book was SO insanely creepy!!!
I was hooked- the pacing was slow+steady but gave an almost constant sense of creeping dread. The pace does change about halfway through and the story goes in a way I was kinda hoping it wouldn't BUT this was still incredibly tense and sososo bingeable. I read this in a single day and had such a great time!!!

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕤
𝗗𝗮𝗶𝘀𝘆 𝗣𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗲

This story throws out spooky vibes. It includes a witch and some baffling paranormal activity.

I was into the spooky vibes. Is this real? Is this fake? What the heck is happening to this poor girl. Should strangers be inserting themselves into this mess? It is a good thing they did as they played a major part in the plot, but was it smart? Luckily for readers, characters often make bad choices, adding some extra zing to the stories.

I enjoyed the atmosphere, though I expected to hear more about the witch. The story veered off in another direction, also with a creepy vibe though. I feel much was left to the imagination, and I wanted a bit less of that.

Overall, Something in the Walls is worth reading. The first part of the book hooked me, and the ending was eerie, yet I wanted to learn more about what was in the walls, and why certain things happened.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with this ebook to read and review.

DNF - this one was very disappointing. I mean this cover is so good and gives a certain vibe that the atmosphere of the book just wasn't conveying. Really expected to love this one. Sadly, it wasn't for me.

This book had moments that genuinely terrified me—like the scene with the unknown entity crawling out of the chimney, which made me scream and slam the book shut (only to scream again!). The dark and chilling elements chilled me to the bone. While the pacing slowed a bit in the middle, the final quarter ramped up the suspense, delivering a satisfying and thrilling conclusion.

really good mystery. Kept me on my toes and loved all of the characters and what they went through on this journey. Loved that they a happy ending happened.

I feel like this book lost the plot entirely to get ending which did not seem fulfilling in the slightest. From witches, to ghosts, to not addressing any of the initial concerns of Alice.

Ok this was a bit more scary than I thought it was going to be. Kinda creepy but glad I pushed through. It was slow at some points but still good!

Mina is a newly minted child psychologist with no clients, no street cred, and no clue what to do with her life—unless you count fidgeting in a heatwave while spiraling over her upcoming wedding to her overly meticulous fiancé Oscar. Her one escape? A local grief group where she mourns her long-lost brother and silently counts the ways her life has gone sideways.

Enter Sam, a journalist who smells both trauma and opportunity. He convinces Mina to visit a remote village where 13-year-old Alice Webber is reportedly being haunted by a witch. Mina, desperate for experience and cash, agrees. (Clearly she skipped the horror movie rulebook.)

Cue creepy child behavior, an isolated town dripping with superstition, and a community that thinks therapy is no match for good old-fashioned witch hunting. As Alice’s condition worsens, Mina finds herself in way over her head—with a town full of suspicious stares, a partner who might be hiding things, and a haunting that feels all too real.

Sounds like it should be edge-of-your-seat spooky, right? Well… sort of. The setup has all the ingredients for a chilling psychological thriller, but somewhere between the creepy woods and the therapy sessions, the pacing takes a nap. Mina, once full of promise, slowly disintegrates into a character you want to shake awake. Meanwhile, the other characters act like they’re under a collective fog—unrealistic reactions, questionable choices, and a general air of what is even happening here?

The twisty path toward the ending does take some unexpected detours, and while the final destination wasn’t what I predicted, I couldn’t help but feel like some storylines were left hanging in the haunted breeze. Not bad, not great—just…mildly spooky purgatory.

Final thoughts:
If you like your horror atmospheric and don’t mind a slower burn (with a few “wait, what?” moments), this might work for you. But if you need tight plotting and a main character who keeps her spark under pressure, this one might leave you feeling like Mina—confused, overheated, and in serious need of a new life plan.

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