I really enjoyed this! I kept reworking my theory and couldn't quite figure this out before the end. each character brought something to the story. it was well paced.
I really hope this becomes a series, Annie was intriguing and we were told just enough about her to make her likeable and make us want to know more.

The Witch’s Orchard by Archer Sullivan is gritty, atmospheric, and full of Appalachian grit. Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains, it follows former Air Force investigator Annie Gore as she returns to her roots and digs into a decade-old mystery of three missing girls. What begins as a cold‑case PI assignment quickly turns into a tangled web of folklore, small-town loyalty, and hidden danger.

Sullivan's writing crackles with local color—witch stories, crow omens, apple orchards steeped in legend—all brought to life by a heroine who's tough, flawed, and fiercely determined. This isn't just a mystery; it's a journey into the heart of community secrets and the lengths we'll go to uncover them. I'll be thinking about Annie and those mountain shadows for days.

Ex-military PI Annie desperately needs cash, so she heads to an Appalachian holler in North Carolina to search for a little girl who went missing a decade earlier. Her client, the girl’s brother fills Annie in on the details of the case including the two other girls who went missing, one of whom was returned, and the creepy relics left in their places. The case brings back memories of Annie’s childhood in a similar town and the investigation depends she discovers that other lives, including her own, are at risk.

Annie makes a fantastic protagonist. The book provides tiny glimpses into her intriguing backstory as the list of suspects increases. I’m hoping THE WITCH’S ORCHARD is a series starter, because I can’t get enough of Annie.

The secondary characters are also outstanding. Her client, teenaged Max, has experienced tremendous loss and can’t move forward in his life until he makes this last ditch effort to find the truth. The surly Sheriff has a personal connection to the case. Max’s baker friend Shiloh feeds the soul as well as the body.

The plot offers plenty of twists as the cold case heats up, and the folklore, the down-on-its-luck town, and the murder of crows hanging around Max’s property add to the ominous atmosphere. The story and the characters kept me riveted and I found the ending to be supremely satisfying.

I’m a big fan of Archer Sullivan’s short fiction, so I had high expectations of her novel, and she exceeded them with her magnificent debut.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

I don’t always love mysteries or thrillers, but this book was pretty great. I loved the author’s writing and that the book was set in the Appalachian mountains. Private eye Annie was a badass FMC. Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur for the eARC

4.5 stars!! -- This book swept me into its misty Appalachian hollows with Murder, She Wrote charm and a haunting depth I didn’t expect. I went in blind, not knowing it was a mystery—but from page one, I was pulled into the shadows of Quartz Creek and never looked back.

Ten years ago, three girls vanished without a trace in the small Appalachian town of Quartz Creek. One returned quickly, but Max Andrews’s sister was never found. Haunted by her disappearance, Max has been saving every penny to hire a PI. That’s when he finds Annie Gore—ex-Air Force, battling her own past, and deeply familiar with the folklore of these mountains, especially the chilling legend of the Witch’s Orchard. Despite needing the money, Annie can’t turn her back on this case—or these missing girls.

The prose was clean, the pace steady, and the tension like a low hum under your skin. And the ending? A twist I never saw coming, a revelation that knocked the breath from my lungs.

I’ll be keeping my eye on Archer Sullivan—this debut delivered.

Thank you to Archer Sullivan, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books for the eARC.

The Witches Orchard- ARC Review. Thank you NG & Archer Sullivan!

Set the mood of your space before reading!

🪄Light an incense, dim the lights, and get cozy 🪄

As a practicing witch I of course was drawn to the title, the description & the small town vibes.

This book is a fantastic debut. Atmospheric, dark, fog circling into a smoke fire of twists, turns, and thrill.

“Who leaves their front door unlocked these days? I mutter. Anyone could just walk right in.
And then I push the door fully open and walk over the threshold”

PAGE TURNER!!!

A haunting story and one hell of a book!

Good reads -https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7625233376

I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this novel. I do not usually read “who done it” type of books. This book was exceptional in character development, prose and storyline. I normally get bored about halfway through a book, but this story kept me engaged. I, literally, could not put it down, because I needed to know what happened next.

This book is the introduction in a series of books about a PI who will be a great main character for the series. I can hardly wait to find out more about her backstory and relationships she has or has developed with other characters. Loved her inner dialogue, as well.

I highly recommend this novel. Thank you to Minotaur Books and St. Martin’s Publishing for this ARC to review.

The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan

With this debut mystery/thriller, we get a real sense of former Air Force Special Investigator Annie Gore's past. She's in close touch with a military mentor who took her under his wing and who respects her ability to do her job in the military and now that she is out of the military. In fact, this man would like her work with him again, at jobs that will make her much more money than she pulls in as an often out of work PI. But no, Annie has a case, brought to her by a young man, and that case draws her because it will take her back to the Appalachians of her youth, that of her ancestors, the mountains of North Carolina.

Ten years ago three girls were kidnapped although one was returned quickly. Max Andrews's sister was the third girl taken and she's never been found. Now it's time for him to leave for college but he's been saving to hire a PI since his sister went missing and he's not leaving Witch's Orchard until he knows what happened to his sister. Despite the need for (more) money, Annie accepts his case because she knows these mountain people and their ways. She can't turn her back on this young man.

Nothing against her but I didn't get too attached to Annie. She can take care of herself, she knows what she wants, and she doesn't need me worrying over her. She's been to war, she's been in the heat of battle, she's seen death and dying, almost been there herself in the past. Annie is also extremely attached to her old car and often talks out loud to her. She may get lonely but she can handle being alone.

Annie likes to ask the same question(s) over and over again, knowing that each time she gets an answer, the way the question is answered might point her where she needs to go. In this case, she continually asks others to tell her their version of “The Witch of Quartz Creek” story. Each telling has differences, maybe pointing at what makes up the teller of the tale. Annie is an outsider in Witch's Orchard and very few are happy to have her disrupting their present with questions of the past. In fact, things happen that cause many of the town's folk to blame Annie for digging things up, bringing back the misfortune of the past. There are seedy, sordid things being hidden in this place, sometimes not even hidden very well but still allowed to fester and rot. Too many have secrets to hide to be happy with Annie sticking her nose into everything.

I look forward to seeing more of Annie and also to knowing more about her past and hoping she doesn't let what is important to her slip through her fingers. She may think she doesn't want or need what others can give her but it's clear she has at least one very good person on her side. Annie is capable of being on her own although it's clear she doesn't really want to always be a loner.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. When I started this, wasn’t sure what to expect. All I can say is WOW! Great story line and I loved the main character, Annie, who is a PI on a cold case in an Appalachian setting.. lots of Color and characters to love, including her car!I highly recommend this book for readers of Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent series. Finished this in one day it was so great, Awesome ready

#TheWitchsOrchard #NetGalley thank you for the arc!!!!

This was a fantastic whodunnit! I loved Annie from the moment I met her it was an engaging read that had me hooked. This was a nice break to what I typically read, I enjoyed being thrown into the mystery of the story and enjoyed the small town folklore. Growing up my town had similar stories that freaked kids out, always involving woods with a creepy factor! This book was well paced and kept me turning the page.

This atmospheric mystery delivers a compelling blend of crime, memory, and Appalachian lore. Annie Gore is a tough, emotionally complex investigator whose return to the hollers of her childhood feels as dangerous as the case she’s trying to solve. The novel excels in its setting—rich, haunting, and steeped in folklore—and builds tension slowly but steadily as secrets unravel. While the pacing lags slightly in places, the story’s emotional undercurrents and gritty realism keep the pages turning. A strong, character-driven mystery with a deep sense of place and a quiet, lingering power.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the chance to read this early

This is going to be a perfect book to cozy up with this fall! I received an advanced copy and just finished in 2 days, would have been less if I had more time. Anyways, I love that it was set in Appalachia and included some of their folklore. The story was entertaining and I liked the characters for the most part, even the ones meant to be disliked. The main characters car was brought up waaaay too much for seemingly no reason. Maybe it will be touched on in later books, i don’t know, but it’s seemed over the top. The first half is a little slower but it really set the scene and I actually really enjoyed that aspect, although as a result the ending felt a touch rushed. Overall, it’s good and I’d recommend it.

This novel was amazing. I read it in one day. The drama and suspense was gripping. I found myself on the edge of my chair, wondering what would happen next. The story is rich with words and depth. Annie makes a great P.I. Hope Annie will have a series. I think it would be great.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Witch’s Orchard. The setting in Appalachia, steeped in local folklore, was incredibly captivating and added a rich layer of atmosphere to the story. The characters were complex and well-developed, drawing me in from the very beginning. The pacing kept me hooked, and I loved the mystery that unfolded throughout the book.

However, the ending didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It felt a bit rushed and melodramatic, and the twist was more ridiculous than I’d hoped. I found myself imagining a different conclusion that might have felt more satisfying. Despite this, I really enjoyed the journey and would still give it 4 out of 5 stars. It’s definitely worth the read for anyone who loves a good, folklore-infused mystery.

Thank you for letting me read this book! This is one of my favorites now I was hooked from the beginning and I couldn't put it down! A thousand stars 🤩

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to others. Plot is interesting and I did not figure out the guilty part. Has a twist at the end. Good characters bb

ten years ago, three little girls went missing, one was returned but the others were not. the brother of one of the girls hires a private detective to try to solve the case.

4 strong Private Investigator stars
The Witch’s Orchard takes place in an Appalachian mountain town where three girls had gone missing ten years ago. The captivating plot is fast paced and has interesting characters. I’m an avid reader and reviewer and felt it got a bit confusing with so many minor characters who were often related or the names were too similar - Jessica, Molly, Mandy. If the author would have used a simple clarifying phrase for a character who we hadn’t heard of in chapters, things would have been clearer. (For example, Cole Jacobs, THE SHERIFF,…)

I enjoyed the occasional smatterings of subtle humor from our sassy P.I. “…peanut butter, bread, bananas, and beer. The four main food groups.” “The first qualification of a good PI is a lifelong habit of unmitigated snooping. Anyone who tells you different is lying through their teeth. And probably going through your stuff.” I liked astute, tenacious Annie and wanted to learn more about her backstory.

Archer Sullivan has created an intriguing investigator with Annie Gore, and I want to meet her on the pages again. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I did like this debut novel - yes, it dragged on a bit towards the end, but for a first effort -- well done. What sold me the most was the inclusion of the Appalachian folklore -- the variations of the witch's tale as related by the residents. This grounded the book and made it relatable. It gave it a sense of place and identity, much of which is lacking from many current novels.

Annie herself was pretty relatable, as well, and I appreciated that she was able to relate her present situation to her youthful years in the holler.

All in all, this was pretty good.

Would I read the author again? Yes.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

I really enjoyed this book. The writing was exceptional and kept me gripped from page one. Would recommend for anyone that loves a good mystery/whodunit.