Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately it’s not for me. Did not finish @ 10%.

When 10-year old Lucy disappears, her family is devastated, but over time, they accept the possibility that Lucy may no longer be alive. Not so Leah, Lucy's older sister - she's convinced Lucy is still alive somewhere. Especially after some weird dreams and a computer message, in which Lucy tries to tell her where she is.

The story is told from Leahs POV, but also from Sylvia's - a woman who may know who's behind all the kidnappings. When other kids disappeared several years ago, Sylvia started some investigation of her own, where she stumbled upon a shocking secret connected to her own past. Now she may be the only chance Lucy has to survive. But is she willing to reveal her secrets?

I liked the change in POV and the different timelines, which created a complex abduction mystery. However, several times the plot took some implausible turns, especially when I learned who the culprit and his motives were and what Sylvia was inexcusably hiding all the time. However, that didn't stop me from turning the pages of this suspenseful thriller, both hoping and fearing with Leah about her sister's fate.

Big Woods is an engaging novel that has some good twists scattered through it. The author does a good job at setting the scene from the beginning. I liked how the author wrote from two characters points of view, this added an interesting element and enabled them to intertwine. There were some areas that I found could have been better, I found I was quite invested in Leah and Sylvia but was not really interested in Lucy or to concerned about her.

I did enjoy this book and found it an easy read.

I really couldn't put this book down. I think the author did an amazing job with the characters and also with setting it in the eighties. her descriptions brought me right back to my youth.

Its 1989 when ten-year-old, Lucy disappears. She was walking to the bus stop, but she never got on the bus. An investigation follows but as time trickles away, people begin to fear that her body will be found in the Big Woods. Children's bodies/remains have been found in the Big Woods in the past. Will this be Lucy's fate? Her whole family is devastated, including her older sister, Leah who at fourteen has begun to receive messages from Lucy - on her father's computer and in the form of dreams. Leah believes that Lucy is sending her clues. Leah strongly believes that Lucy is still alive, but no one believes her. Frustrated and believing her sister to be alive, she decides to find Lucy herself.

No one believes Sylvia either. Sylvia is an elderly woman who believes she knows what is happening to the missing children. She has gone to the authorities and they do not believe her either. How frustrating! But how, how does she know?????

This book is told through Leah and Sylvia's POV. Initially, I wondered who Sylvia was and what connection she would have to the missing child. We are given glimpses into Sylvia's life, her heartbreaking quest for a child. Her life, her marriage, and slowly a connection is made. She has had a lot happen in her life and she may indeed hold the key.

This book is set in the late 80's and initially satanic cults/devil worshipers were believed to be responsible for the missing children and their found remains. There are several things that get started but didn't seem to go anywhere and left me feeling underwhelmed. One area that shined was how the Author showed the family grieving and the close bond of the two sisters.

Is Lucy dead? Is Lucy alive? What happened to the other children? Are the dreams real? Will anyone believer her (Leah or Sylvia)? Will it be too late? Was there satanic worship? Did a pedophile take her? Did another child hurt her? If she is alive, where is she?

Overall, an enjoyable read with short chapters which move the story along. This book does have the nostalgic 80's vibe down. I must give props for that. I appreciate how the Author attempted to include several elements from the 80's. I just wanted a little bit extra. I would have loved to have had one additional POV thrown in.

Overall, a good debut and a fast read. I also enjoyed the pace of this book but did feel the ending was slightly rushed. Good solid writing and nicely thought out. I would read more from this author in the future.

Thank you to Midnight Ink and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of BIG WOODS in exchange for an honest review.

When Leah's sister Lucy disappears, she knows deep down that her sister is trying to reach out to her. She can feel it in her bones, and soon she begin to try to find her on her own. Sneaking around and putting herself in potential danger, she is determined to find her sister, dead or alive.

This book was dark and sinister. I loved it! It had suspense, and disturbing content, vexing situations and unexpected twist. It was so wonderfully done, well written, and beautifully plotted. I read the entire book in one sitting on a plane ride across the country. It was the best flying entertainment ever. I have not enjoyed a book like this one in a while. Time flew by and I was completely absorbed by the story. Did I mention I loved it?

Pick this one up already, what are you waiting for?

When Leah’s little sister goes missing, she refuses to give up hope. Especially because Lucy is visiting her in her dreams. She thinks the visions she has while sleeping could be the key to finding her sister.

Sylvia has information but no one is willing to listen to her. Not after what happened before, with Delia. They want to brush her off as a kooky old lady. But what she knows could save lives and get little Lucy back. And she’s going to do everything in her power to stop any more children from disappearing. Especially due to her personal connection to the man she comes to believe is responsible.

As the stakes get higher for each of them, the more time that passes, the less likely Lucy will be found alive. Can Leah get to Lucy before it’s too late? Or is it already too late?

With strong voices from each of our two narrators, the reader really feels the urgency and desperation as they take matters into their own hands when the authorities have all but given up. Sylvia’s passages have the tendency to drone the way an old lady’s might, while Leah’s come across as somewhat juvenile as she works her limited resources — her fellow high schoolers and her new driver’s license. The differing styles make for more realistic characters and a more rich plotline. Though the pace speeds up as they get closer to finding Lucy’s captors, I didn’t feel the kind of intensity I would have expected, and the end came a little too quickly for me, almost rushed. That said, this novel was well-written and kept my interest throughout.

3/5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley, Midnight Ink Books, and author May Cobb for the advanced review copy of this book. Find this review and more — including a short discussion piece on Big Woods — at Grey Kat Reviews.

Having lived in Texas during the 80s and remembering the satanic cult phenomena that was happening during that time, this book absolutely intrigued me. This book took me back to my childhood... yes, one where I was fascinated with cults, horror and anything macabre - especially if it was true life. Unfortunately, satanic and other types of cults were rampart during this time.

Cobb, thanks so much for taking me back. I giggled at "rock me on my desk" instead of "Rock me, Amadeus" and at the mentions of Luby's and Steak and Ale. The author did a fantastic job in bringing me back into the South.

It took me about 30% of the book to get into it. The chapters alternate between Leah and Sylvia slowly building to their intersection. It does run a little slow in some places. This is really more about the bond between Leah and Lucy (her sister who has gone missing) and how Leah and Sylvia are dealing with the missing children and eerie things happening within the town. I would have loved to have had MORE about the cult - what was going on, who was involved and why. I felt this part was lacking in the book... but only because that's a preference I would've preferred. The ending tied up very quickly. With the slow to moderate pace, this seemed a little too fast and neat right at the finish.

A solid debut. Cobb will certainly have more for us in the future and I'm looking forward to see what she comes up with.

A missing-person story, particularly when it’s an innocent child, is a reader’s worst nightmare. How can a child vanish while walking to the school bus?

It’s 1989 in the sleepy town of Longview, Texas, when ten-year-old Lucy disappears. Her parents, the police, and the community all brace for the worst, assuming her body will soon be found in Big Woods. Just like the other unsolved kidnappings.

As this isn’t the first inexplicably missing child, when she isn’t found in the first few weeks, the townspeople and even Lucy’s parents shift from active, frantic searching to numb, resigned acceptance. Lucy’s disappearance recalls the words of English philosopher Sir Francis Bacon, still relevant hundreds of years later, “He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune.” Leah, Lucy’s 14-year-old sister, doesn’t subscribe to this notion. From Leah’s perspective, being a hostage is better than being dead. The sisters have an unusually close relationship, possibly because they share a birthday.

One more person “knows” that Lucy might still be alive, albeit in deadly peril. Sylvia wakes up one October morning flooded with anxiety.

Who will save the children? That’s the question I wake up with this morning, the thought that comes barging in without invitation and stays parked there, like the neighbor’s fat cat I can’t seem to shoo away from my garden. I’ll be seventy-five this month, old enough to leave so many thoughts behind, but this one curls its way around the edges of my mind like the ribbons of cream in my afternoon cup of early grey.

May Cobb introduces Sylvia’s story circuitously, slowly filling in a picture of a solitary widow, consumed with secrets. Sylvia is estranged from the townsfolk of Longview—why is that? Why does she shop for groceries “in the next town over”? While grocery shopping, Sylvia sees a new “bone-white, crisp” missing-children poster:

Lucy Spencer. Blonde Hair. Age 10. Missing since September 29th, 1989. It was then I knew there was no turning back. I had to find a way to tell someone who would listen. The children wouldn’t be safe until they stopped them. Until they stopped him.

Leah Spencer and her parents are visited by the sheriff a month after Lucy’s disappearance. He tells the family to “start preparing for the worst” and that “none of the other children who’d been taken had been found alive.” Leah, unlike her family, is still hopeful.

And I might’ve started to believe she was gone from us forever, too, if it hadn’t been for the dreams.

The first time Lucy broke through—which is how I had begun to think of it—it wasn’t even nighttime. It was in the middle of a hot, lazy afternoon nap.

Leah hears her sister shouting for her from their treehouse in the backyard. She tears outside and calls out again and again but only “the sounds of crickets chirping” answer. Perhaps dreams of a missing loved one, be they ever so vivid, are not proof of life. Is it only a sister’s unyielding love that propels Leah’s fierce determination not to give up? But one night, the cursor on the Commodore in the study moves.

L E A H.

I grab the keyboard and start typing: Lucy! Is that you? My heart thrums in my chest. The cursor blinks.

Y E S. The cursor types back. I can tell that it’s Lucy, that she’s typing with just her pointer finger, the only way she knows how.

Leah quickly asks Lucy where she is. For a long time “the cursor just keeps blinking, blinking at me, a teasing, winking eye.” At last, the cursor moves: “UNDERGROUND. BY THE WOODS.” Leah knows all about the Big Woods.

At slumber parties, kids would tell ghost stories about it, and even before the kidnappings there had always been spooky tales about cults and devil worshipping out there.

May Cobb’s descriptions of the Big Woods are chillingly detailed. Once Leah receives Lucy’s message, she tries enlisting her parents’ help in looking for Lucy again—but they’ve moved on. They think she’s fantasizing. It takes true grit for Leah to strike out on her own. Armed with her father’s Swiss Army Knife and a bag of Fritos, she takes her dad’s car.

The sun is bright and the sky is open with no clouds, but once I turn down Seven Pines, the road becomes even narrower and the tall trees cast shadows over the road so that it suddenly seems like dusk in the middle of the day. I have to blink a few times to clear my eyes of the sun spots.

Sylvia, the widow who is shunned by the town, and Leah, the determined loving sister, have something in common: they will not allow themselves to be deterred from searching out and facing the truth. Sylvia goes to Lucy’s mother and says, “I believe these men are still active and …” But she’s cut off before she can finish her story. You can hear the sincerity in a grieving mother’s plea, “I’m trying to hold onto what little peace in life I’ve found and I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” But peace, in a town roiling with long-hidden secrets, is no panacea. Readers will be grabbed by Big Woods and sucked into the mysterious story. Hold on tight—it’s worth it.

If you like a thriller that has paranormal aspects then this is the book for you. Its set in the 1980's and changes between the two characters. Kept my attention and I wanted to know more.

I’m a bit torn about this book. I definitely enjoyed it and in some ways it was a great read. Yet, in others is was a bit lacking for me. This is May Cobb’s debut and as such I can see lots of potential but I feel like she might have tried to do too much and so there were parts that were left undeveloped.

It’s 1989 and ten year old Lucy disappears from small town Texas. The story is told in alternating POVs between Leah (big sister, age 14) and Sylvie a nurse who seems to know something about the missing children.

The book starts off BIG with Lucy’s disappearance and an eerie line about “who will save the children”. Her disappearance is tinged with talk of satanic rituals and other bodies recovered in Big Woods. The police have no clues and search of the woods only turns up Lucy’s coin purse. The book quickly turns into more of a slow burn read as the weeks tick by. It kept me turning the pages because I needed to know what happened to Lucy and how Sylvie was connected to it all.

One of the things I really enjoyed was the connection between the two sisters. It was obvious that they had a powerfully strong bond. Leah refused to give up on finding Lucy, even when the adults around here seemed to accept that she was most likely dead and would never be found, including her parents. The sisters’ bond/connection was so strong that Leah was having visions/dreams that she felt certain were communications from Lucy trying to aid her in finding and saving her. The adults in her life worried about her visions but she carried on (getting into a few hair raising situations), filled with hope that she would uncover what happened to Lucy.

I connected with Leah the most. Her emotions, pain and struggle were well crafted. Sylvie was also a dynamic character. As her story unfolds and we see the twists & turns her life has taken her part in the story begins to make sense. I couldn’t help wanting to shout at someone to just listen to her!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t a big fan of how things simply tied up neatly at the end. There were so many different elements brought up in the book - satanic rituals & devil worshippers, black roses being delivered at the high school, the church communities in an uproar, psychics, corrupt law enforcement officials, etc and those things were simply swept to the wayside and never mentioned again. I enjoyed how Cobb tied in all these aspects which were relevant in the 80s but it felt unfinished to me.

Overall, it was a good read. Just not one that I think will remain vividly with me over time.

Excellent debut that tells the tale of Lucy, a missing girl from two viewpoints- that of her sister Leah who believes she is alive and that of Sylvia, an older woman. Sylvia's role and understanding of the situation is the key here to the suspense. Leah's hunt for Lucy is based on her dreams, which can be, as we all know, unreliable. This one threw me back into the 1980s, when it is set, and makes good advantage of the topical issue of the time- missing kids and satanic cults. Unfortunately, things have not changed much for missing kids. Cobb has written a page turner (it helps that the chapters are short). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is plot driven more than a character study which makes it perfect for travel or the beach.

Thank you to Midnight Ink Books for access to the e-galley of Big Woods in exchange for an honest review. Lots of amazing creepy atmosphere in Big Woods. Lucy goes missing in the late 1980s and the time period really brought back memories! Lots of concern over satanic clans and the horror of MTV in our homes. I loved all the reminders of the time period. The story moved along at a decent pace with the point of view switching between Lucy’s sister Leah and Sylvia, a widow who may have some answers. Publishes July 8, 2018

A real page turner that keep you hooked since the beginning and you're not able to put it down till the end.
A great spooky thriller with some paranormal aspects.
I loved this book. I love the characters and the two different voices.
The story is great, well developed and there's a very good description of the 80s using music and other pop references.
Reading was a real pleasure. I hope to be able to read other May Cobb books soon.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Midnight Ink and Netgalley for this ARC

Have you ever been nostalgic for the 80's? Then do I have a book for you! Being that I did in fact grow up in the 80's this book brought back a lot of memories for me and I enjoyed every minute of this!

Summer, 1989, East Texas.

Lucy and Leah are sisters. Lucy is 10 to Leah's 14 but the age difference meant very little to them. They were incredibly close and loving to one another. One day as Lucy is walking to the bus stop she disappears without a trace.

Clearly the family is devastated. No one has any clues and the time just keeps ticking away as days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months.

A few years prior to Lucy's disappearance several other children had gone missing only to have their remains found in Big Woods. A Satan worshiping cult was blamed though no arrests were ever made because no evidence was ever found.

We have chapters that alternate between Leah and Sylvia a 75 year old woman. At first I was baffled as to what Sylvia had to do with the story but it soon becomes clear that she knows what is happening and what happened to Lucy.

Leah begins having dreams in which she thinks Lucy is sending her messages that she is still alive and giving her clues to her whereabouts but obviously no one will believe her. This prompts Leah to do her own investigation of Lucy's disappearance and Big Woods itself.

Sylvia also goes to the authorities but they don't believe this silly old lady with her crazy tale. She even contacts Lucy's mom but Roz (Lucy's mom) doesn't want to hear it. She is trying to slowly accept the fact that she has lost her precious daughter forever.

This family, wow, I really cared about them. I could feel their grief. Such a sweet and caring family (a very nice break from unlikable characters!) that I just wanted to hug them all and assure them that everything will be alright.

So what did happen to Lucy? You'll have to read it to find out!

I thought this was superb storytelling. An easy 5 stars from me!

Thank you to NetGalley & Midnight Ink for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ok folks, yes, I’ve found yet another book to take a trip back into the 80s with Big Woods by May Cobb. As soon as I saw that the story took place in that era I knew I had to read it and I’m glad I did as from the opening pages it really felt like I’d time traveled.

The story began with ten year old Lucy heading off to school when a car seems to begin to follow her. Unfortunately the unthinkable happens and Lucy’s family is frantic with worry when she can’t be found. The story then begins to switch the point of view between Lucy’s older sister Leah as the search begins and then another character, Sylvia, who is in her 70s and works as a nurse.

Leah’s point of view shows the frantic search and how her family begins to fracture from the disappearance of her sister. Leah keeps having dreams though of Lucy and she believes that she is still alive, if only anyone would believe her. Sylvia on the other hand doesn’t know the family but she has cared for a young girl with a wild tale of what happened to her in Big Woods but no one will listen to Sylvia when she tries to warn them either.

May Cobb did a wonderful job with this one giving it that perfect vibe of the era, adding in a slight supernatural twist and keeping the pace steady as the point of view went back and forth between the two sides of the story. This one was definitely one that kept my attention and the pages turning waiting to see what the outcome would be.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book starts off a little slow, but picks up speed until I was staying up late into the night reading. The story is told in alternating POVs - Leah (14) whose younger sister has been kidnapped, and Sylvia (75), a psychiatric nurse, who knows what may have happened, but no one will listen to her. The short chapters and alternating POVs worked well in this story.

I do wish that there was an epilogue though letting us know what happened to Delia and the other children who were with Lucy.

Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, Wow! What a captivating thrilling read, I was immediately engrossed and wanted to find out about Lucy's disappearance, I really enjoyed this book.

The good: The story was written in such a way that it was a really quick read. Not a lot of boring, descriptive language. It was an efficient writing style that kept my interest and had me turning page after page. I loved the relationship between the two sisters which isn't something that is usually focused on. It's usually told from a parent's POV.

The bad: I'm not a huge fan of the back and forth plot lines from two main characters. But I can appreciate a different way of tackling the story and once I got the rhythm down, I could appreciate this writing style more.

The Ugly: not a fan of rape stories or of having children being involved with sexual deviance in stories. While it was on the outskirts of the storyline and they weren't directly invovled, it's still a subject that I truly dislike and it really soured the overall storyline for me a bit.

A well-written thriller that lacks substance

In the year 1989, ten-year-old Lucy disappears from the town of Longview, Texas. The police and citizens of Longview immediately launch a huge search for her, but as the days go by, and she still isn’t found, her family begin to fear the worst, particularly in light of the several unresolved child kidnappings that have been occurring in the surrounding area over the past few years. However, Leah, Lucy’s fourteen-year-old sister, isn’t ready to give up and when she starts having strange dreams about Lucy that contain clues to her whereabouts, she is adamant that her sister is still alive. She starts to look for Lucy alone but her investigation leads her to the danger of the Big Woods and may uncover something far more sinister going on in Longview than the residents could have ever imagined.

Big Woods is an engaging and rapid-paced novel with some good twists and turns scattered throughout. The story is well-written and extremely atmospheric, and the author manages to create an unsettling feel from the very beginning that builds the tension as the mystery of Lucy’s disappearance gradually unfolds. She also manages to create a very 80s-feel to the book, which I was able to recognise and pick up on despite never having lived in the 80s myself! The story is written from two alternating points of view – Leah and Sylvia, a reclusive widow – and the way that they intertwine and build up to the climax of the story are extremely well done. It is also easy to differentiate between the two separate voices of the characters that the author has created, and as you read you feel that you get to know the two women very well, as they explore their fears and past traumatic experiences.

Unfortunately, once I had finished reading I found this story to be quite unmemorable as thrillers go, with a climax that felt a little anticlimactic compared to what the build-up had me expecting. Aside from Leah and Sylvia, none of the background characters really resonated or seemed that well developed to me, and I never really felt that worried for Lucy as I didn’t have a good idea of her character. Similarly, certain aspects of the plot felt a little wishy-washy and poorly explained – for example, the dreams that Leah has been used as a convenient plot device but no reason for them occurring is ever given, which makes some aspects of the story seem lazy. I felt that this could have been the first draft of a novel and may have been really good with a bit of tightening up but unfortunately it never quite reached that level for me.

In conclusion, this was a good debut novel and the author is clearly talented and imaginative, but I feel a little more substance and direction to the story and characters would vastly improve the book.

Daenerys

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review