This one is more of a character study than mystery, and is well done! I became engrossed with the main character who was niave, spoiled, self-centered, and totally clueless most of the time - making one really stupid mistake after the other then wondering how she got into each mess. I kept reading more to see what she was going to do next than if the mystery was getting solved - which in the end it does. Not sure this is what the author intended, but was an entertaining read

In a Deep Dark Wood is a standalone psychological thriller about the rapid mental decline that can often happen to a person who has just faced trauma, an unbounded need to know the truth and an obsession that puts our protagonist in immense danger. The prologue begins with an unnamed and unidentified child murderer sitting in prison for her crimes. Most others fear her and that's exactly the way she likes it. She has a cell to herself and uses people to get exactly what she desires. She bribes the 18-year-old attempted shoplifter working at the textile workshop within the prison to pass her squares of fabric and she signs herself up for a hairdressing course in order to steal some scissors. It took a month but she eventually had what she needed. Tying the end of the "rope" around one of the bars on the window, she fashions it into a noose placing it around her neck and the chair on her bunk. In her hand, she held a crumpled photo of two sweet-faced boys dressed in identical outfits. Her boys. Then she kicked the chair from under her and invited the darkness to take her. Meanwhile, elsewhere, Francesca "Fran" Hughes had taken the family dog, Buddy, for a walk in the woods around the usual time of day when Buddy ran off and she heard a weird noise. Walking in the direction of the sound, Fran made her way toward the old yew tree where many of the youngsters hung out.

Standing there were two men and when they turned, having heard her, she could see a boy too. They later discover the boy to be 17-year-old Tyler Ingram. He was standing on a crate, and his hands were tied behind his back. His mouth was taped with duct tape. He looked petrified. He was struggling and trying to cry out. He saw her, and began pleading with his eyes. The men then kick away the box he is standing on and she stands frozen is terror. Fran then befriends Tyler's mother, Mel, and is frustrated that the police seem to be neglecting the case. She begins to do her own investigating and lands herself in extreme danger. Those who carried out this brutal killing are to be feared but will Fran realise this before it's too late? This is compulsive and enthralling story that moves at a fast pace and follows the trials and tribulations of protagonist Fran who is suffering the extreme mental effects of trauma and is living with fear, guilt and depressive episodes due to what she saw. There are a plethora of unexpected twists and enough emotion to make this a moving tale as well as a thrilling one. Fran isn't exactly the brightest and makes some truly ghastly decisions throughout the narrative ending up with her in hot water with people you really don't want to mess with. This is a riveting and absorbing thriller and a captivating, well rounded debut from Ms Pritchard. Highly recommended.

‘In A Deep Dark Wood’ is the debut psychological thriller from Tina Pritchard and what a debut it is too. I read the synopsis, which intrigued me and convinced me that I had to read it as soon as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘In A Deep Dark Wood’ but more about that in a bit.
It didn’t take me long at all to get into this story. The incident that starts the story was certainly an attention grabber and from then on I felt compelled to keep reading. I was intrigued to see in which direction the story was going to take me next. The pages just seemed to automatically turn themselves and at one point the page numbers became a blur. I managed to read this book in under 48 hours, which for me is rather good since I find it hard to concentrate for any length of time and I am easily distracted. I found ‘In A Deep Dark Wood’ to be a gripping read, which kept me guessing and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘In A Deep Dark Wood’ is really well written. I had real trouble believing that this was actually a debut psychological thriller as the writing is so polished and experienced. I hope that makes sense. For me, the story started with a bang, hit the ground running and maintained a fairly fast pace throughout. Reading ‘In A Deep Dark Wood’ was much like being on at times scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way- some of which I saw coming and some of which I didn’t.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘In A Deep Dark Wood’ and I would recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Tina’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

In a Deep Dark Wood
By Tina Pritchard
Inkubator Books (28 February 2021)


Description
What she saw in the wood would change her life forever.
Walking in the wood one day, Fran witnesses the horrifying murder of local teen, Tyler. She tells the police exactly what she saw, but their investigation doesn’t seem to make much headway.
Fran tries to settle back into a normal life, but is tormented by guilt – was there something she could have done to save the boy? Fran can’t let it go and finds herself drawn to Tyler’s grieving mother, Mel, both finding some strange connection through this shared trauma.
Then someone launches a terrifying campaign of intimidation against Fran and her husband, Laurie. Could it be the killers? Are they letting her know she had better be careful what she says? Who she sees? And why is Mel acting so strangely? Does she know more about her son’s death than she is saying?
Fran can’t help herself – she needs to know the truth. But when she begins to dig, she uncovers the terrible secret of the deep, dark wood – a secret that will change her life forever.

My thoughts:

Something terrifying happens in the woods behind the home of Fran and Laurie. Fran witnesses a murder and she barely escapes the murderers herself. Of course, she calls her husband to tell him the what happened, and he rushes home right after stopping to get himself a coffee. Under the circumstances, I’m pretty sure I would have been much more agitated than Fran or Laurie. In fact, even their two adult children didn’t seem nearly as concerned for her as they should have been.

Fran, indeed, cannot help herself. She makes one bad decision after another and this usually involves withholding information from the police and her husband. When she meets the dead boy’s mother, she is immediately suspicious of her odd behavior. Her suspicions increase every time they meet, but she gets in no hurry to voice her suspicions to anyone.

In a Deep Dark Wood has a good premise and it does a decent job of delivering a suspenseful story. The problem is that the characters aren’t particularly likeable. They both seem way too calm for the circumstances, particularly right after the murder. For the most part, Fran’s family offered her little in the way of comfort or support after what would have been a horrifying experience.

That said, the book is worth reading. It definitely has some creepy and scary moments and became quite a page turner during the last quarter. There are also more layers to the story than the murder-suspense aspect, including a subplot involving Fran’s former career as a social worker. I did like this book and the characters weren’t uninteresting. They were just somewhat unlikeable. However, this is the author’s first book and it is a worthwhile effort. Three and ½ stars

Favorite lines:

“What is submerged and concealed by layers of self-deception will always bob back to the surface.”

“You shall never prejudge without having the full picture. We are all social actors.”

What a great book thoroughly enjoyed throughout read it super quick didnt want to put it down....would definitely recommend this book to others

Walking in the wood one day, Fran witnesses the horrifying murder of local teen, Tyler. As the sole witness Fran is ladled with guilt that she couldn't help the young man and with fear that the murderers will come after her.
After Fran meets the young man's mother, Mel when Mel's dogs attacks Fran's dog, Fran decides to befriend her and try to learn why Tyler was murdered.
Strange events and threatening letters begin to plague Fran and her husband Laurie. With the police investigation moving very slowly Fran continues to play detective. Does Mel know something about why her son was murdered? Why doesn't Mel seem more emotional over her son's murder? Who is sending the scary letters? Are Fran and Laurie unsafe enough to move away?
This novel has some fast paced suspense but I find the characters to be boring or unlikeable. Fran continually kept putting herself and her family in danger and Mel seems cold and callous. Also the ending to me was rather abrupt and not satisfying.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkubator Books for the eARC.
Fran, a retired social worker in her fifties, sees a boy murdered while walking in the woods. Horrified, anxious and guiltily wondering whether she could have done something to help the boy, she tries to figure out what happened, why and who did it.
Even though her husband and friends warn her off, let the police do the job, she's obsessed and befriends the boy's mother. Again, people tell her to leave it alone, but even though she knows she might end up in trouble, she persists.
I liked Fran. Even though I would not have taken her steps, I admired her, while at the same time wondering what on earth she was thinking!
A good read, I definitely recommend this book.

If it wasn't for the darker content of this story, I would almost classify this as a cozy mystery, rather than a psychological thriller. Fran is a married woman in her early fifties with two grown children. She took an early retirement from social work following a traumatic situation with a baby and now doesn't have much to fill her days. She witnesses a murder of a teenage boy in her local woods and her life turns upside down. She becomes plagued with fear and anxiety but also a curiosity to find the killers of the boy she wishes she could have saved.

Her husband and friends tell her to back off and leave it to the police but Fran can't stop herself. She introduces herself to the boy's mother, a somewhat aloof single woman named Mel who's quite well off and not as devastated about her son's death as Fran expects. She hears rumors around town about Mel and is warned to keep her distance. Again, she doesn't listen and gets herself entangled in a more dangerous situation than she ever imagined.

Although you would expect otherwise, Fran isn't in too much danger for most of the story. There's a shadowy figure here and there, but as she witnessed a murder in a small town and the killers know they were seen, you'd think she'd have been put in immediate protection. She moves freely about town and doesn't keep her identity as the witness a secret. Because of that, there's not much suspense, with no fear of imminent danger to keep you on your toes, until close to the end of the story. Even then, there wasn't much action. for what you'd expect to be a climactic showdown. There's quite a lot of introspection throughout, which I understand, but it became tempting to skim through to find any juicy parts. Unfortunately, there just weren't enough for me. I enjoyed the author's voice, but the story just didn't work as a thriller and I think she'd be more suited to cozy mysteries.

Riveting stuff! This is a detailed story which is more than a mystery - the psychological impact of the original incident on the protagonist is fascinating. Who is to know how we would react and how the experience would change us over time? Very dark at times, this is clever, well written and perfect for fans of psychological thrillers.