"The Dead and the Dark" by Courtney Gould is a gripping young adult paranormal mystery novel that follows Logan and Ashley as they investigate the supernatural occurrences and mysterious disappearances in a small Oregon town. With a well-written and atmospheric plot, complex characters, and a fast-paced storyline full of unexpected twists and turns, this book is a fresh take on the classic ghost story that will keep readers engaged until the very end, making it a must-read for fans of the paranormal and mystery genres.

The buildup in this book was quite slow for a YA book. I found the alternating plots hard to follow and get attached to. It wasn't my favorite novel, but I would recommend it to students looking for something spooky to read. It reminded me of some Southern gothic novels and would pair nicely with Shirley Jackson.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review

The Dead and the Dark was both a really great read and also a bit of a letdown. I love a good YA mystery/horror book but I don’t like to be left with questions.

One of my biggest issues is, that I felt like I was just tossed into a story without any information. It was a bit of a struggle playing catch up. It was just a lot right from the start, I had a bit of a struggle playing catch up. It just threw me off and I didn’t expect it to get better.

But to my surprise, it did. Things started to make sense and I really loved where the story was going. The pacing was good (not great), and the plot lines were epic, but the ending left me a bit unsatisfied. More on that later. But the best part about this book was the characters. Logan and Ashely were perfect. Seeing them both grow over the course of the book was just *chef's kisses.*

On to the ending, I was a little put off that it ended the way it did. I love a good open ending but this was just a bit too much? I don’t know what I was expecting or what I wanted but it wasn’t that. I expected just more. And I still have questions!!! But I suppose I will have to just table this as an unsatisfactory ending and call it a day.

Would definitely recommend the audio for this!

Unsettling and mysterious and creepy and dark! This supernatural thriller checks off all the boxes. Perfect for a dark, cool fall evening while lounging on the couch. I really loved all of the characters and the crazy premise.

The description of this book on NetGalley piqued my interest and I just had to request it in both e-book and audiobook and I am so glad that I had access to both. This book is a debut novel written by Courtney Gould and I have to give her kudos for her well-written supernatural mystery.
The setting is Snakebite, a name that grabs my interest immediately, and eerie town name. When I first read “Snakebite” I immediately felt like it was foreshadowing of what was to come. Logan lives there with her fathers, Brandon Woodley and Alejo Ortiz. They are not only ghost hunters, but famous on TV for their ghost hunting.

What is a good mystery without someone going missing or being murdered? Not much for me, but Gould didn’t leave me hanging. Ashley Barton’s boyfriend, Tristan, is missing and she’ll do just about anything to find him. The suspense builds more and more as other teens go missing, and the fun/intrigue really starts with Logan and Ashley decide to team up and look for Tristan.
Much of the mystery, at least to townspeople, is centered around the ghost hunters who many believe might be the culprits of missing teens. There are some unforeseen twists which I always enjoy, especially when they add to the plot and don’t seem unrealistic.

I loved the narrator of the audiobook, Soneela Nankani. Her voice inflections and eerie tones at the appropriate times really added to my enjoyment of the story. I was mesmerized at times by her narration and will definitely read other audiobooks that she narrated.

I would like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for a free e-ARC and audiobook in exchange for my opinion.

An unsettling & well written YA horror/suspense book. I read this super quickly but wanted more from the characters. Overall I would recommend it to fans of YA.

Logan is a heroine I knew I was going to love from the beginning. Forced to uproot her life, she's just searching for a sense of home. With a fragment family - more on that later - Logan is both trying to save her family while also getting to know them. And almost immediately as she enters Snakebite, she knows there's something wrong. You know that feeling of a sense of something on the back of your neck? Of entering a room and something about it doesn't seem right?

That's all of Snakebite in a nutshell. The Dead and the Dark is dual POV and features Ashley's perspective as well. Whereas I instantly was drawn to Logan, Ashley ended up being the character who fascinated me. She's always lived in Snakebite. And so her journey of waking up, of trying to see what Logan knows intuitively, was fascinating. I think it speaks to when we grow up in our hometown. And everything is just how it has always been, even if it's not great.

What could possibly go wrong in a town called Snakebite? Well … a missing teenager, a haunted cabin, another missing teenager, and a creepy “host” … for starters. Enter a reality TV ghost-hunting duo (Brandon + Alejo = “Bralejo”) and their daughter, Logan. Hoping to resolve the town’s suspicion about her dads, Logan teams up with Ashley, whose boyfriend is one of the missing. This small-town, queer-themed supernatural horror novel delivers the perfect brew of elements for spooky book season, and it's a great choice for student book clubs to read and discuss!

This was a really fantastic read! I loved the voices of these characters, and not just the voices of the characters, but of the narrator, because I've been slowly dipping my toe into audiobooks. This was such a fantastic story!

We know something is up, this book begins with the darkness and some unpleasantries. And then we get to know Ashley and Logan. I really enjoyed getting to know the both of them, alternating between their perspectives, of Ashley, who is a bit of a queen bee in this small town, and Logan, the outsider who doesn't know the many secrets her dads are keeping from her!

I really enjoyed this investigation, on whether or not what was happening was paranormal or not, and learning about the secrets of the past, because the past is very much informing on these events that are currently happening! I really enjoyed that part of the story!

That ending was just really fantastic, I really enjoyed how it came together, and boy, who the bad guy was was really shocking! But I'm really happy how it ended, and I really like the idea of Logan and Ashley going out into the wide world together!

I had such a thrilling time with this book, and I can't wait to see what Courtney Could writes next!

Loved this book! 👻

I wasn’t expecting it to be so scary and spooky—but there were many times I was nervous reading at night! Awesome set of characters—LGBTQ+ rep was on point. The mysterious plot left me guessing throughout and wondering what would happen next. The romance was complicated and heartwarming. I wasn’t super into the narrator during the book but it didn’t affect how I felt about it! Cant wait to read more by this author!

The Dead and the Dark is an LGBTQ+ ghost story for the YA set.

Teenagers have been going missing in Snakebite, Oregon and some have even turned up dead. Many in town start pointing fingers at the ParaSpectors, a famous pair who hunt ghosts on TV. They are from Snakebite and have recently returned. Logan, the daughter of the two men who are the ParaSpectors, knows that her dads aren't responsible for the missing and dead teens so she sets out to redeem them. She connects with local teen Ashley, whose boyfriend was one of the first missing teens. Together, the two girls investigate the mystery of the missing teens in a quest that seems like it could involve a touch of the paranormal.

This was a creepy adventure. I loved the inclusion of LGBTQ characters in this story. I also like the uncertainty as to whether this was a straight-up mystery or a ghost story. Ashley and Logan make a great pair and I loved following their progress as they uncovered dark secrets in Snakebite.

I listened to this on audiobook and it was a good listen, with a full cast. A full cast really does a lot to make a book come alive especially when the book is told from multiple perspectives like this one.

This book is the perfect amount of spooky and thriller. I loved being able to connect to the characters, especially when I saw Logan's personal growth. They felt really organic and honest. If you're looking for a unique twist on a ghost story, I recommend checking this one out.

Logan and her father, hosts of a popular supernatural show, return to their hometown of Snakebite, Oregon to investigate the disappearances of teenagers. After arriving, more teenagers disappear, and the weather begins to change. Ashley’s boyfriend disappeared a year ago and she turns to Logan to help her find him.

I did not finish this audiobook and quit around 50%. I tried returning to this audiobook at various times but just could not get hooked. It was for a combination of factors for why I did not finish. First, the audiobook narrator was not my favorite. I loved her voice when she spoke in the first person as the characters but when she read the text, it had a nasally, dry tone that made it super easy to tune out the audiobook. I found myself having to rewind constantly. Second, the plot was so slow-moving. Even at 50%, I could not tell when the book’s climax would happen. There is no substantial character development in Logan or Ashley aside from them both being angsty teenagers who have complicated parental relationships. With a focus on atmosphere and minimal plot and character development, I just did not feel invested in this story.

I did love that this book is set in a small rural town and tackles issues like homophobia and fear of outsiders. The environment of Snakebite, Oregon is richly described and quite atmospheric. It is believable that there could be paranormal forces in the town.

Another item I did love was the representation. Logan had two dads and she was gay. Sometimes it feels like LGBT are tokenized in books, even when they are main characters. Having multiple queer characters in the same book felt realistic and authentic to me.

Verdict: While I did not enjoy this book, I would recommend this book to YA paranormal lovers who appreciate a lot of atmosphere and a slow pace. If folks are considering the audiobook, I would encourage them to listen to a sample of the narrator to see if they like her style.

ARC was provided to me by Macmillan Audio, in exchange for an honest review.

This was an exciting read. I absolutely loved the queer representation in this as well. I feel like this does a great job of showing what hate can do to a person or a place. It can really taint things and cause things to grow and fester and a darkness to grow. It also shows what loss can do. i loved the paranormal elements as well! That was fascinating and had me hooked in. I was so curious where this was going and what this dark was all about. I did not figure it out and it definitely got a bit dark and twisted. Overall, it was enjoyable.

A solid mystery with a little romance thrown in there. Such a creepy and atmospheric read.

Lovers of YA horror and thrillers should add this debut to their reading lists! The narrative also has some ghostly undertones, which add to its intrigue. Courtney Gould's prose style is breathtaking. Gould's writing effortlessly creates a creepy and intriguing atmosphere that makes you want to read it during the day with all the lights on and the blinds drawn. Or, if you're like me, at 1 a.m. with the shades down and my kindle as the only source of light. This is the ideal sapphic romance to add to your scary season reading list. I hope to read more of Gould's novels in the future, and I'm excited to see what her next publication will be

Logan has lived her life on the road with her two dads, Alejo and Brandon, as they scour the country for locations for the newest episode of their ghost-hunting TV show, ParaSpectors. She and Alejo are close and their relationship is easy, but she’s always felt distanced from Brandon, and sometimes it seems like they outright dislike each other. When Brandon goes to his and Alejo’s hometown of Snakebite, he claims it’s to scout the location for the show, but when he stays for months without explanation, Alejo and Logan follow him. There, Logan faces a small town hostile to her as an out lesbian as well as to her dads. A teenager went missing when Brandon arrived, and the town is sure he’s involved. Then more kids start turning up dead, and Logan’s not sure even she trusts her father…

This is a creepy, atmospheric YA horror/thriller about a force possessing someone in a small town and getting them to kill teenagers. For the first half of this book, I thought I knew exactly where it was going, and wow was I wrong. Most of the story slowly unfolds, only raising more questions as it goes, and then the last chunk of the book is full of revelations and twists.

While I just discussed Logan’s story in the summary, this actually has two point of view characters (plus some asides narrated by The Dark). Ashley has lived her whole life in Snakebite, and she loves it here. Her mother is the backbone of the town, and she’s determined to follow in her footsteps. She has a close-knit group of friends, and her and her boyfriend, Tristan, have an idyllic relationship–or they did, until he disappears. While everyone else seems to either accept that he’s died or they think he just skipped town, Ashley keeps up the search. When Logan arrives, the town turn against her, but Ashley and Logan find an unlikely partnership. They both want to find out what happened to Tristan–Logan, in order to prove her dad innocent, and Ashley, to find Tristan alive.

Soon, as more bodies appear–including Ashley’s friends’–they begin to suspect something supernatural is happening. Ashley gets visions of Tristan and even of past happenings in the town. Brandon and Alejo seem to be keeping secrets about their past here, and Ashley and Logan are left on their own to try to solve this mystery before more people die.

I listened to this as an audiobook, and I thought it worked really well in that format. I liked getting immersed in the unsettling world of Snakebite, and I was happy to let the story unfurl slowly because of that. Ashley and Logan are also really interesting characters. Logan has been out for ages and is very sure of herself and immediately angry at this town for its hostility towards her queer family. She’s unafraid to start fights and has no interest in getting on anyone’s good side. Ashley, on the other hand, has always been the placating kind, trying to be the perfect daughter, girlfriend, and friend. Tristan’s disappearance forces her to assert herself, because she’s the one advocating for keeping up the search. She is confused by Logan and her growing feelings for her. It’s this exploration of compulsory heterosexuality (not named, of course) that I found fascinating.

If you’re looking for a creepy read or listen, I highly recommend this one.

Thanks for the ARC.

This is a hauntingly descriptive book. The writing is beautiful and heartbreaking, while at the same time tells a horror story set in a creepy town. There was a lot happening in the book but the author did an excellent job at weaving all the tiny details into a story that was hard to put down.

I am a fan of Courtney Gould's writing, so I was excited to read this paranormal YA thriller (even though paranormal is not usually my jam). I enjoyed how this book carried emotional depth with the characters along with the paranormal storyline. I think it's what made the difference for me.

Strong narration enhances the story.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with this book. All thoughts are my own.

Overall good. After speaking with some other readers, I gathered that they also liked it. But in the end, for me, it was dark.

Something sinister is in the town of Snakebite, Oregon. Teens are going missing, some turning up dead, and all signs point to the ghost hunters who have just arrived back in town as the guilty party. When Logan and Ashley team up to get to the bottom of the wrongness in Snakebite, they start to develops feelings for each other. But Ashley’s boyfriend was the first to go missing, and Logan’s parents are the famous ghost hunters, how will their budding relationship last?



The Dead and the Dark was a spooky book I could not stop listening to. I loved the representation of both people and small town vibes. This one gives you characters to root for and a seriously creepy villain to fear. Plus, the addition of scenes from a ghost hunting tv show? Here for it.



Courtney Gould did such a great job developing tension on this story. There’s tension between townspeople, both adults and teens. There’s a mystery that needs to be solved, and you are propelled forward learning new and interesting information in every chapter.



I recommend the audio for this book. The narrator Soneela Nonkani, did a great job bringing the characters to life!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for my review copy.