"Turn Off the Light" by Jacquie Walters is a gripping psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end! 😱 The story follows Emily, a woman who's struggling to cope with the aftermath of a traumatic event, and her husband's secrets that threaten to destroy their seemingly perfect life.

Walters' writing is tense and atmospheric, perfectly capturing Emily's growing paranoia and desperation. The characters are complex and multi-dimensional, with motivations that are both believable and unsettling. The plot twists are expertly done, with a few surprises that will leave you gasping.

One of the standout aspects of this book is Walters' exploration of the themes of trauma, relationships, and the blurred lines between truth and reality. The story raises important questions about how well we can ever truly know someone, and how easily our perceptions can be manipulated.

The pacing is expertly managed, with a steady build-up of tension that culminates in a heart-pounding climax. The ending is satisfying, if not a bit unsettling, and will leave you thinking long after you finish reading.

Overall, *"Turn Off the Light" is a gripping and thought-provoking read that will appeal to fans of psychological thrillers*. If you're looking for a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat, look no further! 👍

Rating: 5/5 stars

This was such a clear 5-star rating for me. The narratives started a little bit slow, but snowballed into an epic scope. Jacquie Walters has redefined the haunting/witch hunt genre with brilliantly unique usage of time. I've been describing Turn Off the Light to friends as The Lake House, but make it a gorgeous, tragic adult horror/thriller novel. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

5 stars

Perhaps the best indication of my feelings on this book is that when was about halfway in, I immediately popped on Libby and queued Walters's previous book. I enjoyed this one thoroughly.

Edith and Claire live in the same house (kind of) but in entirely different timelines. That noted, their actions seem to be impacting each other. Inexplicable occurrences of all kinds plague both women, and they come to understand that somehow - 400 years apart - their choices are impacting each other.

For obvious reasons, a central feature of the novel includes jumping between timelines, and this is accomplished seamlessly. Edith is a housewife and way more importantly a healer, and she is also having some personal struggles - physical, moral, and religious - that plague her. She knows what she thinks is right. She also feels she may be being punished. Such is the plight of women forever. I absolutely loved her character and immediately felt invested in her story. As soon as I met her, I felt like she was giving _American Horror Story: Roanoake_ and _Coven_ crossover, and I am here for it.

400 years later, Claire is visiting her family home - previously Edith's home in the before times - with her very young daughter, Julia, for a terrible reason; her father is dying. Claire's sister Tilly and her husband are taking care of the father and the home, and there is clear tension among the group. it also comes to light that Claire and Tilly's sister went missing a long time ago, and the family has a lot of unexpressed pain over this horror. This even resulted in their mother leaving the country.

While both timelines deal with serious and concerning and sad issues, there are also little jolts of humor (mostly from Julia, who does the world's most kid thing in one scene that had me cracking up). There's also so much powerful messaging about resiliency and trusting yourself and the bonds of women. This is very clearly a horror novel, but it's a smart one, and I loved the setting, the characters, and the general plotting, too.

I will mention that there is an instance of SA in here that was tough to read. That noted, it's not gratuitous and it is self-contained, but it is important.

I'm literally first in line for Walters's previous book ATM, and I'll be among the first for the next one, too. This was a treat.

Dearest was one of my favorite books last year, so I was incredibly excited to get my hands on Turn Off the Light and it did not disappoint in the slightest. What starts as a fascinating mixture of historical witchy fiction mixed with a sad and emotional contemporary haunted house story takes a turn that is simply breathtaking and brilliant. Without giving anything away, a lot of dual or triple timeline books have come out in the past few years, but Walters brings something wholly original to this sub-genre and completely reinvigorated it for me. This book is everything you want from a horror novel and more. I can’t recommend it enough!