Following her estranged mother's suicide, Heather Evans return to her childhood home to prepare for the funeral and see to her mother's affairs. Hidden away in the attic, she finds letters written to her mother from an imprisoned serial killer, Michael Reave, but the letters predate his incarceration, indicating that Heather's mother knew Michael long before he went to jail; before Heather was born in fact. Heather sets out on a quest to learn more about her mother and understand if this connection to Reave has anything to do with her suicide or the fact that a copycat killer is on the loose. The premise is promising, and while I did like the book, I found several plot elements to be unrealistic and I did not particularly like Heather or understand her actions, which are the main reasons for my middling rating. There are several plot twists; some were easy to predict but one big one definitely took me by surprise.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review. I chose this as my final book for 2020. I wanted some dark and mysterious that I could get through fairly quickly. This book did not disappoint. It kept my attention and I could barely put it down. Plenty of twists and turns along the way too.

It’s been a long time since I devoured a book so quickly! I couldn’t put this down! I won’t recap the story since it’s been done to death by now.

This author knows how to tell a story and create a set of characters. I was always on the edge of my seat reading this. It was creepy. The use of nature as elements of evil really worked for me.

There were several twists and most of them I did not see coming (which is always fun). This went off the rails at the end but I dug every second of it!! I will definitely check out the next by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Crooked Lane Books for a copy in exchange for a review.

This book was very slow moving and then wrapped up so quickly at the end I had to reread parts to understand what was really happening.
I’ll admit- I was quite disturbed by this one. The whole cult/commune aspect niggled at me the entire time. I usually barrel through a good thriller and I couldn’t read more than 30 min at a time.
Characters were very well thought out, plot drawn out well and setting was very explicit- especially Fiddlers area. Wow.

A creepy, dark suspense novel that has bits of folklore and fairy tales, as well as serious true crime vibes. Beautiful writing and great pacing.

I really appreciate a thriller that doesn't play on any kind of full mental illness trope, and in fact, pushes that it's not always that at hand. I appreciated that we got snippets of the past throughout the book, as it made you relate to and connect with Michael Reave- something you don't often get in thriller novels. I didn't love the pacing of this book. Some refer to this as a slow burn thriller, but for me, it was a lot of information delivered to us in not the greatest of formats. I found Heather extremely unlikable, to the point where if she got herself killed I didn't really…feel sad about the idea of that happening. I didn't care for the way it all wrapped up, and the ending felt shoved down my throat with all the information I was failed to be given via an extremely slow delivery.

Nonetheless, without further ado let me tell you a few words about ‘’A Dark and Secret Place’’, in the middle of it I wanted to throw away my tablet and forget I even started reading this book. 🥲🥲



Maybe that is a bit of exaggeration, but I just did not get along with this book at all. It has somehow reminded me of ‘’Poison Garden’’ which at first was a good thing because I have truly enjoyed this book. However, when it comes to this position right here… I am just.. well, speechless? Even though I have enjoyed the beginning and it seemed like a book I will like, somewhere in the middle, the main characters were making me frustrated.



However, I will let you decide whether it is a book for you.

Wow! What did I just read? I absolutely loved it!!’ I read this book in one sitting, it was that good. As soon as I started the first chapter I was hooked and just couldn’t stop.
The story revolves around the mysterious suicide on a middle aged woman, unexplainable for her daughter Heather ( the main character). Heather soon discovers that her mother has been corresponding with the famous serial killer, the red wolf, now in prison. But the killings have started again with the same MO of the red wolf. The police are racing against time to stop this copycat.
This book was freakishly creepy and gory. You better leave your lights on while reading it because there were certain moments where I felt my hackles rise and was not comfortable in my dark room. The author cleverly combines pagan cult with the killings of young woman that date back to the 70’s. There is not one boring moment in this book, and I just seemed to fly through the pages without really realizing it. Congratulations to the author on her first thriller!

What a page turner! Haunting and dark, do not read alone at night. Heather is amazing. Heather is badass.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars
DNF @ 9.5%

A small town, serial killer, and family secrets? Sounded totally up my alley... unfortunately, <i>A Dark and Secret Place</i> is plagued by a confusing writing style, that I just couldn't get behind. I found the opening to be very disorientating with a bunch of names being thrown at you and various perspectives that I immediately had to get behind. I think that you will enjoy this if you don't mind getting head first into the action, setting, characters, and multiple perspectives. For me, this was just a bit much. With so much stress going on in my life and the world, I just don't have time to read a book that makes me more confused and doesn't interest me.

So many times you think she’s in danger but you shouldn’t be worried about her because she is the danger.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for sharing the digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for an honest review.
Following her mother’s death, Heather Evans in her mid-thirties returns to her family house, the very same place she left when she was 16 years old, after losing her father and having a disastrous relationship with her mother. She had sworn not to return but after her mother took her life, she had to, take care of her mother’s affairs and prepare for the funeral.
As she sorts through her mother’s belonging, she finds a box with letters from a man. A man who is not her father. A man her mother has been corresponding with since before Heather was born. And these ominous things are just the beginning of her haunted visit to her past. She finds that the man was Michael Reave, the very same man called Red Wolf who is a notorious, vicious serial killer who brutally took the lives of innocent women and carved their hearts and kept them hidden deep in the woods as a souvenir. And from the sound of the writings, Heather surmised that this man is literally really close with her mother and she decided to inform the police.
She was guilty and grieves stricken on knowing that her mother took her own life and was in search of the reason that would tempt her mother to take such a scary and desperate step.
But no matter what she searched she only found flower petals and bird feathers scattered around the rooms and shadows at the back garden close to the woods watching her move and vanishing into thin air as soon as they are noticed by her.
She wanted to meet Michael as she thought he might know why her mother attempted suicide reckoning her closeness with him from the letters. At first, DI Ben Parker had second thoughts but later on, he accepts reluctantly as a copycat killer is out there kidnapping women and taking their lives. To their surprise, Michael Reave who haven’t talked to anyone in years was ready to talk to Heather.
After her first encounter with the monster, she quickly realizes that she’s slowly being dragged to the cliffs and her life is under threat! Because Monster in the wood is now coming for her so she’d better run or face her past and release her inner darkness to fight them back. And begin her journey to Millers' wood, the dark and secret place.
Heather was quite a lovable badass heroine and her friendship with Nicki is something that I enjoyed in the book. I was hoping for more plots with Ben but he kind of disappeared after the news leaked.
I didn’t find the ending preferable ‘cause it literally happened in a flash. It was a good page-turner from the first chapter but by the end, the acceleration slowed down. If I am to compare it with a roller coaster ride, then it starts with a good velocity and then came down along a slope and failed to go up again because the friction was too strong. \0/
This is haunted! So bleak, incredibly dark, soul-crushingly disturbing story, may give you a long and endless nightmare!

Okay I tried - I was really creepily intrigued by the blurb for this one, but I was turned off by the story from the beginning... I don't know if I'm just not in the right place, but for some reason this one just didn't sit well with me and I could not get into the story. It felt unnecessarily gruesome and yet the characterization and plot felt flat and plodding, making the gruesomeness all the more discordant and a standout in a way that I found uncomfortable. I may just be the wrong audience for this one, because it seems that most reviewers really like it, so definitely read some more reviews before making your own decision... But for me, this one just didn't do it.

A Dark and Secret Place by Jen Williams is a new way of writing for the author as she is usually a Fantasy writer. I think she did a great job.

This thriller is about a young woman who's mother has recently passed away. The daughter Heather had moved away several years prior and did not have a good relationship with her mother. When she went back to her hometown for the burial she comes to find out that there are many hidden secrets.
Her mother had a previous life that she had no idea about. She had written to a serial killer who was currently incarcerated on a regular basis. There are many twist to this story. The ending is suspenseful and gripping.
The only downfalls that I can find with the book is it became a little boring in the middle. This quickly picked back up towards the end. The author also mention the color yellow several times during the story. Now these are not anything to make the book bad. I still gave it a 4/5 on goodreads and really that would have been a 4.5/5 if able.

The book description ~ “For readers of Jane Harper and Rachel Caine” …. With THAT, I did not need to read more!

Heather Evans has returned home due to her mother’s suicide. When Heather was younger and living at home her relationship with her mother was toxic. She left home after her father died and things have not gotten better in the mother/daughter department. But the suicide was something she did not suspect. .
While she was organizing her mother’s things she is baffled when she finds letters from a serial killer, who has been in prison for over twenty years.
Now copycat murders are happening.
She is now trying to find out more about her mother and her relationship with Michael Reave, the serial killer.

Story totally had me from the get-go but then it got slow and disturbing. I am a big psychological/thriller as well as a mystery/thriller fan. I am okay with dark and creepy, but not so much with disturbing.

Glad I hung in there ~ the ending had me on the edge of my chair.
Always love reading the Author’s Note as well as their Acknowledgements.
In this …Author’s Note ~ Ms. Williams states that this story is a different genre for her. Also she certainly never expected to be writing her acknowledgements in the middle of a worldwide pandemic.
Hmm ~ well said! True, story was a bit different for me and yep certainly never in my lifetime did I fear I would live and deal with a pandemic for what is now nearly 10 months!

My first [author: Jen Williams] novel but I certainly will read another!

(Note: I read this at Christmas ~ it is more a Halloween read than a Christmas story!)

Want to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this early release granted to me in exchange for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 8, 2021

While I enjoyed the idea behind the story and some execution of the plot, it failed to keep my attention for long periods of time. The first chapter started off strong and grabbed my attention right away, but the second chapter fell short. The author worked too hard to tell the reader that there was something more behind the main character's mother's death. It was almost hard to read. This got better, as well as the descriptions, as the book went on, and I enjoyed the POV shifts in certain chapters, but again, it routinely failed to keep my attention. I would put the book down and end up forgetting about it for a few days. I never felt an avid need to continue reading.

The plot was interesting, and perhaps this novel just wasn't my cup of tea. I would recommend anyone looking for a mystery to check it out and see if it's for them. I just wasn't wowed by it, though.

This is a good’n. Williams’ writing style and story development remind me a lot of my favorite author’s (Karin Slaughter). This story is reminiscent of many fictional thrillers, but really picks up around halfway. The characters come into their own and engage in really intriguing dialogue. And I definitely suggest this one to people who love characters that make decisions that have you face palming yourself every 5 minutes.

A DARK AND SECRET PLACE lives up to its title; it’s dark as a Grimm fairy tale and brimming with secrets the reader will race to reveal. With its terrifying story of a serial killer, and the woman who’s recently uncovered her mother’s connection to him, this novel will appeal to—and deeply chill—fans of true crime.

This was a great little thriller! Definitely has some morbid parts, but overall I really liked it. The plot was pretty unique, and I didn't see the twist coming at the end. It was entertaining.

I don't really have any strong feelings about this one. It was quite good. Enjoyable while it lasted. After the last page, I felt satisfied, and also eager to read another book.
Nothing bad to say. Just a middle-of-the-road standard thriller that is sure to entertain fans of the genre.

TW: suicide, domestic abuse

What a fantastic read! It had me on the edge of my seat! I loved the stories and I loved the twists. Overall this book is one I’ll definitely be letting people know about!

This book begins after the death of the main character's mother. She discovers that her mother has been corresponding with a serial killer. This book is more psychological thriller than mystery. Loved it. I especially enjoyed the excerpts from a book of fairy tales which fit in nicely with the main story line. I don't want to say too much in this review about the story as the twists at the end were so exciting. I was able to guess at some of the information that was revealed at the end but couldn't have anticipated all of it! I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves a surprise ending. Everything was wrapped up nicely at the end of the book. A very thrilling read.