Sometimes a book just doesn't work for me. I want to like it, but the story just doesn't rock my boat. Unfortunately, In the Vines is one of them. I was really looking forward to reading the book, however, from the start did I feel a bit confused when it came to the story, with the jumping between present and past.

We have the story from two years earlier with Mop's aunt having an affair with a married man. She's waiting for him to reveal this to his wife, but things go a bit wrong there. In the present story, we get Mop's situations as she is hiding from a crazy person with her "companion". These stories are interwoven until the end when Mop's situation is explained.

I think my problem was that the story just didn't live up to my expectations, I wanted a creepy family story, and this one was more puzzling. I wanted to know the truth, why is Mops hiding from someone that wants to kill her? But, her aunt's storyline failed to impress me. On the plus side was Mops storyline better, her arriving at her aunt's place for the first time in two years and finding out that her aunt is a bit ... odd...

In the Vines is a book that, if you are engrossed in the story will thrill you. The mystery is interesting. However, I admit that I speed read now and then towards the end. I liked the flashbacks to Mops growing up and I also found the beginning (the restaurant scene) pretty cool. I just wished I had like the story a bit more...

I love thrillers and wanted to give this book a chance after a bumpy start, but I feel it never got better. The writing was incredibly choppy, the characters all seemed absolutely insane, it was so hard to follow and actually disturbing at some points. So much of this book didn’t make sense, there was no real mystery, other than maybe wondering what on earth was going on. The characters felt thrown together, and the theme of sexual abuse that ran throughout the book seemed disjointed. This book took me 2.5 hours to read. I was given this arc from @netgalley for my honest review

In the Vines is easily one of the darkest, most compelling thrillers I have ever read. The book centers around Mop and her Aunty Liv Vandonbeer, the richest family in New England. Mop's mother, Mary Elizabeth Pentecost, is in the picture as well, and these three strong women unravel the secrets of their past.The book reminded me of Russian nesting dolls where every few pages, a new secret is revealed and everything changes! A new nesting doll is revealed again and again and again!

This story is bananas.

It’s like every Poe story smushed into one. And I haven’t decided if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

The timeline is a bit all over the place, present and two weeks ago (Mop) and two years ago (Aunty Liv) with many past memories interspersed. Surprisingly this works and the story feels cohesive even if it is jumping around. The writing is very atmospheric albeit a bit wordy. In fact, I think it would have made a great novella or short story as I felt a lot of scenes were too descriptive, the information over abundant.

Family secrets are revealed and psychopathy shines through in this crazy thriller with a touch of horror.

IN THE VINES is a twisty thriller with two unreliable narrators. Mary Olivia Pentecost aka Mop is the young niece of the other point of view character, her Aunt Liv. The family is chock full of old money, secrets, and leverage over powerful people. Liv, a nurse, is in love with a married man, who she thinks can make all her dreams come true, but she knocks over a domino that starts a chain reaction of destruction. Mop’s attempt to solve the puzzle of her Aunt’s strange behavior turns into a fight for the young woman’s very survival.

I am a huge fan of unreliable narrators and plot puzzles, but I don’t like feeling overtly manipulated as I did while reading this novel. The story toggles between past and present in an attempt to feed the reader details, while withholding vital information required to sort out the events that led to Mop’s present perilous situation. For the majority of the book, Mop refers to someone as her companion, and the person’s identity isn’t revealed until the last twenty percent or so of the story. An explanation is given for Mop’s odd word choice, but by for me, it was too little, too late. I found the constant flip flopping between past and present dizzying.

The description of the setting and writing style are nothing short of hauntingly beautiful. Other readers of thrillers who are more forgiving with withheld information will likely love this gothic cypher.

I have recently finished In the Vines and needed to take a moment to gather my thoughts on it. I have mixed emotions on this one. First and foremost if you are looking for an edge of your seat, what the is going to happen next then this book is for you. There is a whole lot going on and you will flying through the pages to see what will happen next.

Having said this, it is a whole bag of crazy going on. And when I say crazy, I mean is anyone really this out of their loving mind crazy?! And not just one individual but several who are on that level. And that is where my conflict lays. The book is well plotted, with several characters' point of view moving the story forward. And while the multiple time lines were a struggle for me at times I do believe they moved the story along effectively.

It is the sheer lunacy of several characters that had me shaking my head and thinking is this for real? However, I realized that I needed to let that go - because it is this lunacy that makes the story so compelling! And without there would be no story. And so once I was able to step back from my need for reality, I couldn't put this book down. I got caught up on how absolutely nuts each character could be and how that would affect the other characters and ending.

After reflecting, I would recommend this book particularly if you are looking for a smart, wild psychological thriller

I received an e-arc via NetGalley from Thomas & Mercer. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book but all thoughts and opinions are my own and are not affected by receiving a review copy.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review. In The Vines is the story of the Pentecosts. They are one of the wealthiest families in the country and have a lot of family secrets. Mary Olivia, more commonly called MOP, is still haunted by her mother's mysterious death at her sister's house by the ocean. Two years after that faithful night, she goes back to see what truth she can find. In The Vines has a lot of atmosphere and a lot of secrets. I am not sure I read it carefully enough to really get all of the connections and clues within the first half of the book. For me it really picked up in the second half. In The Vines will be published on July 17/18 and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes dark gothic domestic thrillers.

Alternately told by Mop and her Aunt Liv, this is the tale of a family with a lot of secrets. Mop's mom jumped off a cliff behind Liv's house and Mop wants to know why. She isn't expecting to learn all that comes out when she finally gets Liv to talk. Liv is creepy and Mop is sympathetic . This has been described as a psychological thriller or as a modern gothic; I'm not sure it fits in either genre but it's a good fast read for those who like twisty family stories. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This was a very hard book for me to read when it came to not only the graphic violence but also the violence that my mind imagined because the story unfolds in such a way that my mind had way too much time to think about what may have happened. That did not mean I didn't want to read and finish the book because I was very much interested in finding out what was happening and what had happened to Mop and her family.

Mop comes from one of the most wealthy families in the country, a family steeped in secrets of their own and others. Something very bad happens two years before the book starts and we are taken though the events by both Mop and her Aunty Liv. Mop loses her mom to those events two years ago and has lived in a mental and emotional fog, blocking out everything but her studies and volunteer work, at college. Mop has now come home to attempt to face what had happened back then and also to reconcile with her Aunty Liv, who cut everyone out of her life, after the tragic events.

It's obvious that things are not right with Aunty Liv but also Mop knows that she has repressed memories of past events and is going to try to dig into what she knows and what she questions. This starts of landslide of horribleness and truth although reading things from Aunty Liv's perspective always had me doubting if she is even capable of knowing truth. Aunty Liv is one crazy lady, some of the crazy brought on, I believe, by her all encompassing power over others due to secrets held for decades and more.

This is a very good, terrifying book. Hard to read a book with your eyes closed but that's what I wanted to do. I could not stop reading until I had finished this book. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC.

If you’re craving a super dark and highly compelling read to binge on this summer, look no further because In the Vines has all of that and much more. This was a creepy gothic read that bordered on horror at some points, it sure as hell scared me half to death and you guys know how much I love that!

This is told alternately from Mop’s point of view and her Aunty Liv’s and it does jump around time wise, but everything is clearly labeled and easy to follow. Mop was a great character, but what does it say about me that I loved the mentally unstable and totally unhinged Aunty so much? (No need to answer that one 😜) Following her down a rabbit hole full of dark secrets and bat shit crazy musings was the most fun I’ve had in awhile, Kirk is such an outstanding writer that seeing Aunty’s stream of consciousness felt incredibly authentic, a true glimpse into the mind of someone living in total hysteria and paranoia.

Besides the fabulous characterization the level of detail in Kirk’s writing is truly amazing. Her prose is so rich and packed full of meticulously detailed descriptions that this is one book I would recommend that you savor. The atmosphere she created of a seaside New England mansion that’s the center of several family tragedies and horrifying secrets was vividly drawn and extremely creepy. I could wax poetic for ages about how much I enjoyed her writing style, but I won’t bore you and will just finish by saying read the damn book, SO GOOD!

In the Vines in three words: Immersive, Rich and Menacing.

"In the Vines" was a page-turner that slowly unraveled its mysteries. I found the two POVs and time jumps impressively executed, allowing the story to gradually reveal itself. I really enjoyed this book and thought about days after I finished. I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced copy of #InTheVines...

I have to say I didn’t entirely enjoy this book. I thought the plot and suspense was great but at times the book was a little too wordy and/or confusing. The beginning was a little slow for me and I struggled to get through the first half of the book however once everything started to unfold I found myself reading as fast as I could to find out what was going on! I would recommend this due to the storyline but be prepared to be a little confused...

Thanks to Amazon Publishing partner I was gifted In The Vines by Shannon Kirk via Netgalley. Wow! This was such a fun, creepy, crazy read!

I have a rule. A rule that is pretty stupid on my part but still, my rule. If I can’t read a book within two days, I lose interest 🤷🏻‍♀️ Why am I like this? No clue, just my thing. Well, this gem broke my rule. With life, school, recitals, etc my reading time this week was limited. So, to my surprise I ended this gem on day 4. I could NOT stop! I had to know what was going on!

Enter Mop, Mary Olivia Pentecost, the daughter of Johanna Vandonbeer Penetecost and niece of (Liv) Lynette Viola Vandonbeer. Three very close women that come from the richest family in New England.

Mop’s mother jumped into the ocean behind “Aunty” Liv’s property two years ago. Mop hasn’t seen or heard from Aunty in those two years. Aunty was like a second mother to her niece so now Mop feels alone and unloved. Well, that’s about to change and ohh Lordy does it get W-I-L-D!

Good god this was addicting! Told in two different POVs, Mop’s and Aunty’s from past and present with somewhat long chapters. If you know me, I like my chapters short but that did NOT take away any enjoyment while reading this. I know I am not saying much about the story but it’s because I feel like there are many story lines within this book. A LOT goes down and I could 👏🏼 not 👏🏼 get 👏🏼 enough! Who doesn’t love disturbing women 😈 Lies, SECRETS, gothic, disturbing AF, betrayals... ooo juicy!!!! 4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.💫

I tried but could not get into this gothic thriller ! Thanks to #Netgalley and #Thomas&Mercer #InTheVines

This story is about Mop, Mary Olivia Pentecost, her Aunty Liv and her mother Johanna Vandonbeer, three very close women who also happen to be in the richest family in New England. Mop’s mother apparently jumped off the cliff behind Aunty Liv’s house after a fire two years ago and Mop hasn’t seen Aunty Liv since then. Mop was very close to both her mother and Aunt, who was like a second mother to her. Mop goes through her last two years at Princeton in a depressed fog, unable to understand why she is suddenly so alone, but all that is about to change.

I had a really hard time getting into this novel right from the first chapter, I found it just jumped in and I was very confused at first to what was going on. The further in I got the less confused I became, but I did find it hard to connect with the characters. I didn’t enjoy how long the chapters are, but it did allow that character to share a big chunk of the story, which I did enjoy. I did like Mop, but I found it hard to like Aunty Liv; she has so many secrets and the way she handles them is totally abnormal. I did find myself trying to read faster so I could find out who was out in the woods with Mop.

I did find myself about halfway wanting to read more and finding myself immersed in the story line finally. The writing is so different from anything else I have ever read that I think I just needed time to get used to it. It was written so beautifully, and I appreciated that as the story went on and some of the characters were getting more maniac, the writing got rougher and shorter to allow you to see just how this is affecting them. I did enjoy the book overall, and I think if you are anything like me, you have to give the book and writing time for you to get into it more because it is a really good novel.

Thank you Thomas and Mercer for this Amazing book. I can't express in words, how lucky I feel for this ARC. I am so excited, as I've been hearing so much about this book lately, thanks to Crime by the Book's Instagram photos of this great book. I've just started, but I am pretty sure It will take a few days than any other book and that's b'cause of the language of the author. Yes, it demands total concentration, and no it's not a light read. But that's what makes the book so amazing. Such a twisty storyline, to which I am totally gripped. I am hoping to see the title on the top 10 list of crime novels this year. Great read, indeed! A definite 5 star, no doubt.

I tried 3 times to get into this book, but I just couldn't!

The premise itself is a good one: a woman dies while staying at her sister's guest house, which results in tearing the family apart. But then all the other plot points come in -- the sister is having an affair, she stalks the wife, there's a lady being kept in a barn... what? There's just too much going on. Combine that with the storyline jumping back and forth between past, recent past, and now and it just makes for a mish-mash that is hard to follow. Furthermore, you get to where you just don't care what happens to these characters.

My mind is completely blown! In The Vines was a crazy and wonderful, modern, gothic thriller. Bonus points for being loaded with strong, fierce, fabulous, terrifying women.

Bizarrely, after just finishing the novel, I am finding it difficult to describe one central storyline. As the title suggests there are several stories within this novel twisted and knotted like vines. Mop is the daughter and niece of a pair of lovingly-tight-knit “Vanderbilt”-like sisters. A tragedy befalls her family and the rest of the book disentangles thread after thread of a large scale mystery set in a New England ocean-/cliff-side estate.

I was addicted to every word. At times the prose read like poetry. As a couple of the characters descended into madness, the prose got choppier and crazier and they just fit with the mood and atmosphere.

I loved the relationships described in the novel, especially the honesty about how even the best relationships have dysfunction in them.

Though thoroughly modern in its graphic nature, In The Vines does harken the reader back to other gothic, female-driven greats like Rebecca and Jane Eyre. I would recommend this novel to everyone!

Okay, let me first start off by saying I get scared easily... hence my low-ish rating. This thriller was so hauntingly beautiful. I'd almost classify it as horror, and I can't handle that. This book was jammed packed with so many anxiety-ridden moments.... I'm so lucky I made it out of this book still breathing. I did adore the gothic elements, of the house, the family and the secrets riddled within. I will for sure be recommending this book to the people I know who love dark, scary thrillers. This would easily be a 5-star read for them!

Fan-freakin-tastic. This is one of my favorite thrillers I've ever read. This is a wonderfully written gothic thriller that has both Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre feels. I found myself highlighting whole paragraphs and just completely sinking into the words. This book is very dark...and for that it will not be for everyone. I love stories that focus on a narrator who is mentally unstable. But this is the first time I've ever fully felt the mental unraveling myself! I felt as if I too was losing my mind. Wonderful.