This book unfortunately was just not for me. I liked the original premise, and the horror/gore lived up to my expectations. However, I had a hard time following the story, and some of the plot choices were... unique.

The Red Knot was a delectable read. Supernatural, cults, and gore this book truly had it all and I could not put it down. The descriptive take that the author used painted a very real picture and was exactly what I wanted from this book. I truly can’t put into words how much I enjoyed this book and there’s something about a final girl moment that leaves me feeling empowered in every way.

If this book isn’t on your TBR it should be!!!!!!

*I received a free ARC from NetGalley*

*A special thank you to Alexandria from Rising Action Publishing for helping me out and making sure that I could fully experience this book*

Wow wow wow !!!!! All I will say is I can wait for others to read this amazing book thank you net galley it was an experience so good and a page turner that will have you thinking about this book well after you have finished it


a tiny, isolated island off the southern Alaskan coast, three girls have vanished without a trace, and Audra’s close friend—the island’s therapist—has been found murdered. A recent storm has severed all communication with the outside world, leaving Audra, the town's lead detective, trapped and at the head of a very personal case.

Her lead suspect, Valorie, the daughter of a notorious cult leader and the town's outcast, was discovered blood-covered and dazed at the crime scene. Valorie’s memory is a gaping void, a dark well hiding traumatic secrets, including the truth about the teenage kidnappings that haunt the island.

As Audra digs deeper into the town's twisted history, it becomes clear other murders on the island, dating back decades, might be connected. The clock is ticking for the missing girls, and every clue leads Audra to question even those she's known her whole life.

Detective Audra is investigating missing girls on an isolated Alaskan island when her best friend Allie, the local therapist, turns up murdered and Allie's daughter vanishes. The prime suspect is Valorie, daughter of the island's former cult leader, who was found blood-covered at the scene with no memory of what happened due to her dissociative identity disorder. Asher builds genuine tension with the claustrophobic island setting and Valorie's fragmented memories, and I appreciated how she handled the complex portrayal of trauma and mental illness without sensationalizing it. The cult elements and missing girls mystery kept me turning pages, but by the final act when things get really wild with supernatural elements, it felt like the story was trying to be too many different things at once. Still, the atmospheric dread and Valorie's character development made it a solid enough read, even if the ending didn't quite stick the landing for me.

This book was a wild and unexpected ride.

Audra is investigating the disappearance of two girls on her small, isolated island town off the coast of Alaska. Her best friend, Allie, is found dead, and Allie's daughter is missing. With the power out after a large storm, Audra becomes the lead on both cases. How are they connected? Her lead suspect is Valorie, whose father was once a prolific cult leader on the island. Valorie may know more than she realizes about the missing girls and the murder, but she cannot remember. The town is hiding very dark secrets that are about to be revealed.

Holy cow. I LOVE a good cult story but this one brought it to another level. The writing was excellent, and the character development was fantastic. Although the pacing faltered at times, the ending fully compensated. The blend of cult thriller with themes of mental illness and trauma made this a deliciously dark and twisted book.

Gripping, atmospheric, and off-putting, The Red Knot is the perfect blend of occult mystery and small-town horror.
Set on an Alaskan island, a woman is found murdered, and other girls have gone missing. It becomes a race for Detective Audra to try to find out what happened to the murdered island therapist and to save the missing girls.
What a book it is!!! I loved it, absolutely, a solid page-turner for me, the theme of gothic, thriller, and a roller coaster ride. I loved it.

Interesting horror mystery. Lots of suspense and twists. Ona remote Alaskan island a cult exists. Is it related to the mysterious disappearance of girls over many years? I liked some of the book but I think the monster part could have been eliminated as it was a good story without it. I want to thank NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this ARC.

This book does what it says, grips you into the plot and doesn’t let you go even after the story ends. Plot twist after plot twist; an insane roller coaster ride.

OMG!! This book has me spinning!!!

Unhinged horror, gruesome details, intense suspense. I was hooked right away! This is easily an addictive binge read!

"Gripping, atmospheric, and off-putting, The Red Knot is the perfect blend of occult mystery and small-town horror.

On a tiny, isolated island off the southern Alaskan coast, three girls have vanished without a trace, and Audra's close friend - the island's therapist - has been found murdered. A recent storm has severed all communication with the outside world, leaving Audra, the town's lead detective, trapped and at the head of a very personal case.

Her lead suspect, Valorie, the daughter of a notorious cult leader and the town's outcast, was discovered blood-covered and dazed at the crime scene. Valorie's memory is a gaping void, a dark well hiding traumatic secrets, including the truth about the teenage kidnappings that haunt the island.

As Audra digs deeper into the town's twisted history, it becomes clear other murders on the island, dating back decades, might be connected. The clock is ticking for the missing girls, and every clue leads Audra to question even those she's known her whole life.

Valorie must confront the horrors of her past while Audra's investigation becomes a descent into madness. On this cursed island, the line between neighbor and nightmare blurs, revealing that true horror often wears a familiar face."

I mean, it can't be that big an island can it?

The Red Knot by Monique Asher

Is a modern day horror that really packs a punch. It honestly has everything, and is truly terrifying. I enjoyed the writing style and the pacing had me staying up past my bedtime. I did like the gruesome nature of the horror but others may have a hard time with it.

Audra is a detective. She’s haunted by husband’s death from cancer, but is still trying to make a life for her daughter on the island she grew up on. An island where secrets abound, where girls go missing, and where an unimaginable horror rules all.

I think the characters were mostly well done. I liked Audra, Kale, and Valorie. I think that maybe Valorie especially was developed really well, with all of the memories adding to her whole self. I do wish Tara, Mark, Allie, and some of the others were developed a bit more just to flesh them out and relate their motivations better, but overall the characters were well done.

The plot was extremely interesting, though there were some beginning parts that could have been cut to make more room for character development. I really enjoyed how the last half of the book was almost all action driven and the major conflict wasn’t over too quickly. I find that happens in a lot of horror or thriller books, but this one did it very well.

Spoiler below:

The only major criticism I have on dropped plot lines is what happens to Hayley during the escape from the cave. I kept asking, did they just leave her there?? Is she alive?? And I only found out in the epilogue which I thought was a bit unsatisfying.

Overall this book was a 4 star read for me, rounded up from verging on a 3.5 because I thought the horror aspect was really original and terrifying.

I could not get into this book. Unfortunately, it was just not the right story for me to be reading at the time.

The Red Knot is eerie, unnerving, horrifically consuming, and yet unsurprising all at the same time. The townspeople are suspiciously tight-lipped and "cruelty toward women would be in the Typhon Island handbook if there was one" - so it's assumed the men can't be trusted. The narrative switches between Audra's perspective and Valorie's inner monologues, so there's little to no dialogue left for anyone else. This lessened some of the shock value of the final showdown as I didn't have any particular expectations for the other characters. I say "some" because there are still plenty of twists and turns!

Throughout most of the book I found Audra to be a bit insufferable. She tends to think in extremes and make pretty rookie decisions, but she redeemed herself by being an absolute powerhouse at the end. On the other hand, Valorie's flashbacks and "transitions" are a fantastic mix of vivid images, falsehoods and teasing recollections. These were particularly well written, although they probably could've been trimmed back to give the plot more stability. But the horrors inflicted on the women do not feel fetishized, it's got queer representation, and it definitely sucks you into its depths. This one is for fans of Endnight Games' "The Forest," Stephen King and The Wicker Man. I hope to check out more of this author's works!

Instagram Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5!

The Red Knot is a quiet powerhouse of a novel—emotional, lyrical, and deeply human. I was struck from the first page by the tenderness of the writing and the way it handles complex emotions with such grace. This isn’t just a love story; it’s a story about grief, identity, and finding your place in a world that doesn’t always make sense.

The characters felt so real, like people I might know—or want to know. Their journeys were messy and intimate in a way that felt refreshingly honest. I especially appreciated how the book treated silence and vulnerability not as gaps to be filled, but as meaningful spaces where connection could grow.

The pacing is gentle, but it works. There’s a stillness to this book that lingers long after the final page. It’s the kind of story that settles into your heart slowly and stays there.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

2.5 stars

I’m honestly not sure where to begin with my review. This story went into a completely different direction than I was expecting. And not in a good way. I absolutely hated the last 10% of the book. It got really weird, really fast and I found it to be completely ridiculous. The writing felt clunky and hard to get through at times. There was way too many times where things weren’t explained, so you’re just left with too many questions. I did enjoy the cult aspect though. That was really the only interesting part of the story. Even though the writing was lackluster, it surprisingly still held my attention.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

Something of a classic, small-town murder vibe. Put me in the mind of a more occult Mare of Easttown. It's well written and the characters are nicely rounded. I honestly don't have any complains beyond the fact that the story didn't quite hook me the way I expected. I think this has more to do with my tastes, though -- I think a seasoned mystery lover will get much more out of it than I did.

Thanks to the publisher for this advance reader copy -- all opinions are my own, I promise.

Make sure to read the content warnings. There’s a LOT of violence against women in this book. It’s split into different POVs and it can be hard to follow at times. A little meh about the ending. I’m so tired of tentacles.

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy of this ARC! This will be out in August of 2025

I felt a bit of this dragged on for a while and thought it could have been shorted by a hundred pages or so. But I was very happy with the ending. I was definitely shocked by the twists. And I also loved the emphasis on metal health, and the evil of man and that hand in that trauma.

Get ready for a twisty ride in this new island horror novel from Monique Asher!
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The Red Knot is beautifully drafted- it's part police procedural, part domestic thriller, with a nice pinch of unreliable narrator and a healthy dose of an Eldritch creature that is worshipped by a generational cult. The story takes place on an island for added terror. While there are quite a few different POVs in the story- I found it easy to navigate.
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This novel reads like a thriller for the most part- but there are definitely some gory horror elements injected into the storyline. I'd also like to add a CW for those that are sensitive to violence against women-as there are a few scenes that depict such violence.
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Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. I'm rating this four star because I felt that it was a little too long. It started dragging for me around 70% because there are so many different elements to the story. Length is obviously personal preference, because as I said before, the story is really well thought out.

**Thank you so much to NetGalley, Rising Action Publishing and Monique Asher for this eARC of The Red Knot in exchange for my honest review. Expected Pub Date Aug 26, 2025**

Whoa. This book was intense.

Dark, bleak, suspenseful, and mysterious. Monique does a splendid job of keeping the reader in the dark until the last possible second before revealing a twist. And not just one twist…multiple twists, leading to the twistiest of endings.

But let’s back up to the beginning. We start in an isolated small Alaskan town where girls have been disappearing. The weight of finding these girls rests on the shoulders of Audra-the town’s lead detective. On top of that, Audra’s got her own trauma weighing her down, which the author brings us into with her descriptive and tense prose. It’s palpable.

But the author doesn’t stop there. She drive home the desperation of the town’s situation by adding a murder to the mix, and a lonely and socially isolated woman-who may or may not have something to do with it. The woman, Valorie, keeps the reader invested because of her incredibly complex emotional trauma brought on by extreme abuse. It’s clear she is struggling with DID, but may be the answer to solving the crimes committed on Typhon Island. But will she be able and strong enough to face her past?

This is one of those books that is hard to put down. I flew through this book and could not get to the ending fast enough. If you’re a fan of mystery thriller/cult books, this one’s for you.