The town of Little Horton, Wisconsin is known for its annual Halloween celebrations as well as its history of violent deaths that happened on Halloween. Forensic pathologist Dolores Hawthorne left the bad memories of her past behind almost twenty years ago with no intention of ever going back. When she receives a call about her politician father going missing with sign of foul play she has little choice but to return to face her demons. Halloween is approaching and Deloris must discover what her father’s cryptic message “trust no one” means before it’s too late.

No Rest for the Wicked is a debut novel. The cover art and a Halloween setting were a perfect addition to my Fall reading list although this definitely falls into the Mystery/Thriller genre. Debut novels are usually hit or miss for me and this one kept me entertained right up to the very end. If you’re in search of a whodunnit with a Halloween theme this one might be for you.

4.5 ⭐️ for No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams

Estranged daughter Delores, returns home to help find her missing father. Her quiet small town, Little Horton, has a deep love of its historically dark and murderous Halloween past.

This was an unexpected delight! A debut mystery/thriller for Rachel Louise Adams, but don’t let that deter you. It was dark, spooky, twisty, and horrific. This takes place in a small Wisconsin town, on the lead up to its over the top Halloween celebrations. I loved that we got so many POVs. I loved the dark characters. Delores is a cold and detached pathologist, and I wish we could get more books starring her. The mystery delivered in the best way, and I was trying to guess the whole way through. I will add trigger warning that a past SA has a part in this story.
If you want a thriller that reads almost like a scary movie, then you should definitely pick this up tomorrow September 16th! I cannot wait to read more from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur books for the opportunity to read this e-arc

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the free e-ARC in exchnange for my honest review.

Forensic pathologist, Dolores Hawthorne, left her hometown of Little Horton. The FBI calls with the news that her father, the former mayor turned US Senator, is missing under mysterious circumstances. Now she'll have to face her past to uncover the truth.

I loved that Little Horton is a town obsessed by Halloween and that this book is coming out just in time for that season of fall. This is a well written, suspenseful thriller told through multiple POV.

Themes aside from Halloween include struggles of power, rich men, and entitled boys who have no limit to what they'll do. Definitely a fast paced and bingeable read!

In Halloween-obsessed Little Horton, a local politician vanishes, setting the town on edge. Forensic pathologist Dolores Hawthorne returns after twenty years when her father—the former mayor turned senator—disappears under mysterious circumstances. As Halloween nears, she must confront her past and a family who may not be trustworthy.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this digital e-arc.*

4.5 stars

I genuinely enjoyed this book. I didn't have much knowledge going into it, but I was quickly pulled into a spooky and fun world. As I didn't know what I was getting into, I absolutely did not expect the twists. The book kept me wanting to read it, but once it got to the point where the big twist started, I had to figure out all the details that led to that point.

The cats were also a fun tie-in.

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

My thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Publishing for the ARC of "No Rest For The Wicked" in exchange for an honest review.

Now here's a tasty chilling Halloween treat to drop into your trick-or-treat bag.....chock full of creepy atmosphere, deep dark family secrets and a Halloween destination town to die for.....(in which more than few people have already done so.....with more to come....)

Pathologist Delores Hawthorne has been summoned by the FBI to return to her not-too-beloved hometown Little Horton, that Happy Halloween Wisconsin spook spot I just spoke of. Her father, a much revered town Patriarch, former mayor and U. S. Senator has disappeared in what looks like a brutal home invasion/kidnapping.. Delores herself fled the town years ago following a terrible, traumatic incident forever haunting her adolescence and adult life. And what an untimely time to come back to the family mansion........with the you-know-what holiday only days away......

It's no apple-bobbing joy for Delores re-connecting with her imperious stepmother Charlotte, her estranged half=brother Asher and Josie, her teenage half sister she's meeting for the first time. Bad memories float through the air thicker than decorations for the upcoming big night in Little Horton.....with tourists flooding the town as if were Salem, Mass. (only with more cheese products.)

To add to the already gruesome dark proceedings - a very real serial killer has come to town with any number of people on his Halloween to-do list, and it's beginning to appear related to the awful events in Delores Hawthorne's tortured past.

I gobbled this book up faster than a jumbo bowl of candy corn.......it's a one book Halloween party all by itself - scares, twists, gore, suspense, even humor and wit when needed. And most surprising of all, a finale filled with genuine bittersweet heart-tugging. that might even moisten some readers' eyes.

For anyone wanting to get themselves into a seasonal spooky mood (or a perfect read for any chilly night of the year) 'No Rest For The Wicked' provides one-stop shopping. Remember to keep more than your reading light on.

Little Horton, Wisconsin is a small midwestern town known for their elaborate Halloween celebrations. They are also known flor an abundance of stray cats, but that’s a fact they try and keep quiet.

Dolores Hawthorne grew up in Little Horton and is the daughter of a prominent family that has been in the town for decades. As a young woman, she moved away and became a forensic pathologist and for reasons known only to herself, has never been back to her family home.

Twenty years later, Dolores is told her father is missing and she returns to Little Horton to help search for him. Worrying for her father, Dolores also has to navigate other family members feelings that she abandoned them by never coming home.

As the story moves along, readers will realize that the reason Dolores left Little Horton is tied up in the disappearance of her father and in a couple of recent murders.

The story definitely has a Halloween vibe and it is one of those mysteries that readers will be trying to solve along the way. I really enjoyed the story and am hopeful there may be a sequel or series in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am pleased to offer my honest review and recommend this book to other readers.

This book was ok. It was very slow initially. The cover and description leads you to believe it is something it is not so that was a bit disappointing. More police procedural and mystery than a spooky Halloween story.

thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

While this book is good, the description and cover feel verrrry misleading. If you go into it expecting some kind of cozy Halloween mystery, you WILL be disappointed. Go in with an open mind and you’ll find a solid police procedural in a town that is celebrating Halloween. While the premise seems to be that the town turns into “Halloweentown” for this period of time, the story doesn’t really go into that until the parade at the climax of the story. To be honest, the cat portion of the story seemed to confuse me and I’m not sure that it even needed to be included. While overall I really liked the story and the twists and turns, I think it could have been cleaned up of some unnecessary parts. It feels a little like the author was just trying to give it a Halloween feel.
Thanks to Rachel Louise Adams and Minotaur/St Martins Press for the free advance copy of the book!

Rating: 3.5

Damn you marketing, you did me wrong! I took this book to be more of a horror novel based on the cover and marketing, but it isn't. It's a mystery set in town that celebrates Halloween, like you'd see in the DCOM Halloweentown. I didn't mind the mystery overall and it kept me guessing. Everything isn't what it seems in this sleepy town and there are a lot of family secrets that are about to come bursting out of closets. It wasn't until close to the end that I solved the mystery so I appreciated that. There are a few characters I'd like to read more about in the future, such as Butcher and Dolores.

There is mention of killing of cats in case that is triggering for you.

Thank you to Minotaur and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

I read "No Rest for the Wicked" by Rachel Louise Adams on NetGalley. The description stated that this was her debut novel and I'm looking forward to reading more from her. Especially if they follow forensic pathologist Dolores Hawthorne, as was hinted in the book. She may be joining the FBI? In this story, her father is missing and she has to go back to her hometown. She hasn't been there in 18 years. I enjoyed this book!

Dolores hasn’t been home in almost 20 years but when she is informed that her father is missing, she leaves the secure life she built in LA as a forensic pathologist and heads home. Dolores is from a small town in Wisconsin that is known as the Halloween haven and Dolores doesn’t like Halloween.

This is a fabulous debut novel full of secrets from the past, someone hellbent on revenge, an awkward family reunion and missing memories from the past slowly coming back. I love that this small Halloween town is overrun by feral cats and that the police spend half their time tracking them down. The main local police officer has a huge chip on her shoulder which is eventually explained, and I was glad to see go which is probably my only complaint about this whole book. Atmospheric and dark the reason behind Dolores’s long absence might hold a clue to what is happening in town as bodies of other high-profile people from the town start dying.

I am so happy I received a #gifted copy of this book; it grabbed from the very beginning and took me on such an emotional ride with twists I didn’t see coming. This is the perfect time for this book to be released, grab a copy for spooky season and you won’t be disappointed.

I was so excited to read this book. It was giving off spooky vibes and I was just ready to be in a spooky mindset. This book just fell flat. The first half is extremely slow. I found myself losing track of certain plot lines. This really felt more like a cozy mystery and not a thriller. Things do pick up towards the end, but it really wasn’t the book I was expecting based on the cover and the blurb.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

This is a promising debut novel by Rachel Louise Adams. It has an interesting premise and a couple of quirky characters--including the main protagonist.

Dolores Hawthorne left her hometown of Little Horton, Wisconsin, almost twenty years ago and has been estranged from her family. When the FBI calls to inform her that her father is missing, she hurries back to see what she can do to help. She arrives just before Halloween, a holiday the town is famous for, its celebrations as well as tragedy. What's going to happen this year? A celebration, or another tragedy?

Even though I figured out who the murderer was early on, there was still a twist that surprised me. This is a well-crafted book, with the tension mounting with each body that is discovered. I liked the characters and the setting. The build-up to Halloween made me wonder what else could happen. 3.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Minotaur Books, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is September 16, 2025.

No Rest for the Wicked is a twisting thriller winding through a small town with a history of trauma and an obsession with Halloween. The protagonist is forced to confront her past when she returns to a hometown she fled twenty years prior and her cloudy memories, mixed with an unfolding mystery, lend a lot of suspense to the story. What starts as a kidnapping case becomes so much more, resulting in a well-plotted story filled with compelling characters. I was pulled in instantly and couldn’t put it down.

To start, I felt like the wide range of story elements always kept me second guessing what kind of story I was reading. There’s the mystery of the protagonist’s hidden past, filled with heartbreaking trauma and infuriating questions that have no answers. There’s the intrigue of a kidnapping that has no leads and the trail of related events that start popping up around town. There’s the humdrum feel of the town itself, filled with small town Halloween charm on the verge of its biggest holiday of the year. Combine all of that with family drama and a few different character perspectives and you’ve got a multi-faceted story that always keeps you guessing.

The character focused narrative relies on multiple protagonists to tell the story, giving us a mix of semi-unreliable narrators to follow. Each was well developed with some kind of issue that hindered them when trying to solve the case. The main character, Dolores, has a sort of amnesia from the trauma that led to her getting out of town, and it makes it difficult for her to follow the thread of events until its almost too late. The FBI agents and cops all have some kind of flaw that keeps them from seeing the details clearly, ranging from cockiness to anger at federal intervention to past experiences that come back to haunt them. They all blend well together, making for a great story.

Finally, the setting was an interesting choice for me. The small town is Halloween central, a tourist trap where thousands of people flock to experience the perfect small town Halloween. It’s easy to imagine and all the more compelling when you realize the town has a rotten past filled with questionable people and horrifying events that have been glossed over to add to the town’s ‘spooky’ narrative. The hordes of feral cats running around everywhere was a strange addition, one that remained a mystery to me. Overall, it’s spooky enough to get the job done.

3 🌟

The cover and title of this book really drew me in, initially. Plus, the book blurb sounded right up my alley. While I enjoyed the premise and the pacing was good, unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me. Dolores, the main character, is forgettable. She didn't seem to have much personality beyond *childhood trauma*. The supporting characters weren't all that likable either. I didn't care for the way things were revealed throughout, in big enough doses (over and over) that made it so the reader wasn't surprised by the time the information was finally revealed. I would still give this author another shot.

Recommended for fans of family drama mysteries.

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

No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams immediately caught my eye with this intriguing and incredible cover.
Talk about the perfect read for Halloween? This is it!
I can’t believe this is her debut! Because man oh man! Are we in for an amazing time with her next stories she creates.
This is a well-written, entertaining thriller debut.
It has a great characters, mystery and intrigue.
Her writing style was magnificent. Rachel Louise Adams sucked me into this whirlwind and kept me engaged till the end.
This story is captivating, the pacing was perfect.
I enjoyed everything about this book.

Thank You NetGalley and Minotaur Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7915607699

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-rest-for-the-wicked-rachel-louise-adams/1146657235

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of No Rest for the Wicked in exchange for an honest review.

Rating 3/5

This book leans more toward a cozy mystery than a dark thriller, although it does take a darker turn towards the end. Personally, I wasn't a fan of the tone. While there were some fun, immersive moments, overall, this book just wasn't for me.

Just in time for this time of year! Little Horton mixes small-town secrets, family drama, and a string of eerie disappearances with the perfect dose of seasonal atmosphere. Dolores Hawthorne, a forensic pathologist who thought she left her hometown behind, gets pulled back when her father vanishes—and every layer she peels back reveals more rot beneath the pumpkins and parades. Creepy, suspenseful, and steeped in Halloween lore.

This book was a lot darker than I was expecting, but I did end up enjoying it quite a bit. The writing was pretty good and I did not predict the twist even though looking back on it, it was laid out very well. I would definitely read more by the author.