When Heather Evan's mother commits suicide, it doesn't seem right to her. When she finds letters from a notorious serial killer known as the "Red Wolf," she is even more dumbfounded. It seems her mother had a life before she was born that she knows nothing about. Now, women are being killed again in the same manner as the "Red Wolf". However, he is in prison. The police use her help to talk to Michael Reave, the "Red Wolf."

The story goes back to a commune at Fiddler's Woods and a rich man with weird ideas. The book is probably the scariest I've read in a long time. It is set in England, and so the language reflects it.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It was thrilling and an investigation of Heathers mothers past. She interacted with a serial killer so easily. The plot twists got me anxious and thinking about everything as a whole. It was slow but at the same time fast paced with alternative timelines.

A great atmospheric book, it starts off a bit slow but remains interesting throughout. I enjoyed the characters and the dark themes.

To understand her mother's death, Heather must place herself in danger. In order to find justice for the newest victims, she must open doors that should never have been closed.

I initially had high hopes for this book, anticipating it would be a solid 4-star read, until it took a turn that left me disappointed.

Heather returns to her hometown following her mother's shocking suicide. There were no discernible warning signs, leaving Heather grappling with the inexplicable tragedy. As she sorts through her mother's belongings, she stumbles upon a tin filled with letters addressed to her mother, all from a convicted serial killer named Michael Reave.

Michael is incarcerated, steadfastly maintaining his innocence. Heather is left bewildered and disturbed, questioning why her mother had been corresponding with this man. What was she concealing? When a murder occurs with eerie similarities to those of the past, Heather delves into her mother's enigmatic history while the police investigate whether Michael possesses knowledge about the current crime.

What I found engaging:
- The initial premise drew me in with its gripping setup, piquing my curiosity about the unfolding story.
- Some parts of the book genuinely elicited a sense of creepiness, a rare feeling in my reading experiences.
- The narrative successfully establishes an atmospheric tone, enveloping the reader in a palpable sense of foreboding.

What didn't quite work for me:
- At times, Heather's dialogue felt grating and off-putting.
- While I'm usually a fan of amateur sleuths, the suspense waned as soon as Heather embarked on her investigation.
- The story encompassed an overwhelming array of elements, from a commune with cult-like qualities to haunting fairy tales, a mysterious woman in a red coat, suspicious neighbors, and more.
- The ending, unfortunately, felt excessively convoluted, leaving me with uncertainty about what had actually transpired. It bordered on being over-the-top.
- There is a distressing and disquieting scene involving animals (around 30% into the book). While I understand its purpose in the story and that it wasn't the sole determinant of my rating, it's worth mentioning.

I've rated this book 2.5 stars, but it's worth noting that there are many positive reviews for it. So, if you're considering reading it, I recommend checking out those perspectives as well.

I'd like to extend my gratitude to Crooked Lane Books, Jen Williams, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This seemed to have everything I like in a suspense/thriller book, but for some reason it didn't wow me like I was expecting it to. I really was intrigued by the plot. This is dark and creepy and getting to see inside the life of a serial killer was interesting. Maybe my problems came with the main character, Heather. I just didn't like her. This was still a good read and I would read this author again.

This was a fun read. I love a thriller at any time of year because sometimes you need something that is twisty and filled with puzzles but interesting and engaging without making you wade too deeply into emotions and ethics. This one fit the bill by having intriguing puzzles and a great pace.
Recommend it!
#ADarkandSecretPlace #NetGalley #CrookedLaneBooks

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Unfortunately, this was not for me. I was unable to get past the first few chapters. I believe this is just an issue of my taste not aligning with the story. I recommend others try it!

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

I honestly just don’t know how I felt about this book. It was so slow moving for the first 80% and then it flew? But too fast because I feel like I missed something. I don’t know. I just didn’t love Heather. I didn’t really like many of the characters and in a thriller/suspense, I feel like you kind of need to. That being said, despite the slow feel, the setting was great, the writing was really great (I really got a feel for what the characters were seeing which was cool). I enjoyed the plot somewhat. I just wished I had one character to really like and root for.

Contains: suicide, violence against women, sexual abuse involving a child, animal abuse, and murder*

I really enjoyed this thriller. I was interested from page one. The subject matter of this story was just very intriguing. The way it was put together felt like a puzzle. I needed to keep reading to see how everything was going to end up, and what the reveal was going to be. It's probably all been done before, but I was hooked.
Heather is our main character, she's brought back home after the suicide of her mother. A mother she didn't have the closest relationship with. She's back in her childhood home, having to go through all the things. She finds a box of letters written by a serial killer (Michael Reave) to her mother. This causes Heather to try to find out more about her mother's past. How does she know Michael Reave? Why did she write to him?
Heather was a character I didn't really have strong feelings for. She did have a tendency of keeping secrets, not reporting things to the police that she should have.
I enjoyed trying to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together. Some of the villains were obvious, but trying to figure out how they were all connected was fun.
There were a couple of disturbing scenes in here. There was some animal cruelty that was just very distressing to read.
This does have some back and forth timeline stuff. Even though Michael Reave is a sick and twisted soul, there were instances that I felt sorry for him. He didn't have a very fair go at life.
The ending definitely had some surprises, but I would have like a little more closure from all the build up, but I'm not disappointed in it. I think I would have liked a little more explanation in some areas too.
This is the first book I've read from Jen Williams and I'd definitely read more. I learned that they have some fantasy books that I might have to check out.

A Dark and Secret Place was a fun read! I felt like the writing and mystery were done well and I enjoyed my time reading this book!

I enjoyed this book, but I did feel it was really dark. It starts out with Heather returning to her childhood home because her mother has committed suicide. She finds letters from notorious serial killer "The Red Wolf" to her mother, and wonders how on earth the two knew each other. Heather now must seek answers to questions no one wants her to know. The pacing of this book was great, and it did keep my interest. Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Dark and Secret Place is a creepy mixed paced mystery/thriller which follows Heather Evans as she tries to figure out the circumstances around her mothers suicide. What follows is a very twisty and atmospheric look into the world or serial killers, cults and folklore.

It starts off as a slow burner then everything starts moving at whiplash inducing speed with several strands of the storyline diverging and converging again. Sometimes things can be a little difficult to keep track of and I think that's why it wasn't a higher star rating for me.

An enjoyable read for fans of dark complex mysteries.

I don’t normally like “creepiness” as a genre (because nowadays I feel like the creepy mysteries are genre, there is so many of them), because I so often find the logic in them missing and psychopath/lunacy overflowing. As if the freaky factor was an adequate substitute for a plot.
But this novel is deliciously creepy, I am not afraid to say. In my opinion the authoress understood her story, knew what she was going to write about and incorporated all the sinister, eerie and creepy motives to serve her story. Which I like, because I see the mind work. Also, there is something messy and raw in this story that has caught my attention. Some humanity, I guess, some feelings in this quite gore story about secrets, cult and copycat murders deep in the woods.
This is not a light, sitting room pretty kind of story. Be ready for all the creepiness, many kinds of it. The ending feels a bit too much of it, some subplots are unnecessary and not needed for the story, the craziness is very crazy and the police people have zero results. Yes. But there is also a story behind all of that, quite catchy a story. I enjoyed this novel, surprisingly for my tastes, and will follow this authoress from now on. Good story is a good story, creepy or not!

This is described as a chilling psychological suspense and that sums this up perfectly, it was an engaging and powerful thriller that I found myself getting lost in

I liked the slow build of this thriller and the psychological aspects to the case of the serial killer named the Red Wolf. It goes to the heart of the human experience, asking whether we can truly know and trust our loved ones. Heather is thought of as the prodigal daughter, only returning to the family home after the shock of her mother committing suicide. It’s when Heather is clearing items from her mother’s home, that she makes a terrifying discovery. Her mother has had a correspondence with a serial killer called the Red Wolf. Heather finds decades of letters from Michael Reave, who is convicted for the ritualistic killing of several women. Reave has always emphasised his innocence and Heather’s discovery comes as DI Ben Parker is taking a second look a the case. Unknown to Heather, a body of a woman has been found in the same way the Red Wolf arranged his victims, stuffed inside a tree and covered with flowers. Can Heather and Ben each investigate this latest murder, to find out whether Michael Weald really is innocent and a Red Wolf still stalks the forest?

I wasn’t able to connect with the character of Heather, because I found her a bit self-absorbed. She seemed volatile and I didn’t always understand her decision - making, including the choice to go off on her own and investigate a serial killer. She placed herself in very dangerous situations, physically and mentally, especially when she’s so vulnerable after the death of her mother. I did understand her need for answers, such as why her mother was writing to a murderer, but thought she underestimated Michael Reave’s ability to manipulate and get inside her head. Their conversations were nail-bitingly tense, with great atmosphere and his disturbing forays into fairy tales were clever and cryptic. The author tells the story through chapters in the present with Heather and chapters that concentrate on Michael Reave’s early life. The early years were interesting from a psychological perspective, because they I couldn’t stop analysing his actions and experiences to work out whether they had created a murderer.

Overall the atmosphere created is very dark and sinister. The early parts where Heather is at her mother’s house had a slightly creepy feel, but the woods were even worse. The author keeps us waiting for answers about Heather’s mother and her relationship to Michael Weald. Why would she choose to leave a note addressed ‘to the both of you’ giving him the same prominence as her daughter? I’m still not sure about the ending and whether I felt it rewarded all the anticipation and complexity that went before it. There are also some really graphic scenes, including some with animal cruelty that some people might struggle with. However, this is a chilling and inventive mystery with a great premise.

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

I loved the premise of this one - I have always loved reading about true crime and serial killers. I found this one to be. That said, this one just wasn't for me at the time. It was good but not great. It was just a little to slow for my taste. That said, I will keep an eye out for this author in the future

What a great book and I highly recommend it! This is a new author and I will for sure look into any other published books.

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the dark atmosphere of this book, but I found it to be very slow moving. I think it fell apart in the end. Also, I get easily annoyed by amateur sleuths, and Heather annoyed me. I also don't like books that have things that happen to animals. Summing up, I guess this one wasn't for me, but it had such a promising premise.