This is a fun, enjoyable, slightly dark book perfect for the Halloween season. Dolores is a likable main character and easy to root for as she delves into hometown mysteries. I look forward to reading more from this debut author.

This story was a bit darker than the cozy Halloween mystery I was expecting, but I still really enjoyed it. I liked the MC, Dolores, and all the characters had their own clear personalities with plenty of depth. This book kept me guessing the whole time, and I found the ending to be satisfying and heartwarming.

✨✨✨A cute Halloween mystery read! ✨✨✨

I went into No Rest for the Wicked thinking it was going to be a cutesy cozy mystery/Halloween read. Which it was, but it was also a little bit darker than I had expected as well! Nothing too crazy, just a little bit, which I really liked that and some parts were pretty funny too! This book really had a terrific mix of things to enjoy.

The writing is spectacular and it flows extremely well. The plot is engaging, even though it is a bit predictable at times (which is fine), and I liked our MC, Dolores. This was a fun mystery and I love the little Halloween details as well!

Overall I really liked this one and it was such a fun read!!


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released September 16, 2025.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Shocked that this a debut for this author. I didn’t really know what to expect going into this as I had no familiarity with her writing style, but wow. Slow burning in the most compelling way, our FMC goes in search of her missing father who she just happens to be estranged from. It’s a classic hometown thriller but feels fresh with the characters and writing. I chewed through this and can’t wait to read more from this author!

thank you to netgalley and st. martin's press for the advanced readers copy in return for my honest review.

3.25 i wish the entire book had been like the last 30%. i felt like i was on a rollercoaster that kept going up and down, up and down. unfortunately my connection to the characters never developed and i think that hindered my experience. however, i will be tuned in to see what future books rachel louise adams releases, as i found the writing easy to digest.

No Rest for the Wicked is an enjoyable mystery with well-developed characters. This book has brutal murders, a disappearance and plenty of dark secrets to be revealed. Despite that, I would call it a slow burn and there were times I wished it would move a little faster. Some of the twists were predictable, although I didn't figure them out until fairly far along, but there still a few surprises in store. The ending was heartbreaking and left me with tears in my eyes. This would be an excellent Halloween read if you want some seasonal vibes without the scares. All in all, I thought this was a great debut and I look forward to seeing what Rachel Louise Adams comes up with next.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

You know what? The ending was both surprising and satisfying. However, with a cover like this, this novel is missing the small-town spooky vibes Little Horton is promised to be.

There are some pretty heavy discussions being had in the book, so I do find the choice for the cover... interesting. Maybe a little misleading.

Received as an ARC and absolutely loved this book!

Amazingly written characters with their own backstories. Lots of twists and thrilling turns throughout the book that kept me on the edge of my seat. Very well written book, definitely recommend it to others and looking forward to reading more by this author.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

Throughout the read of this book it was referred to as the "Halloween town cat book" among friends, but it goes so much deeper than that. The problem with secrets is that they don't stay buried forever, and in this story they come back to haunt you. Struggles of power, rich men, and entitled boys who have no limit to what they'll do.

A fast paced and bingeable read! Highly
recommend.

Also, major bonus points for the cat cover.

Excellent book! I could not put down no Rest for the Wicked. Intelligent, twisty, emotional. I loved the characters and how the story drew me in. Very well.done.

This was a thrilling murder mystery! Dolores has come home and found that her father is missing. Not wanting to accept the truth, she struggles to find out what's going on before it's too late!

This was such a fun, fast paced, thrilling mystery! Loved the vibes and this would be such a great Halloween read! Definitely recommend this for all fans of a spooky mystery!

No Rest For The Wicked is Rachel Louise Adams’s debut novel. One I highly enjoyed! It’s a slow burn thriller that I couldn’t put down.

First, can we just take a moment for that cover!!!! I freaking love it!!! I think this book will be flying off the shelves come this Halloween! 😻

It’s been almost twenty years since Dolores Hawthorne left home. She’s a successful pathologist out of LA. One day she gets a call saying her father is missing. The very father that she has been estranged from.

Some bad things happened back then, causing Dolores to flee her hometown in the first place. Your job is to figure out what and just who was responsible. And, where the heck is her father?

I finished this in two days and ate it right up! Can’t wait to see what she has coming out next!!! If you’re looking for a creepy read this coming spooky season, add No Rest For The Wicked to your TBR!!!

Thank you to Rachel Louise Adams, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity.
Pub Date - 9/16/25
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Almost 20 years ago, Dolores left her small town in Wisconsin for college and never looked back; until the FBI calls to tell her that her father is missing. Now she’s back in her hometown during Halloween-time and nothing is quite as it seems. Can she help figure out where her father is before it’s too late or will she suffer the same fate in the end?

The fact that this is Rachel Louise Adams’s first book is absolutely bonkers. I cannot wait to see what else she has in store for the future. Between the character development & the story progression, I felt that everything was flawlessly executed. I was kept guessing for the whole book and the twist at the end literally left me speechless. I would without a doubt recommend this book to anyone and everyone, it was that good in my opinion.

***Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC for my honest review***

This was a fast paced read with great character development, a dark secret, and lots of twists. The first chapter sucked me in and I couldn't put it down! Definitely put this book at the top of your TBR for spooky season!

No Rest for the Wicked has most of the ingredients for an excellent thriller. For a debut novel, the writing is strong, the plot is interesting, and there are several intriguing twists and turns. However, for me, the book needed a better pace and more atmosphere.
Adams does a good job creating characters that are complex, and then slowly pulling them apart so readers really get to know them, and care about what happens to them. The plot was messy, but believable, and the conclusion was stunning. Overall, the book is enjoyable.
The book alternates between points of views and past an present, and while it is a great way to slowly dole out pertinent clues, it really slows down the pace. And while I appreciate the author giving us some closure by continuing the story after the big reveal, it did take away from the intensity of the book.
I was also a little disappointed. The synopsis talks about how the town is obsessed with Halloween, which should have given the book the perfect atmosphere for a spooky, edge of your seat thriller, but instead it's barely mentioned. A big miss for me in setting the tone of the book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Okay, so this book is super good, but everyone should know that the cover is extremely misleading. You're probably thinking that this is a cozy mystery involving a nice pleasant woman who owns a lot of black cats or something, right?? And the cats are all quirky and cute and wander around doing endearing cat things, right?? Right?? Wrong. The cats in this book are feral cats who are being rounded up and murdered. And also one gets hit by a car. They're not a major plot point and there's nothing graphic, but holy shit I was so not prepared for the direction that the cat subplot took in this book.

Anyway, other than the cat-related awfulness, I really enjoyed this one. When I first requested it from NetGalley, I was under the impression that it was a supernatural mystery, probably because of the cover and the repeated mentions of Halloween. It turns out that there's actually nothing otherworldly about the events in this book, which I probably would have realized if I hadn't skimmed the blurb and loudly squealed “Ooh! Cats! Ooh! Halloween!” and immediately requested it. It's more of the ever-popular “estranged daughter returns home” trope meets a police procedural type deal, which is absolutely not a bad thing. It's dark and suspenseful and well-written and I definitely did not see the identity of the Big Bad coming. Some of it is a tad predictable – I daresay that most readers will figure out the twist regarding the 2003 Halloween party before any of the characters do – but I certainly didn't expect the present-day plotline to play out the way it did.

Also, this is not a cozy, no matter what the cute kitties on the cover tell you. Trigger warnings include: murder, sexual assault, cat death, kidnapping (of adults), and parental estrangement. There are also a few slightly gruesome scenes, and no one is running a food truck or a chocolate shop while rekindling feelings for their old high school boyfriend … or whatever it is that the kids these days are doing in cozy mysteries, I dunno. Pretty much all of the characters are broken people having broken people thoughts and doing broken people things, but in a not-overly-depressing sort of way.

It kind of feels like No Rest for the Wicked could be start of a new series, and if so I will happily read the next installment as soon as I can get my hands on it. I'm totally not going to be fooled if it has adorable puppies on the cover, though, because fool-me-once and all of that.

My overall rating: 4.35 stars, rounded down.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is September 16, 2025.

The cover of the book immedatily caught my eye and made me want to read the book. Halloween is my favorite holiday, so another plus to this book. A father goes missing so the daughter, who left 20 years prior, returned home to find out what happened. this is the perfect read for Halloween season and it held my attention.

I’m honestly still recovering from this book—No Rest for the Wicked completely wrecked me in the best possible way. It’s dark, atmospheric, and wildly addictive, with twists that genuinely shocked me and characters that burrowed into my heart.

Dolores is a forensic pathologist who returns to her Halloween-obsessed hometown when her father goes missing. As bodies start piling up and secrets from the past claw their way to the surface, she is forced to confront a mystery that’s deeper—and darker—than she ever imagined. Between the small-town feuds, a legacy of unresolved trauma, and a decades-old disappearance that refuses to stay buried, this book had me hooked.

Dolores is such a brilliantly drawn character—sharp, vulnerable, emotionally raw—and watching her navigate both her complicated family and the creeping dread of what’s happening in Little Horton was just so compelling. The eerie small-town setting, obsessed with Halloween and shadowed by something darker beneath the surface, creates the perfect backdrop for a thriller like this.

The writing is sharp and emotional, the plot is masterfully paced, and the twists are so well-earned. There were several moments I thought I knew where the story was going and I was wrong. If you’re a fan of thrillers with strong emotional depth, unpredictable mysteries, and moody small-town settings, No Rest for the Wicked belongs on your TBR immediately.

Out September 16th, 2025—mark your calendars, because this is one you don’t want to miss. 🎃💀

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the complimentary eARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.