Special thanks to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an e-arc of Kimi Cunningham Grant's novel, These Silent Woods.

I loved reading this book. It was amazing.

The author did a great job of character development and being in tune with nature.
There is mystery, intrigue, grief and the power of love and grace.

I would not classify it as a mystery, because the mystery is just a small part of the story. Don't go into it thinking mystery or fast-paced thriller. All I can say is it is an awesome read. I'd give it more than 5 stars if I could.
Loved it.

To what lengths would you go to protect those that you love? That is the question behind Kimi Cunningham Grant's atmospheric These Silent Woods, a story of survival, perseverance, and love set in the Appalachian Mountains.

Cooper and his daughter Finch have lived an isolated life for the past eight years. With little to no contact with the outside world, Cooper and Finch have learned to navigate the woods and a life alone in it out of necessity. Their reason for cutting off the rest of the world and bunkering down in a remote mountain cabin? Well, that's Cooper's story to tell, and he will get to that, but first he has to deal with one significant problem. His best friend, who makes a yearly supply drop at their cabin, has failed to show up, putting Cooper and Finch in dire straits. What awaits is a serious of increasingly unpredictable events that will change Cooper and Finch's lives forever.

I'll admit that I delayed reading These Silent Woods for a long time. While I was intrigued by its premise and cover, I worried that it would be too heavy and cumbersome to read - it just never felt like the right time to pick it up. I now regret waiting so long. This book immediately blew me away, and I couldn't get enough. I know a novel is good when I begin looking forward to my commute, just so that I can listen to it, which was certainly the case here.

Right off the bat, These Silent Woods gives off desolate, spare The Road vibes, which I thought was perfect for a book set in a remote cabin in the woods. Main character Cooper has such compelling narrative voice, and I was utterly drawn into his story of how he and Finch came to be in the Appalachian Mountains, and how they have survived there, unearthed, for the past eight years.

This story is both heartfelt and tense; showing the love and care between a father and daughter, while also exhibiting the lengths we will go to hold onto the people we love. Grant expertly layers her novel, slowly dropping breadcrumbs here and there to clue readers into Cooper and Finch's backstory and plight. Grant gives readers time to grow attached to Cooper and Finch before fully revealing Cooper's transgressions, making things all the more complicated once the truth is revealed. Your heart and emotions will be tugged back and forth as you dive deeper and deeper into this fine piece of literary fiction. I certainly won't be forgetting this one for a long, long time, and have already put Grant's latest novel onto my TBR list.

Cooper and his daughter, Finch, live in a remote cabin in the woods. They have no electricity or phone. They are totally off grid and have been in isolation for 8 years. Finch is starting to show signs of wanting to know more about the outside world but Cooper is determined to keep her safe.

One day though the only friend Cooper has relied on to bring them supplies doesn’t show up and they will be forced to go out. Each stop is fraught with tension as Cooper doesn’t want anyone to pay attention to Finch but the little girl is so desperate for human interaction. As the story develops the reader learns about Cooper’s time in Afghanistan, his relationship with Finch’s mother and family and of course what brought them to the woods.

Ultimately a disappearance of a girl in the woods will have serious repercussions for them. Who can they trust and will they be able to stay together. Really found the descriptions of nature and Finch’s connection to them so sweet and of course she’s a reader so it was easy to love her character. A very different mystery but very good.

I was initially drawn to this title due to the cover. It was haunting and alluring. Yet I put off reading it. I recently downloaded Grant's newer book and thought I should go back and start with this one. I started it without re-reading the blurb. I wasn't prepared for the story.

I was immediately drawn into the story of Cooper and Finch, a father and daughter living in a secluded cabin in the woods. Away from civilization and surviving from year to year with a supply drop from a friend. It's soon revealed that Cooper is hiding there after taking Finch when she was a baby after the sudden and tragic death of her mother.

The tension in the story ebbs and flows with possible visitors and threats, missing people, and impending winter. I ended up downloading this on audio because I couldn't put the story down for long. And the last hour or so left me absolutely wrecked.

TW: for those who have served or have family/friends that have served, there are several scenes that are difficult but also deal with PTSD after coming back from Afghanistan

Overall, highly recommend. I think of this in the same nature/survival theme as "Where the Crawdads Sing"

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the Advance Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I know a lot of people really liked this one but it wound up not exactly being one of my favorites. It's not a bad book at all but I don't really consider it a thriller at all and I kept losing interest in it. Hopefully, the next book I read by this author I'll wind up enjoying a little more.

I liked the initial premise because it has a very distinct post-apocalyptic feel but it’s actually not. Once the full story was revealed I was less interested but that isn’t to say this isn’t a good story! The ending really got me and the storytelling was nicely done. It felt a little quick but when I think about the book as a whole, I’m fine with that. The plot was developed, the setting was developed, and you quickly get a sense of the characters.

"These Silent Woods" by Kimi Cunningham Grant is a masterful and poignant exploration of love, sacrifice, and survival against the backdrop of the remote wilderness. The novel's strength lies in its beautifully crafted narrative that weaves together the intimate and complex relationship between a father, Cooper, and his daughter, Finch, who live in seclusion in the Appalachian woods. Grant's prose is lyrical and evocative, bringing the natural world to life in a way that is both breathtaking and deeply atmospheric. The suspense builds gradually, culminating in a series of revelations that are both surprising and emotionally resonant, highlighting the lengths to which we go to protect those we love. "These Silent Woods" is a compelling and heartrending tale that captivates the reader with its depth of character, stunning setting, and the raw humanity of its protagonists, making it a must-read for those who appreciate literature that both touches the heart and stimulates the mind.

5 huge stars

This story is an excellent tale of two lives lived in isolation from other people yet experienced in the natural beauty of the Appalachian Mountains. But as wonderful as the story is, Kimi Cunnigham Grant's writing has turned it into a work of art. It's almost as if she reaches into your chest and squeezes your heart. The evocative way she describes Cooper and Finch's lives gives readers a "visual" feel, you can see events as they are described. After the trauma of war, Cooper has withdrawn from civilization to raise his daughter away from the everyday pressures of urban life. As Finch has grown, Cooper has dedicated his life to the education and protection of his daughter. He is determined that they will never return to the consequences of his life before.......

Grant's writing skills make THESE SILENT WOODS an exceptionally emotional read. She wrings every high and low out of the page, leaving you sniffling and thinking of this stpry long after you've finished the last chapter. This book was made to be shared with everyone you know.

I seem to be in the minority with this one. But this is a kind of disappointing reading for me.

The whole book was enjoyable and very atmospheric, and I was expecting this to be a fast-paced, something darker, disturbing thriller but ended up being a slow burn more mystery/suspense story.

The synopsis & the eerie cover gives off a very different vibe from what the book actually is and the overall story felt average. I liked the authors' writing style but did not like the overall story much. Also, some plots seem to be a little bit unrealistic, and without any plot twists or turn the story is nothing but a serving story of a father & his eight-year daughter.

ANYHOW, if you like a good suspense story surrounded by an isolated place, this is the book for you!

Engaging and immersive. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

This was the first of Grant's books that I've read! Overall really good! I hadn't read a mystery/thriller in a long time and when i finally picked this one up it reminded me why i love this genre so much! definetly add this to your tbr!

Cooper and his daughter Finch live off the grid. No electricity, no family, miles from civilization. Their closest neighbor, Scotland, is odd. Always watching them and seemingly to know things about them that no one else does. But Finch is getting older and asking questions, and soon her questions will lead to answers that Cooper isn’t ready to give just yet. Especially, if those answers will rip their very small world apart.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this ARC in return for an honest review.

Cooper and his daughter, Finch, live secluded, in the woods, with no electricity, and most importantly, no connection to the outside world. Owned by his friend, the remote cabin is the perfect place to hide and keep secrets. With just one nosey neighbor, and a friend who helps to provide winter supplies, Cooper is able to evade the people who are looking for him for what he did. But when Finch encounters a young woman in the woods who later turns up dead, Cooper finds his bubble of secrecy has popped, and now Finch will be taken away from him.

I really really liked this book. I thought that the big "secret" really wasn't anything to write home about and that honestly could have been more dramatic. I loved Finch's character, and I loved the mysterious neighbor's character. The ending I thought was very good, and I really liked how that played out. Overall, I have read better thrillers, but I liked how attached and invested in the characters you became from reading this! 3.5/5 stars

This was an enjoyable read about a father and daughter, living in a cabin in the woods. The father, Cooper, is afraid of losing custody of his 8 year old daughter, Finch, and does everything he can to keep them safely hidden in the woods.

This novel was well written. The characters had depth and the setting was easy to visualize. The only inconsistency was that Finch, at 8 years old, finally lost her first tooth. That’s awfully old for losing the first baby tooth. Everything else seemed age appropriate.

There was a lot covered in this book, about war trauma, the loss of loved ones, and self-doubt.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. - 4 stars

Predictable but still a good read. If you are a fan of thrillers you will see the end coming but its quite a lovely story either way.

I requested this book based on the Title and Cover and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it.

I really enjoyed the characters and how much depth they had and how real they seemed. They were flawed. They were relatable. And you can’t help but feel for someone who goes to the ends to the Earth to keep their family together after tragedy strikes.

I loved the setting of this book. Being from Appalachia, and a stone’s throw from West Virginia, I could envision the sites and sounds.

As I go through a homesteader phase of life, I was intrigued by the way of living.

This is a slow mystery. Since I wasn’t sure what to expect when I requested the book, I wasn’t sure starting that I would enjoy it, but as the story unfolded, I really liked it.

Family drama. Mystery. Sacrifice. There are so many great elements to this story.

I give this book 4/5 stars.

Wow! When I read the blurb about this novel, I thought that it would be about how Cooper and his daughter Finch lived off of the radar without electricity and plumbing. Yet it was way more than that. Add some more characters and some suspense and you have These silent woods. Cooper’s friend Jake, is one of two people that know about him and his daughter and gets supplies for the two of them that should last the harsh winters. Cooper has past secret that he carries with him. This winter however, Jake is missing. Did something happen that would require Cooper to leave the only place he feels safe to find John? Not only is that answer found inside the book, many other questions that you will want answered before you can put this one down.

5+++ stars

I don’t know how much more I can say about this one that hasn’t already been said since it was so popular right out of the gate. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this review copy

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! Fast read that was a bit predictable. It kept my interest, and I finished it in two days. I rate it a 4.2.

This book was just wonderful. I loved the survival aspect and it was a little heartbreaking at times. I really enjoyed this one.