Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Something in the Walls was so very creepy, and I was hooked until the very end. I predicted a lot of the “twists” and “reveals”, but that didn’t really bother me. I enjoyed the reading experience (as much as one can with this sort of content), and this is one of those horror books where I was actually wincing during certain scenes. The ending left many questions, some that I felt there was no provided answer for and some that I could guess at. I don’t usually mind open endings and I didn’t mind it in this case either, but I would have liked just a little more clarity about some elements of the story.

I don’t have any complaints about the audiobook itself, nor did it stick out to me in any special way.

I don’t recommend this book for people who want very clear endings and satisfying wrap-ups, and also for those who may be sensitive to disturbing content. Look up content warnings if you are unsure. However, if you are looking for an interesting horror read and that doesn’t bother you, this book is worth a shot!

SOMETHING IN THE WALLS by @kaiki3000 is full of gothic tension and disbelief in your own senses. Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher @stmartinspress for the e-ARC and #partner @macmillanaudio for the #lrc. Happy Pub Day to this title!

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Mina, a yet very green child psychologist is waiting for her break. When she attends her normal bereavement group she attends to mourn her brother's death years ago, she meets journalist Sam Hunter and he has a proposition. Something dark and dangerous is stirring in the remote Irish island of Bathanel and young Alice Webber claims she is being haunted by a witch. She is showing signs of sickness and coughing up strange things. In a town built over the bodies of witches and where superstitions and hag stones run rampant, Mina must determine what is disturbing the girl and prove whether or not it is otherworldly.

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This kind of story has everything I want in a book - a competent if newly minted female sleuth, a dark mystery, gothic small town vibes, and a whole boatload of secrets to uncover. The author uses misdirection, nuance and other subtleties to move your senses in one direction while pulling a slight of hand action in the other. I loved the ending and all its implications! If you want to be spooked in the best way, pick this one up!

DNF @ 74%

I really tried to get into this book. But I’m not scared, the audio is boring me to sleep, and paranormal activity seems unreal. I cannot decipher between what’s really happening and what’s in their head. I wanted to like this one but I couldn’t continue.

4.5 stars.

This novel sunk its hooks into me almost immediately and didn't let me go until the very end, it is incredibly well written. I couldn't stop listening, it felt like around every corner the characters were deepening, you're learning little tid bits edging you closer to what is going on without giving anything away. The suspense is masterfully built, Pearce brings leads you slowly up to the peak, so slowly that you don't even realize you're standing there when it happens. The timing, the writing, and the concept we're perfectly executed. I took half a star off because the only thing I was unsatisfied with an element of the ending. Absolutely, a fantastic read.

Daisy Pearce's new book is Something in the Walls.

You might be wondering why I included such a large picture of the cover. Well, I wanted to make sure that you could see what’s behind the lath. Did you see the eye? Creepy!

Mina is a newly graduated child psychologist. What she needs to finish her degree, is hours. She thinks she’s found the perfect situation. She gets her hours, the family will benefit from it and Sam, a journalist, will get a great story. They head for a remote village in Britain. Mina will be staying with the family.

Alice is a 13 girl who believes she’s being haunted by a witch. And it doesn’t take Mina long to realize things aren’t as they should be. Oh my gosh, the characters gave me the shivers more than once. The villagers all seem to believe the same thing.

Pearce’s prose are just wonderful. She slowly and carefully builds a tale that is hard put down. And just wait for the final chapter…

I chose to listen to Something in the Walls. The narrator was Ana Clements and she did a fantastic job. She provided voices for each character and I built mental images of them using those. She enunciated well and is easy to understand. Her presentation of Pierce’s work was so good, using her voice quiet, loud, menacing, fearful and so much more. And for me, one that I didn’t want to be listening to at night with my creaky floors. You never know...

The publisher compares Something in the Walls to The Haunting of Hill House. I agree.

It's giving Salem witch trials meets deep, dark small town secrets.

I appreciated the way everything was unfolded. The descriptions of the small town, the people, and even down to how things felt or smelled made the book come alive.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I'm going to just put this out there, I didn't like this one and I don't know why. The premise was interesting...Mina, a new child psychologist, goes to see Alice, a 13 year old girl who is claiming to be haunted by a witch. Is Alice crazy or is the town trying to believe in something that isn't there? The town, Banathel, believes in witchcraft and superstition and are 100% convinced this girl is causing issues. Mina tries to uncover what is happening and becomes more intense in her search.

I don't know if it was the narrator, the character development, or something else for why I didn't like this one. I didn't find it to be horror as it is labeled, but rather more just like a mystery. Mina has some past baggage that of course gets brought up. She has a relationship that I'm not even sure why the author decided to add that part in. I had 0 motivation to want to listen and honestly had characters confused and I wasn't always sure what was happening. I feel like if I read this one, I probably would have enjoyed it more, but on audio, it was a huge let down.

An extremely well described dreary, dark and demonic setting. The unknown concept of a poltergeist, witch, demon that could have possible inhabited Alice drives the rest of the story. Each character we meet, including Sam the journalist and Mina the new psychologist bring their own backstory to the situation. Sometimes it is tricky to decide what the characters motives are, as it seems like Sam is trying to "help" Alice but really wants her to talk to his dead daughter. Mina wants to help Alice, but really has lots of baggage from her brother's death. Behind the scenes are the townspeople who seem to be supportive- yet jealous, helpful-yet deceitful and motives are very. muddy. Mary, Bert, Alice's parents and siblings all play role in Alice's evil spirit. When Alice goes to see her friends and reaches up into the chimney, a glass jar breaks open and releases a witch that consumes her. How else can we explain her strange knowledge of things and talking to the dead?
I recommend this story to fans who love a creepy vibe, the Salem Witch Trials, and want to believe that some things just can't be explained.
Topics: manipulation, curiosity, curses, psychology, trust
Recommended: high school + due to violence

#netgallery

I binged this book in a single evening. Something about Mina's character, flaws and all, drew me in. She lost her brother young, and it's impacted her life and career decisions. When she meets a newspaper reporter named Sam at a grief support meeting, she finds herself pulled into the case of Alice Webber. Alice is exhibiting bizarre behavior and claims to be haunted by a witch living in the chimney. Mina does everything she can to try and help and when she gets to the shocking truth, the story takes a crazy turn. The narration of the audiobook by Ana Clements was very well done. I highly recommend this book for fans of lore, paranormal, and spooky thrillers.

There’s something about folkloric horror and thrillers that always captures my immediate interest. Such was the case when I first heart about Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce. Set in a small English town in 1989, it follows a recently graduated child psychologist, Mina, and her first patient, a teen girl named Alice who claims to be haunted by a witch. Is this girl right about her fears, or is something going wrong with her mentally? And what is up with the strange beliefs held by the people in this town?

Why I Chose This Book:
I love psychological horror and thrillers, and Something in the Walls promised exactly that. There are also themes of mental health, folklore, and history, all melding together to make it unclear what is going on with Alice. Schizophrenia or witchcraft? Crowd delusions or something more calculated and sinister?

What I Liked:
- Psychology and discussions of mental afflictions. Mina might have little work experience, but she knows a lot about different disorders, their symptoms, and their causes. It was interesting to learn here.
- Superstitions, witchcraft, and old-fashioned beliefs
- Heat wave adding to the tensions
- People in this town are… kind of weird, right?
- Past traumas and regrets
- Hauntings?
- Real-world evils
- Should Mina really be marrying Oscar?
- Morally gray?

Audiobook
Ana Clements does a great job of narrating Something in the Walls. She gives Mina the exact kind of voice I would have envisioned for her, adding the right tones and accents to bring the characters’ personalities to the forefront. Her narration is engrossing and made for a wonderful listen.

Final Thoughts
Something in the Walls is a bewitching novel that makes the reader question everything. Is it supernatural or just real life, human issues? Witches or trickery? I enjoyed puzzling through the events that arose and the surprising turns this novel took. It didn’t end where I expected it to, but sometimes that’s exactly what I need from a book. I’m excited to read more from Daisy Pearce.

At first this book took a bit to grow on me; it felt quite confusing because a lot of character names were thrown around but after the first few chapters it finally smoothed out, especially once Mina hits the road with Oscar to see about the strange occurrences happening in a small village in far western England where a young girl is said to be haunted by a witch. As this story unfolds you learn more and more about the little village, its people, and what is truly haunting them.

Overall I enjoyed this story a lot. I would say it gets better as you get closer to the ending. In the beginning the writing feels a bit clunky but as the story grows and the plot has more to go on, the writing gets so much better! I loved the overall premise and this idea of the witch haunting a local girl while also tying in other stories at the same time. Mina is a likable character, albeit sometimes a bit annoying, but her tenacity is well demonstrated and received in this book. I almost always enjoy a strong female lead and by the end of this one Mina is just that and more. I LOVED the ending of this book and all the conclusions you, the reader, get to draw as it is ending. I do wish that maybe the storyline had a bit more supernatural elements to it but we all know that humans are usually the scariest beings in a room.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this creepy tale by Daisy Pearce, wonderfully narrated by Ana Clements. All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4 stars!

Mina is a newly-certified child psychology with little experience and unable to find her path. She meets journalist Sam Hunter at a grief support group, and he approaches her with a proposition. Alice is a 13-year-old who supposedly is being haunted by a witch in the remote village of Banathel. Alice feels this is an opportunity to gain experience and improve Alice’s life. But Alice’s behavior becomes more disturbing, and the townspeople feel that she is evil and they aren’t shy about expressing it.

This was such a creepy, atmospheric story and I thought the writing was hauntingly beautiful. The narration of the book just added an additional layer. Mina is dealing with past trauma and has some ulterior motives in connecting with Alice, as does Sam. This is a dark and twisty tale that will have you guessing just where the evil lies.

Daisy Pearce delivers an enthralling and eerie tale in Something in the Walls, a gripping psychological thriller that keeps readers on edge from start to finish. The novel follows Alice, a girl who suddenly seems different—haunted, even—though no one in town can quite put their finger on why. Enter Mina, who feels an inexplicable pull toward Alice and a deep-seated need to help her. But as Mina steps into Alice’s world, the story takes a chilling and unexpected turn.

Pearce masterfully crafts an atmosphere of suspense, building tension in a way that makes the novel nearly impossible to put down. The pacing is relentless, with each chapter heightening the intrigue and deepening the mystery. Just when the reader thinks they have a grasp on the story, Pearce throws in a shocking twist that reshapes everything.

With its strong character development, immersive storytelling, and an ending that lingers long after the final page, Something in the Walls is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and ghostly mysteries. It’s an addicting and atmospheric read that cements Pearce as a master of the genre.

The overly descriptive nature of every other sentence was so tedious. I almost did not finish the book due to the wordiness and constant fanciful descriptions of every object, person, sight, smell, sound, feel. Characters did not seem as fleshed out as they could have been. And the ending was so unsatisfying- it felt like none of the conflicts or mysteries were fully revealed or resolved.

I was drawn to this book because of its dark, mysterious vibe and the way it tackled some really heavy emotions. I enjoyed the audiobook version, but I kept feeling like I needed more. The atmosphere was thick with suspense and sadness, which really pulled me in, but there were moments where I wanted the story to go deeper, to explore the characters' feelings and motivations more thoroughly. It felt like there was this untapped potential that just never fully came to life. The mystery was gripping, but I kept hoping for more twists or a bigger emotional payoff. I was left with a sense that the story had more to offer, but it held back just a little too much for my liking. Still, if you're into dark, melancholic stories, this one definitely has its appeal.

Something in the Walls can be considered a psychological thriller but it also has some supernatural elements. The main character is Mina and she is a new psychologist so she is thrilled when she gets an opportunity to review the case of a 13 year old girl named Alice who is apparently displaying signs of being possessed.
The book had some haunting moments as Mina and Sam (who is the reporter that invited her on the case) do research on the case.
Mina finds herself questioning whether what is happening to Alice is psychological or if there is something more sinister going on.
Overall I enjoyed the book and the storyline. The narrator did a good job especially in some parts where Alice was talking.
Thank you MacMillan Audio. All opinions are my own.

I started out loving this book--captivating with its atmosphere, in that eerie sense of dread and suspense; it was almost gothic in its unsettling nature. I burned through it only to be let down by the last quarter of the book, and ending. Such a promising start, with such a dissatisfying ending--the premise was there to take the reader to a different twist, one that hadn't been done this well in a long time, only to end up with a feel of "Really? This again? Meh." I sadly don't recommend this one for that reason, but if a reader is going to take a chance on it the audiobook is definitely the way to go. Solid narration, with a voice that befits the vibe of the story quite well.

My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to preview this title in exchange for my honest (sorry!) opinion.

This was an interesting take on a psychological horror-thriller. The beginning felt very promising, setting the stage for an atmospheric read and I was hoping to feel that way for the entirety of the book but unfortunately, I feel that this fell flat in regards to promise of what was actually transpiring, a reason behind the horror and eeriness happening throughout the novel, but it was as if we left with more unanswered questions than we started with.

May not be for everyone but it did keep me in engaged up until the end. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been excited about 𝑺𝑶𝑴𝑬𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑰𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑨𝑳𝑳𝑺 𝒃𝒚 𝑫𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒚 𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒆 ever since I received this from @macmillan.audio via @netgalley, and whoa! This February 25th release is a perfect kind of super creepy, haunted story that these insistently cold days are asking for!

Mina is a freshly licensed child psychologist who has taken her first case with the urging of a journalist friend. The two are curious about 13-year-old Alice due to the odd nature of the girl and the strange insistence of several townsfolk who clearly believe in witchcraft, but they also have an ulterior motive to seek her out. What they find will test their resolve and put Mina in a fight against more than imagined demons.

I did not know where this story was going to go, and I cannot say much, but this is the kind of spooky tale I really like. I appreciate characters who are extremely skeptical and look for the rational, all while still pondering the "what-if".

The "herd mentality" discussed in this story (not a spoiler but a possible rationale based on history) was a frightening reminder in this current culture and I could not help but make the connection. I also couldn't help but think of Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail scene..."She's a Witch!" A completely different vibe, but similar basis!

I digress...

Ana Clements narrates this taut tale and does a fantastic job with the changes of Mina and her confidence to confusion, fear to loathing, and all things in-between. It made for a great listening experience! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

I’m not a huge horror or paranormal fan so I was a little nervous about this book. Thankfully, it was not very gory. It was more lore and witch stories/scenes than paranormal hauntings and ghosts.

With all that being said, I really enjoyed this book. The stories and lore intrigued me. The story left a lot to the imagination throughout, is it really paranormal or is someone trying to make you believe it is?

Very character driven. I fell in love with a few of them and equally hated others, which you were supposed to.

I highly recommend the audiobook. The main character has an incredible Irish lilt and the I think the creepy voices and scenes hit different via audio.