A love letter to monster mythology. I really enjoyed this book, loved every minute I spent reading it. Characters were vivid and distinct, and I wanted to talk back to them, tell them what to do. Mental Health treatment, a topic I know fairly well, becomes the laboratory, and scientists playing God believing good intentions but truly something insidious. A mix of human monsters and monstrous creations and just enough depth to stimulate my intellectual curiosity, and deliciously entertaining and twisty to keep me smiling. There is a whole mythology that McMahon has created, like all the great monster-story-tellers before her.

I wonder if this one began as a story telling competition with her and a few friends, with McMahon walking away as the winner.

The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon is a very highly recommended chilling, creepy, and intense psychological thriller. This is a must read!

In 1978, psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hildreth treats patients at the Hillside Inn, her psychiatric hospital in Vermont. Living with their grandmother are Violet “Vi” and her brother, Eric. One day Gran brings another child home, Iris, a sister for them. The two are instructed to help her and so they take the new girl under their care. They invite her to join their Monster Club, where they keep a notebook of all kinds of monsters and how to defeat them. As Vi explains to Iris, monsters are everywhere.

In 2019 Lizzy Shelley (formerly Vi), a researcher and host of the podcast Monsters Among Us, travels to Vermont where it is reported that a young girl has been abducted by Rattling Jane, a legendary local monster. Lizzy has spent her life looking for monsters because she knows they exist. And she knows her sister is one of them.

Alternating between the two time periods, 1978 and 2019, this exceptional novel follows childhood memories and recent events as it ramps up the tension and the stories in the two timelines eventually connect. Among the chapters are excerpts from The True Story of the Hillside Inn, a book written about what happened at the Hillside Inn, passages from the children's notebook, The Book of Monsters, and the thoughts of the monster being hunted. All of these various sources of information are presented in a unique individual style.

Although the overwhelming issue is who is the monster and what happened forty years ago, the characters are all developed according to their ages. You are going to have questions though, and will want answers which will be eventually answered. The atmosphere is tense throughout as you compulsively keep reading to discover more information, clues, and hopefully, answers to the many questions you will have.

Inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this is a suspenseful, compelling, and intense psychological thriller that will keep you glued to the pages until the end. The writing and presentation is absolutely perfect. It is not a re-writing of the original Frankenstein but is a unique story on its own. McMahon will keep your attention throughout while you try to figure out what is real, what is imagined, and what is really going on in both time periods. There are a couple of completely surprising twists that stunned me. The Children on the Hill is a winner.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Edelweiss, Google Books, and Amazon.

Such a good book, I think people are gonna really love this one. Keep me wanting more the whole way through. Thank you!

Big thanks to @netgalley and @scoutpressbooks for this ARC!!⁣!
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𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥 by 𝘑𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘤𝘔𝘢𝘩𝘰𝘯. ⁣
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This was eerie, creepy, and suspenseful. 👻 Flipping back and forth between 1978 and 2019, the story starts with two young kids Vi and Eric being raised by their Gran, who works at The Inn, a renowned psychiatric facility in Vermont. One day Gran brings home a quiet girl named Iris who has no recollection of her life before. The kids welcome her and together they belong to a secret Monster Club where they hunt down monsters…. bc monsters are 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. And then the real monster chase begins. Ahh!⁣
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This was a really fun read and an already repeat author for me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Holy crap what a book! Last year's The Drowning Kind left me feeling a bit let down, but oh did The Children on the Hill fix that. Just when you think you have it figured out, McMahon comes around and hits you with another twist. An absolutely stunning piece of work. Compulsively readable.

🌟THE CHILDREN ON THE HILL🌟 by Jennifer McMahon ~to be published April 16, 2022

⭐️⭐️⭐️ An entertaining read with Frankenstein vibes, but somehow not scary enough, even for wimpy old me.

Thank you to @netgalley and @gallerybooks for sending me a complimentary advance review copy. All thoughts are my own.

This was a great read! McMahon is a very talented writer and she delivers yet again, bringing both a great concept and flawless execution. We are introduced to Dr. Helen Hildreth (Gran), a well-known psychiatrist working with the mentally ill and raising her two grandchildren, Violet and Eric, on the site of the mental health facility, in 1978. Everything changes when Gran brings home a new child, Iris, to stay with the family. Gran tells Violet to treat her like a sister, but also to give Gran secret reports on Iris’s behavior. In an equally compelling dual timeline, we follow Lizzy Shelley, an X-Files-type monster hunter and host of popular podcast Monsters Among Us in 2019.

I loved that McMahon used Mary Shelley’s classic novel, Frankenstein, as inspiration. Both storylines were great and going back and forth between them was seamless. The last half was very suspenseful and definitely kept me turning the pages! My star rating reflects my opinion that although it was good and I would recommend it, the first half was a bit of a slow burn and I feel it is miscategorized as adult horror. It just wasn’t that scary and felt more like YA fiction to me, especially the ending. I figured out the big twist very early on and this likely means that others will too. I preferred McMahon’s previous novel, The Drowning Kind (my first ever Netgalley approved ARC), but fans of McMahon will definitely enjoy this one too. For those looking to introduce a younger/teen reader to some scarier material, this would be the perfect choice!

This review will be published on Goodreads and Instagram (@sanfranliterarygal) closer to publication.

What a good settle in and get down into it kind of mystery book! I initially thought this would be more towards horror but it isn’t! It’s got monsters and ghouls and vampires oh my but not really. You have to kind of look past that and read between the lines of monsters and humanity.

There are a lot of layers in this book! Don’t let that deter you. You meet Vi and her brother Eric who live with their grandmother at the Inn. The hear is 1978 and she is a renowned psychiatrist and director of the inn. She brings home a new girl named Iris who is dark and secretive and a new mystery to uncover.
Flip to 2019 where you hear the voice of Lizzy the monster hunter. She travels around the world trying to uncover monsters while being pulled into finding her very own monster sister.
Then you get chapters of the monster book written when Vi and Eric were young and had their own monster club. As well as a report from a journalist who was looking into the Inn and the grandmother, Dr. Hildreth as well as reports written by her.

Like I said it sounds like a lot but the transitions are smooth and the story held my attention from start to finish. There are a few twists that I found surprising and a couple I saw coming but it was entertaining and one I recommend.

Thank you Gallery Books and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

The book is told in 2 time lines - 2019 and 1978. Dr. Hildreth, a psychiatrist, runs an institution in Vermont. She has 2 grandchildren, Vi and Eric, who are both talented and well cared for. Then Iris is brought into the family as a new sister, and Vi needs to find out more about her, and that is when family secrets emerge.
I did think this book should have been in the Young Adult section, but I do thank the author, publisher, and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Part mystery and part horror story, this novel is a page turner. It takes place in two timelines. In 1978, Vi and her brother are living an idyllic if isolated life in Vermont. Their grandmother is raising them. She’s a groundbreaking psychiatrist who works with patients with mental issues in what is considered to be a wonderful clinic.

Vi and Eric are enthralled with monsters—books and movies and lore. When their grandmother brings home an awkward girl Vi’s age, they welcome her to the Monster Club, and eventually the quiet girl begins speaking and participating in life. Vi wants to get to the mystery of where this girl came from since the Inn doesn’t treat people under the age of 18. What she eventually learns helps her understand where her fascination with monsters like Frankenstein’s monster comes from.

The other timeline is in 2019, where Lizzy Shelley has made a living hunting monsters. She has a podcast and was on a TV show, but it’s not the money or small fame that drives her. She knows monsters are real because her own sister is one. When a 13-year-old girl goes missing in Vermont, cops and locals think she ran away. Lizzy has other suspicions.

This is a lot of fun. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES APRIL 26, 2019.

The Children on the Hill is inspired by Frankenstein.

Violet and Eric live with their grandmother who is a renowned psychiatrist. Vi and Eric are very interested in monsters.
One day their grandmother brings home Iris, who is a patient at the hospital she works at.
Iris does not speak and always wears an orange hat. She is not like other children.
Iris is soon wrapped up in the search for monsters with the siblings. Little do they know how close the monster really is.

Told in two timelines. 1978 and 2019. I enjoyed how the two timelines wove together.

This story is creepy, mysterious, intriguing and so much more. If this sounds like a book you would like, then you should read it for yourself when it publishes later this month.

Thanks to netgalley and Gallery Books for the advance copy.

Oh my goodness. I loved this book so much. If you love all things monster related, you have to read it. My heart went out to Violet and Iris. I loved the duality of every character. And the description Rattling Jane seriously creeped me out. This book had everything. Scary moments, sad, edge of your seat suspense, and plenty of twists. It’s a long story to unpack, but so worth the time!

Do you ever read a book and have no idea how you feel about it?

I love love love Jennifer Mcmahon books. The Drowning Kind is still one of my favorite spooky books.
This book was great but it left with a WTH feeling when I finished it. Which is not necessarily bad!

This book has everything horror nostalgia related:
Children that believe and hunt monsters.
An erie building that used t o be a sanatorium in the early 1900 (and now it has some strange stuff going on in there).
And a Frankenstein vibe.

This book got me hooked from page one. It’s such an easy and “feel-good spooky” story. Not super gory, not overly scary. My favorite thing about it was the children. They are amazing! Their dedication with their monster hunting club is so adorable!

Oh where to start. I loved this book! I flew through it as I was so engaged and had to know what happened!

Dual storyline - 1978 introduces us to Dr. Helen Hildreth and her two grandchildren, Violet and Eric, who were orphaned when their parents' died in a car crash but they survived. She runs a treatment center in Vermont and treats mentally ill patients who are turned away elsewhere. She brings home a young patient, Iris, who constantly wears an ugly orange hat. She won't speak at first, and the good doctor asks the grandchildren to treat her with care. They take her under their wings and, eventually, induct her into their Monster Club. At new and full moon cycles they search for monsters of all kinds. The three of them write a book about monsters - the girls do the writing and Eric illustrates. Something tragic happens, although it will be a while before we, the readers, know exactly what!

In 2019, the second timeline, we are introduced to Lizzy Shelly. She is a podcaster who travels searching for "monsters". We go with her to Vermont after she learns of another missing girl. Girls have gone missing over the years, and Lizzy suspects her sister may be the "monster" responsible for these girl going missing. Her hunt takes us on a few detours and it kept me on the edge of my seat.

The twist near the end - well, I never saw it coming. It was well done and took me by surprise.

I cannot reveal more, but it's a story worth the read!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The novel, Frankenstein is one of my all time favorites and when I saw that Jennifer McMahon’s (in case anyone doesn’t already know, I love her books) new novel, Children on the Hill was inspired by it I knew I must read it.

Like most of McMahon’s novels it has dual timelines. The first takes place in 1978, Violet and Eric, whose parents died in a car crash now live with their grandmother in Vermont. She is a renowned psychiatrist who works at the hospital on the hill. One day she brings home Iris, a young girl about Vi’s age who doesn’t speak. The children invite Iris into their Monster club, which includes a journal about the monsters that surround them.

The second timeline is set in 2019 and focuses on Lizzy Shelley, the host of the popular podcast, Monsters Among Us. She is on route to Vermont where a young girl has been abducted.

That is all I’m going to say. This is a book that the less said the better. How these two storylines collide is part of the fun. As usual, McMahon succeeds in creating an eerie atmosphere (you had me at creepy asylum), and a sense of dread and foreboding which permeates the novel. McMahon is the Queen of the surprise twist and boy does she deliver with this one. I never saw it coming and had to stop and catch my breath after the reveal.
I loved the allusions to Frankenstein and McMahon does a great job of carrying on Shelley’s examination of man as the ultimate monster. My only complaint is that now I have to wait a year for McMahon’s next novel. Thank you to Netgalley and Scout/Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

4.25 STARS

Synopsis: It's 1978, and Dr. Helen Hildreth is an acclaimed psychiatrist, well known for her work with the mentally ill. But when she's home with her cherished grandchildren, Violet and Eric, she's just Gran. One day, Gran brings home a child to stay with the family - Iris, who is silent, skittish, and does not behave like a normal girl. Still, Violet and Eric are thrilled to have a new playmate and treat her as a sister. The three children create a Monster Club, where they catalogue all kinds of monsters and dream up ways to defeat them. Little do they know that the real monster is among them....

This book has alternating timelines (1978 & current), and I was completely invested in both storylines. One of the settings in the 1978 tagline was the mental institution where Gran worked, and I LOVED the dark and spooky atmosphere that created. There are quite a few ghost / monster stories told throughout the book, but it's definitely not a "supernatural" thriller.

I predicted the "big twist," but I did NOT predict the ending. Both stories weaved together seamlessly, and I was happy with the ending. Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of mystery & suspense - especially if you like a gothic/horror spin!

You can find my review on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4654484544

You can also be on the lookout for my review on my instagram page @mollyreadsthrillers

The Children on the Hill is a dual timeline story about the monsters all around us. In 1978 siblings Vi and Eric live with their grandmother, a psychiatrist who runs a renowned mental health facility. One day Gran brings home a young girl, Iris, from the facility to live with the family. Iris has no memories of her life before being in the facility, and Gran has instructed Vi to keep an eye on Iris and report back any progress Iris makes. Vi and Eric welcome Iris into their monster hunting club, and teach her all about monsters like werewolves, vampires and ghouls. In 2019 Lizzy Shelley lives a nomadic life, hunting monster sighting all around the country and running a popular podcast and blog series. She believes there is a monster responsible for the disappearances of girls all over the country, and when that monster reaches out directly to her she thinks she knows who the monster really is.
I enjoyed this book as whole. Sometimes the 1978 chapters read a little more YA, since the characters were young teens. I also felt the 2019 chapters were too short for me to really get invested in what was happening with Lizzy in the beginning. About halfway through the book it seemed to pick up the pace and I really got into the story. Some of the twists I wasn't expecting at all.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Children on the Hill in exchange for my honest opinion.

Somehow I'm reading so many creepy books in a row, but McMahon is one of my favorite authors so I had to dive in! Violet and Eric are being raised by their Gran who works at The Inn, a psychiatric hospital for the mentally ill (or deranged) when a new "sister," Iris comes to live with them. She's odd but both children take her in and treat her like family as they've been taught to behave and be civil. Told through the past and present timelines, the book "seems" to focus on different things, but when it all comes together we have that "I Finally Get It" moment as we breathe a sigh of relief when all the puzzle pieces come together. What I loved best about the book was McMahon's tribute to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein which I taught and scared the kids each year. And now I'm the one to run scared! But it was worth the ride!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This is the first book by Jennifer McMahon that I’ve read, but it won’t be the last! Not a roller coaster of a thriller, but rather a slow burn. Alternating timelines, 1978 and the present, tell the tale of a loving grandmother, 2 sisters and their brother, a monster and a monster hunter. Sometimes the scariest monsters are the ones right in front of you, hiding in plain sight. Twists and turns, and an ending you won’t see coming. I’d love to see this as a Netflix HBO max series.

In The Children on the Hill, a novel that pays homage to the great Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Violet and Eric are being raised by their grandmother, a doctor who specializes in psychoanalysis. One day she brings home Iris, who is to be their sister. Iris has no memory, doesn’t speak and has multiple scars. These three form a friendship and try to find out who Iris really is. A path that will uncover more than they can ever imagine.

This story takes place in alternating timelines, In the 1970s when our characters are children (if you are a child of the late 70s/early 80s you will be overjoyed with the many references to this era!) and in 2019 when the main characters are now adults.

I read this in two days. I could have easily finished it in a night if my pesky job didn’t get in the way! The pacing is *chef’s kiss* and I couldn’t stop reading. The alternating timelines were equally interesting, which is unusual. Often when I read books with multiple timelines I will inevitably prefer one over the other but in this case, both were written so well and the stories were so compelling that I was drawn into both. The prose is lyrical without being overblown and brings up good questions for discussion: what is a monster? Who decides that? How do we defeat these monsters? The story has some great twists and turns! At one point I set the Kindle down and had to walk away from it because I was so shocked by the revelation!
I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the ending. Very unexpected!

I had pre-ordered this on Amazon, so I was over the moon when I was granted the ARC by Net Galley. I am going to buy copies for my friends, that’s how excellent this book is. I am now going to go read everything this author has written!

If The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon isn’t on your tbr (to be read) yet…please add it! Publication is set for April 26. This book is perfect for fans of Mary Shelley, gothic horror and books like The Institute by Stephen King. Do not read this at bedtime as you will not sleep until you are finished. Also, with this story? Nothing is what it seems!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. 5/5 stars! I’d give it more if I could!

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞.

Grandchildren to Dr. Helen Hildreth, an extraordinary, brilliant psychiatrist and champion for the mentally ill, Violet and Eric bloom under their Gran’s care in the 1970’s. Living on the same land as her patients, privy to her work at the Hillside Inn, located in Vermont, it’s only fitting Violet longs to follow in her Gran’s footsteps and become a doctor. The hospital (a place for lost causes) is privately run ‘more estate than institution’. Dr. Hildreth believes in the most hopeless cases, and knows that mental health treatment involves more than just medications. She and her staff have taken on a more holistic approach, believing in the curative powers of nature, art, music, gardening, meditation and even pottery. Violet’s belief in monsters makes this environment, one full of people who behave abnormally, the perfect backdrop for study, eavesdropping on the doctor’s conversations, wildly curious and hungry for more about the dangerous patient S. Violet has been taught that people do terrible things, not because they are evil, but that they are suffering from illnesses of the mind but could it be possible Gran is harboring a murderer? Who is patient S? Where Violet’s mind bends to investigation and science, a fan of the movie Frankenstein, her little brother Eric is a sensitive savior of animals, particularly those their grandmother keeps in her basement (lab). Dr. Hildreth and her colleagues are pioneers, changing the face of mental health treatment, focusing on individual needs and their future potential. She expects nothing less from her own grandchildren too, giving them lessons in chemistry experiments, evolution, studying under the microscope in her laboratory but only upon invitation into her basement (off limits normally); their Gran provides them with a top education and encourages to hold themselves with pride and self-respect. They consider themselves lucky to be under her protection, full of love and support.

May 1978: Violet and Eric know the Inn doesn’t treat children and are rattled when their grandmother introduces them to a girl, around Violets age (13), named Iris. Like a frightened animal, with evidence of abuse, wound on her head and her lack of communication skills, she is a strange patient. Discovering they are to welcome her as a sister, making Iris the exception to the rule of who Gran treats, she becomes their new project. Helping Iris, her Gran prods her, can only aid Violet in her future dream of becoming a doctor herself. She is clever and kind enough to help the child, together with her little brother Eric, maybe they will learn what has happened to Iris, break her out of the state she is in and help her recall her journey. They know all about trauma and memory loss. Violet wants nothing more than to remember their own parents and past, having survived the car accident that took them. The accident is one Eric doesn’t want to spend a moments thought on, too horrible. Now, with Iris, she can have a sister and a new member for their little clubhouse. There, they will discuss mysteries, study their recordings, and hunt for monsters under the full moon. Evidence is required to be sure of anything, monster and human alike, theories are not enough. Better still their plan to search through private records to discover Iris’s origins, it’s a top secret mission. What they discover will challenge everything Violet knows about monsters and love.

2019: Lizzy Shelley, 53, ran a blog based on her childhood project that has led to her popular podcast: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. Last season she was a member of the team 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘈𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘜𝘴, has been featured in a documentary, been in ads and invited to lectures at colleges on monsters in contemporary society. All of her work and notoriety has afforded her the means to spread her message, ‘monsters are real and living among us’. Soon she will be searching the dark shadows for more than legendary creatures. Young girls are going missing in Vermont, the troubled kind no one cares about, and it makes Lizzy wonder if the monster she has been chasing her entire life has returned to invite her in a game of Hide-and-seek. It all goes back to the Hillside Inn. Who is the monster she is chasing?

This is a creepy, dark story. There are Frankenstein themes running through it, but even more, a twist that is a nightmare, at least for those who are considered inferior. This is a subject that was all too real in history, and immoral. I have been reading Jennifer McMahon’s novels for some time now and enjoy all of her stories, always original and intelligent tales. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘥 was a wonderful ghost story (add it to your list if you haven’t read it) and now we have a monster tale with 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘖𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘭. There truly are monsters among us, the trick is in how they hide in plain sight. Now I have to wait for her next novel, sigh…

Publication Date: April 26, 2022

Gallery Books

Scout Press