Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the ARC ebook. All opinions are my own.

The cover of this book is very misleading. This isn't your cutesy cozy murder for Halloween, it is a very dark, dark tale that sucked you in from the beginning. There were creepy Halloween vibes all the way through and the reveal at the end was a surprise.

I may need to read this one again this fall!

For some reason I just cannot get into this book. I keep falling asleep and then not remembering who anyone was. I thought it was a me problem but I was also reading another book at the time and did fine with one and after DNFing this one, I did fine with the next book so....yeah. it also kept randomly coming out with vulgar statements, which I don't like.

I could not put down this thriller! It was a little slow at times, but the ending made up for it. The cover is spooky and perfect, which initially intrigued me to the book. Dolores gets a call saying her estranged father went missing and she helps to find him despite not being in her hometown for over two decades. It was a very creepy read that is perfect for fall!

I’m torn on this one. The cover and the way Halloween kept popping up in the description made me think I was in for a thriller with spooky Halloween vibes. What I got was way darker—grittier, heavier, and honestly a little bleak.

Dolores as a character is compelling, and I do love a good small-town-with-secrets setup. This one just leaned more into trauma and family dysfunction than I was expecting. That said, for a debut, I thought it was really strong—the writing is solid, the tone is consistent, and the atmosphere is definitely there.

If you’re expecting spooky Halloween vibes, adjust those expectations. But if you’re in the mood for something moody and dark with a sharp edge, this might be your thing.

I can't believe this was a debut novel. Well written, twisty, turny read! Some parts of the plot were kind of predictable, but also a lot of surprises! It was very atmospheric.
I thought this would have some paranormal related happenings, but it did not.

If you like:
🖤Estranged Daughter Returns
🖤Serial Killer on a spree
🖤Family Secrets
🖤Halloween Loving Town
🖤Creepy Spooky Vibes

Please check the triggers!!

Thank you @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the advanced copy!!

A fitting title for a wickedly fun book!

“No Rest for the Wicked” brings Dolores home after receiving a call about her father’s disappearance. Determined to never set foot back in the town that took so much from her that fateful Halloween night but with no other choice she agrees to assist in the investigation but between the drama at home with her stepmother and the whispers of a small town she finds enemies are closer than they think and sometimes the masks stay on long after Halloween ends.

Ok I gasped at a revel so congratulations to a book managing to surprise me and for making me feel silly when I didn’t catch it! So much was pointing in a singular direction I stayed focused there without considering any other suspect or mystery for that matter and man was it great!

This is a twisted little book full of so much pain and deceit. I really feel for Dolores who is just trying her best and despite building a pretty good life , minus some parts, she had so much taken from her missing out on her family and futures with different people in the town she ran so far away from. She has every right to be angry and show teeth and I wish she had gotten the chance to throw a punch or too but she knew how to cut with her words as sharp as any scalpel she was tasked to handle.

The interwoven mysterious and missing persons cases was managed so well show a domino effect that connect what on the surface appears to be unrelated and the relationship between family and how far someone would go to help could also unintentionally allow another to be hurt in such a shortsighted example of desperation to succeed. There’s a lot of victims here apart from the dead and the fact that so much time has passed where they held on to those feelings is a shame that boils down to what if but alas we only have what is.

A great read and perfect for Halloween, do pay attention to trigger warnings prior to reading!

** special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!**

This was just okay for me. I really love the cover and the setting, but the characters weren't easy to connect with for me and I didn't like following them through the story. The writing was really good though and I'd be interested in reading this author's other works.

• Not a bad story - just a DRAG story
• Not an "edge of your seat, heart-pounding scary movie" as promoted, but a trashy, psychological slow burn at the most
• Felt like a long journey for a quick conclusion
• Loaded with family drama and small town creepy atmosphere
• Lots of angst with inner dialogues of characters rehashing the same grudges and discussing their feelings
• Story was not specifically bad, but felt like the kind of well worn plot I have read too many times before

Amazing book. I started reading and fell completely inside the story, coming up for air on the rarest of occasions. Yes this is a mystery and suspense genre book but more that that it is a story of relationships and secrets. The stories we tell ourselves to make sense of trauma and behavior that strays from the norm. The characters were multifaceted and along with the book were engaging. Should definitely be in your TBR pile!

Halloween… murder… secrets… family drama… what more could you want in a book? This was a really enjoyable read that kept me interested and invested. I liked learning more about the Hawthorne family throughout the story and seeing how everything unfolded. There were also some unexpected twists that kept me guessing! This is a great book to read as a lead-up to Halloween!

I was in shock from the get go! I pick books mostly based off the cover and this one drew me in. For good reason, twists on every page!

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of No Rest for the Wicked, by Rachel Louise Adams, from St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

Really strong debut novel.

Props to Rachel Louise Adams for giving readers enough to go on that the something that should’ve been more obvious early on (at least to this reader) was handled so deftly that it can slide right past if you’re not on the alert.

I don’t agree with the NetGalley description of this being an “edge of your seat, heart-pounding scary movie.” It was more of a super-trashy (in the good way) psychological slow burn for a great deal of the time, with a little bit of the anxious-making toward the end.

Could totally see this as a streaming series, and I mean that as a very sincere compliment.

PS
Came back the next day to add that I certainly hope this is the start of a series; I saw real potential for that in the way things ended.

DESCRIPTION
With an expert hand, Rachel Louise Adams’s debut No Rest for the Wicked reads like an edge of your seat, heart-pounding scary movie.

In one Halloween obsessed Midwestern town, everyone’s on red alert after a local politician goes missing. Little do they know it’s only the beginning.

It’s been close to twenty years since forensic pathologist Dolores Hawthorne left her hometown of Little Horton, Wisconsin. The town is famous for its Halloween celebrations, but also its history of violent deaths linked to the holiday. To Dolores, it’s the place she fled, family, bad memories, and all. Until the FBI calls to tell her that her father--the former mayor turned US Senator--is missing under mysterious circumstances.

Some people count to ten to wake up from a nightmare. Dolores always counts the bones of her head instead: sphenoid, frontal, lacrimal. But no matter how many times she counts them, it doesn’t change the fact that her father is missing, that his final words of warning to her were to trust no one, and that now, the rest of her family is giving Dolores a chilling welcome. With Halloween fast approaching, Dolores must face the past she left behind before it’s too late.

An aloof forensic pathologist is forced to return to her Wisconsin hometown upon news that her estranged father has gone missing. The town is weirdly obsessed with Halloween, which is cool except for all the cat killing, which isn’t a focal point of the plot but was still jarring. This isn’t a cozy, small town mystery - it’s a dark, fast-paced thriller with a big body count. If you’re into the whole summerween thing, you can’t go wrong with this.

Now this is the perfect read for spooky season. I mean, who doesn’t love a dark thriller, especially one with cats on the cover? Don’t let the cover fool you, though, because this debut novel is far more twisted than it first appears.

The story follows Dolores, who returns to her hometown after getting a call that her father has gone missing. All he leaves behind is a cryptic note: “Trust no one.” With Halloween looming and a town full of buried secrets, Dolores races to uncover the truth while hoping her own secrets stay buried.

This book delivers on atmosphere and tension, with layers of family drama and small town creepiness. That said, I do recommend checking trigger warnings before diving in as it gets darker than expected.

While I did enjoy the read overall, I found the pacing a bit uneven. One of the major reveals was telegraphed early on, and it took too long for the characters to catch up. Then, once the big twist hits, everything wraps up surprisingly fast. It felt like a long journey for a rather quick conclusion.

Still, if you're into dark thrillers with a chilling backdrop, tangled family secrets, and an eerie seasonal vibe, this is absolutely worth picking up. 3.5 stars rounded up

Wow. A roller coaster of emotions, a twisted path to discovering the truth.

No tidy endings or happily ever after discovering who the various villains are. Will leave you disconcerted and incredulous at the end.

No Rest for the Wicked is not the story I expected based on the cover. It may have been better. The characters are fleshed out and relatable. The story has interesting twists and at least one jaw-dropping moment. I like Dolores' character. She is dark and so satisfyingly complex. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy twisty thrillers with absorbing mysteries.

3.75 ⭐️, rounded up!

I will start by saying from the cover art alone, I expected No Rest For The Wicked to be a cozy mystery set in a Halloween loving town. From the plot summary and first few pages, I expected this to take a few psychological/supernatural turns. This story is neither of those things. BUT- if a more straightforward thriller is up your alley, then do I have a book for you!

I feel as though my preconceived ideas about what I expected to be reading took a minute to shake and made my progress through the first 25% of the book a little rockier than it otherwise would have been.

Once I’d adjusted my POV on things, I found that the plot was mostly paced really well and, with the exception of some (to me) rather awkward dialogue at parts, really carried the story forward in a way that things never sagged or grew tedious.

I wouldn’t say there is a “twist” but more of a “reveal” in the last section of the book. Prior to that point in the book, the story was a very solid 3 ⭐️ for my personal taste. The ending was very enjoyable and really managed to package things up nicely in a way that was digestible. If you are someone who needs realistic plot mechanisms and outcomes in your mysteries or thrillers, I fear this is not the story for you. It does not require a total suspension of disbelief but there are several conveniences that take place off page to make them ending what it is.

Finally, big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

From the cover of this book, to the description of the blurb it had me automatically wanting to apply for this book! Thank you Rachel Louise Adams, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books & NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy!

For a debut novel this was pretty amazing! The writing was extremely well done and it definitely carried my attention!

Dolores Hawthorne the FMC is a forensic pathologist and receives a phone call from the FBI stating her father has disappeared/ is missing so she returns back home to her small hometown Little Horton where things unravel pretty fast...

This book is definitely a great book for any Halloween lover (perfect for spooky season) BUT I will say if you are sensitive to any harm towards animals, particular cats just be mindful- it's not in great detail the demise but like any book be aware of your triggers!

Again for a debut I was so stinking impressed and I will definitely be on the lookout for more of her books in the upcoming future 👀 I also need a physical copy as a trophy 🏆

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

✨ Publish date: September 16th, 2025 ✨

LOVE It!! Creepy small town? Check. Missing politician? Check. A heroine with more emotional baggage than a haunted house on Halloween? Big check. does a great job balancing suspense with deeply personal stakes. Dolores isn’t just solving a mystery; she’s unraveling years of family dysfunction, political games, and her own grief. It leans more thriller than procedural, but if you’re into character-driven mysteries where the past refuses to stay buried, this one’s for you.

This is a thriller for readers who want a bit of the Halloween season mixed in with suspense and murder. The setting is a town that goes all out for Halloween. I believe this is a book which can be read and enjoyed any time of the year. There is also family dysfunction and small town scandals, corruption, and twisted relationships that help make for a nice juicy plot.

I enjoyed this and recommend it for readers who also enjoy some extra shots of crazy with their mystery thrillers and don’t mind some gore and references to sexual assault. I received an arc from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.