First my thanks to St Martins Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an ARC copy of this novel 🫶

As always, I see a book with “Appalachia” in the description and I gotta get my grubby little hands on it and as always I was not disappointed.

This book is a fantastic fall read full of folklore, mystery, and suspense.

Our main character is a PI and a mountain holler girl herself. She is tasked with finding girls who went missing over 10 years ago in a different, although similar, mountain holler.

Through her investigation she uncovers truths about the people of the town that many of them would rather keep hidden. As she interviews the locals she must untangle the truth from the folklore and the prejudice while keeping her own history and biases in check.

Will she complete her mission in Quartz Creek and find the missing girls or will her questions just stir up more trouble in an already troubled town?

The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan was soooo good!

The characterization went above and beyond what I am accustomed to. The slow build doling out bits and pieces of the main character, Annie's background and allowing the reader to experience what motivated her was masterful..

Moreover, the setting--was atmospheric--somewhat creepy. The gradual immersion into the community and getting to know the people who lived there brought the book to life.

I'd love more books about Annie, so I hope there will be more.

So good! I really liked Annie, the main character. I enjoyed the descriptions of the Appalachian small town and really want to go to that bakery. A few twists and I didn't guess who did it. Great debut! Hopefully this is a series? I'll be looking forward to more!

I have to say I absolutely loved this book! The main character, Annie, was believable and very human and did not do dumb thing after dumb thing. I liked that the story had folklore, witches and small town drama. This book helped me get out of a book slump I've been in for awhile. I really hope this continues on as a series.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc for my honest opinion.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview The Witch’s Orchard.
This novel centers on Annie Gore a former military officer who is sent to Appalachia to help solve a missing child mystery.
Annie is a great example of how strong female character.
This is not a typical missing case mystery. The locale and writing is very different from others I have read
A bit slow but the details are interesting and important to the story.
A good read3.5 stars.

This book had me hooked from the first page. Annie Gore is a former Air Force Special Investigator turned private eye, and she's exactly the kind of protagonist I love—tough, sarcastic, and carrying a suitcase full of trauma she refuses to unpack. When she's hired to investigate a decade-old case of three missing girls in a mountain town eerily similar to her own hometown, things get real, real fast.

The setting is a character in itself. Archer Sullivan, a ninth-generation Appalachian, paints the North Carolina mountains with a brush that's both loving and unflinching. The folklore—witches, crows, and applehead dolls—is woven seamlessly into the narrative, adding layers of depth and creepiness.

The mystery unfolds at a steady pace, with enough twists to keep me guessing. And while the plot is compelling, it's the exploration of generational trauma and the complexities of small-town life that truly resonated with me.

Why not 5 stars? There were moments where I wished for a bit more character development, especially with some of the secondary characters. But overall, this is a strong debut that blends mystery, folklore, and emotional depth in a way that's both haunting and heartfelt.

NetGalley handed me this ARC, and now I’m handing you a very serious recommendation. Go read it.

i had some resistance to reading this book so it ended up being a very good surprise. Loved the main character and would love to read a series with her. the mystery was interesting and weaving various version of the myth of the witch's orchard into the story worked well. Easy to read, interesting characters, many likeable ones and overall a satisfying read. 4.5

"The rest of the world only ever sees towns like Quartz Creek when they're at their worst."

This book really captures how the South and Appalachia feel for the insider and the outsider. The story follows a private investigator who has been hired as a last-ditch effort to try and find 3 little girls who have been missing for the last 10 years. Annie (the private investigator) is hired by a young man named Max, whose sister was taken from their home 10 years prior in broad daylight, and an apple head doll was left in her place. Once Annie agrees to take the job, she learns that Max's little sister isn't the only little girl taken from Quartz Creek 10 years ago. Two other girls were taken shortly before her, with apple head dolls left in their places as well. However, one of the girls had been returned, which sounds fantastic and like it would be a great lead in the investigation, but unfortunately for investigators, this young girl is nonverbal and isn't ever able to communicate who took her or what she saw. And it was shortly after her return that Max's little sister was taken. Local police were unable to make any headway in locating the girls. The FBI was called in, and they were unable to find the girls either. They had simply vanished, only to be replaced with apple head dolls. And that's how the case sat for 10 years. Annie knows that after this long, the probability of actually finding the missing girls is nearly impossible, and she honestly informs Max of as much. For Max, it isn't necessarily about actually finding his little sister, but it's about knowing in his heart that he has done everything he can within his power to TRY to find her. The investigation keeps leading her in the direction of The Witch of Quartz Creek, which is a local legend of a Witch that lives up in the mountains. There seems to be as many iterations of the legend as there are citizens of Quartz Creek. It seems like every lead Annie takes, somehow, she ends up back on The Witch of Quartz Creek. But obviously, a mythical witch can't have been the one who took the girls, can she?

I will admit that when I sat down to read a story about a cold case of missing girls in Appalachia I was wondering if I should have picked it as an ARC to read, because many books that are set here very much adhere to the hillbilly stereotype. Archer Sullivan’s book does not. It showcases problems that are often endemic to small, rural communities, especially ones that have seen any prosperity slip away with the closure of a factory or plant that is the source of income for most of the community. But it embraces the setting to create an atmospheric backdrop to the story that mixed with the different interpretations of local folklore creates a mysterious and haunting element almost like another character in the story. Annie Gore is a perfect narrator for the story, someone not from the community, but familiar with the culture and raised in less than ideal circumstances that make her more of a bleeding heart than she’d ever want to confess to. A bleeding heart that can’t turn down a plea for help from a young man who’s family was destroyed when his sister disappeared and has been saving money for ten years to hire a PI to find his sister Molly. Annie agrees and it takes no time for her to shake the hornet’s nest and make a cold case a very hot one once again. Those layers help keep the mystery interesting, as does a laundry list of suspects that are all more or less than they seem. As Annie begins cracking open the past her life is increasingly put at risk, leading up to an ending that had elements I was expecting and others I wasn’t. Definitely recommended for people that like compelling, atmospheric mysteries. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Annie is a PI with an Appalachian background. She is hired by Max, a young man whose sister was one of three little girls who disappeared ten years earlier. One of the girls reappeared two weeks afterwards but was unable to give any kind of assistance to the authorities. Molly, his sister has never been found. Annie reluctantly agrees to spend one week looking into their disappearance. She comes into the small Southern town and starts talking to the residents and learning all she can about what had happened. Shortly thereafter her remains are found. It is slow moving and written for those who like dark and mysterious tales. Thanks to Net Galley and Minotaur Books for an ARC for an honest review.

In a small Appalachian mountain town in North Carolina, three little girls go missing. One of the brothers of the missing girls is determined to find out what happened he hires PI Annie Gore. I love the storyline and how it flowed. It was entertaining and kept me guessing the whole time.

I went into this one blind. I had read the description before, but had definitely forgotten what this was about as I went into it. I was FLOORED by this book. As a born and raised Appalachian myself, I loved the way the mountains came to life for me while reading this. I genuinely loved the characters and the atmosphere, and the plot itself had me hooked. I'm sad I didn't pick this up much sooner. 5/5!!

I very much enjoyed The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan. A very atmospheric story which takes place in a small Appalachian mountain town. I enjoyed how the author slowly filled the reader in on PI Annie Gore's back story and history. From a small Appalachian town herself, Annie is hired to try and find a girl who has been missing for ten years. Small towns have secrets and this one is no different. Who is telling the truth and who is not. These characters were very well written and believable and I quickly turned the pages to find out what would happen next. Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced reader copy of this book.

This one had a lot going for it—moody mountain vibes, missing kids, buried secrets, and a tough-as-nails investigator with a complicated past. The setting is easily the standout here. Archer Sullivan nails the eerie, atmospheric feel of small Appalachian towns where folklore and real danger blur together. You can practically hear the crows and feel the fog rolling in.

Annie Gore is a solid lead—gritty, jaded, and carrying more baggage than she lets on. Her return to a place that mirrors her own upbringing adds emotional weight to the mystery, and I appreciated how raw and honest her internal struggle felt. The missing girls case was genuinely intriguing, and I loved how bits of local legend were woven in without overpowering the story.

That said, the pacing dragged a bit in spots. There were moments where the tension dipped just when it should’ve been ramping up. Some side characters felt underdeveloped, and a few twists were more predictable than I hoped.

Still, the creepy, slow-burn atmosphere and Annie’s personal connection to the case kept me turning pages. If you like a blend of crime, folklore, and small-town secrets—with a lead who doesn’t always have it together—The Witch’s Orchard is worth checking out. It’s not perfect, but it left me curious to see where Annie goes next.

I absolutely loved this book! I felt completely transported into the atmospheric setting of the Appalachian mountains, where every detail—from the eerie mist to the unspoken rules of tight-knit communities—added to the tension. I found myself completely immersed in Annie’s journey, feeling her connection to the land and the ghosts of her past as she unraveled a decade-old mystery. I appreciated how the novel blended suspense with folklore, making every discovery feel both chilling and steeped in history. I connected with Annie’s determination, her grit, and the way the landscape itself seemed to reflect her struggles. I felt the weight of the town’s secrets, the pressure of unspoken truths, and the creeping unease that built with each page. I finished the book feeling both unsettled and completely satisfied. The writing was rich, the mystery was gripping, and the setting lingered in my mind long after I turned the last page.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a story that is as haunting as it is beautifully written.

Witch’s Orchard got straight to business, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also really liked the author’s writing style, but I did find myself wanting more details.

The author had several, complex characters that were really well done, but when it got down to who the kidnapper is, the motivations, etc. It was vague to me. It’s explained: ‘she lost interest.’ But how? It’s mentioned there’s a new partner, but aside from the mention of going away, what was there? Did the kidnapper stop making lunches? Was the kidnapper noticeably absent more? A new girl is taken with the arrival of the PI, but how did the kidnapper not have interest in her? I wanted to know what life was like prior to the new partner. As it was left, it appears the victim is a bit of an opportunist, and references are drawn to her being scrappy, but I would have liked a little more dialogue between parties at the big reveal. I would have liked more around how things were.

Another example is Tommy. It’s stated Tommy dyed burlap bags black to make a grim reaper costume, and when the kidnapper took a little girl from her home, there was a scarecrow with black burlap bags. Was it Tommy? I thought it was eluding to that as Tommy mentions in the hospital it was the witch and the terrible sheriff but did he actually witness the kidnapping? Did he benefit? How deep was the betrayal?

Another reviewer mentioned something about how this was a great book, but it felt like the author was holding back a bit. I think that’s a great way of saying things. You can tell the author is very talented, and the story was good. I just wanted a touch more. Perhaps the author left things vague for readers to draw their own conclusions. I know several readers who enjoy that. I prefer things neatly tied up. Just a preference though, and doesn’t mean this wasn’t good. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you to Archer Sullivan, NetGalley, and Minotaur Books for the advanced reader copy! It was a pleasure.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press Minotaur Books for the ARC. A deeply atmospheric mystery surrounded in Appalachian folklore, PI Annie Gore is one of the best characterizations. She is hired by Max who is still searching for his sister, who disappeared ten years earlier. She was one of three girls that had disappeared from his town. Only one was returned.
I loved the characters, and how they developed through the book. The location was vividly described so that the reader could visualize as they read. I look forward to more by this author.

I received an advance copy of The Witch's Orchard through NetGalley from Minotaur Books & the author in exchange for a review.

For me, Archer Sullivan's The Witch's Orchard is very nearly the perfect mystery/thriller.

The story is so much more than just a whodunit with shocks and awes and twists and turns. The story uses the culture of Appalachia as a stunning backdrop and non-human character in the story of an Air Force veteran turned PI who must confront her own history when she's hired to try and find a girl missing for ten years, in a small mountain town rocked by the disappearances of three girls in total a decade ago.

The characters are engaging and interesting, the prose flows easy and smooth as it does full justice to the story, and I would easily read more from Archer Sullivan... especially if there are more books to come about Annie Gore.

Highly recommend this story if you like mystery/thrillers that come with twists, drama, and even moments of levity.

This book has a very ominous atmospheric feel to it and I think that is one of the reasons I liked this book so much. I like that this is a small town, murder mystery where everyone has secrets and you never know who you can trust. This book kept me guessing and I was surprised at the whodunnit reveal. I also really liked the main character, Annie and think she is a strong, female lead and I respect her tenacity.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Struggling Private Investigator, Annie Gore, gets an offer she can't refuse: visit a man in an Appalachain "holler" to help him find his missing sister. She needs the money to keep her PI business afloat, and she's good at her job, so she travels to a small, struggling town, similar to where she grew up, and starts asking questions. But as soon as Annie starts asking questions, events in the town start to change and not everyone welcomes her pursuit of the truth. Ten years ago, three young girls were taken, and one was returned. As Annie visits witnesses from that time, she also starts hearing stories about the Witch who lives in the mountains and may know more about what is happening in the town. Everyone knows about the witch, and the stories about her are like urban legends, with multiple versions. The writing, the haunting scenery, the mysterious stories about the Witch, the crows with the scary calls, and the unexpected twists to this mystery makes for a thrilling adventure to read! Definitely recommend packing this book to take on your next trip!

5/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for this complementary ARC copy of the Witch's Orchard.