Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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!

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.