Jennifer McMahon does it again. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite suspense/spooky authors. Highly recommend giving one of her books a read!

Short Review: There's a monster at the end of this book....

"You must ask yourself: Who is the real monster? The creature being made, or the one creating it?"

Long Review: McMahon does it again. She's the absolute queen of twist endings and this one does not disappoint. I was completely blown away, just as I was with The Winter People and The Drowning Kind. I binge read it in a day and totally loved the nod to Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. Get it on your must read list!

A new thriller from Jennifer McMahon somewhat inspired by Frankenstein. Lizzy Shelley is a monster hunter and her latest case has her tracking a monster close to home - her sister. Girls have been disappearing for decades and Lizzie thinks they all are victims of her sister. Intertwined with her story are flashbacks to Vi in 1978, whose grandmother works at an asylum. One day she brings home a new sister for Vi and her brother.

This was not my favorite thriller of McMahon’s I’ve read. I thought the big twist was pretty obvious, and I didn’t love the story otherwise. There are interesting parts but I missed a lot of the intrigue I normally find in her books.

Thank you NetGalley, Jennifer McMahon, and Gallery Books for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

This is a slow burn mystery alternating between two separate timelines, 1970's and 2019, and told mainly between Vi and Lizzy's viewpoint. I personally found wanting to skim through Vi's (1970's) timeline and get back to the present day story. There was a lot more description and telling in the earlier story line.

Speaking of telling, there was a lot of obvious clues as to the ending strewn throughout the whole book. Really obvious clues. I'm not complaining though as this was still an entertaining read.

4/5 ⭐️

A thrilling, mysterious new take on a Frankenstein theme. I recommend this for teens and adults.

This was a DNF for me. I love the author's other books but this one was just not my cup of tea. I couldn't get into it at all. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! Jennifer McMahon's latest page-turner pays tribute to Frankenstein's monster in a unique way--the perfect blend of historical fiction, multi-genre excerpts (from case studies, a history of the inn, and a children's book about monsters), as well as a modern narrative thread about a podcaster.

In The Children on the Hill, Violet and Eric are orphans who live in Vermont with their Gran in the 1970s. Gran is an esteemed psychiatrist, and she runs an unusual asylum next door to their house. Gran focuses on helping her inpatients by providing them with fresh air and an opportunity to work in the inn's grounds and garden. One day, Gran brings home a sister for Violet, named Iris. Although Vi is thrilled to have a friend and a new monster-hunter for their gang, Violet soon becomes obsessed with unraveling the mystery of Iris' life before Gran found her. Violet's obsession with monster-hunting and discovering Iris' parentage lead to disastrous events, and the three siblings' lives are forever changed.

In 2019, Lizzie Shelley (who changed her name after Gran died), has made it her life's work to find her sister. She is the author of the popular podcast, Monsters Among Us, and travels around the country searching for her sister. When another young girl is missing in Vermont, Lizzie is convinced she's finally tracked down the monster she knows the best.

I loved the ending, and the way both narratives are tied together! Make sure you don't miss this one, and try to go into the book without any spoilers. Thanks so much to Netgalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the librarian preview copy.

Monsters are all around us. Sometimes they are in the guise of children, sometimes in the guise of helpful adults, but make no mistake, monsters do exist, even medical ones.
This is a bizarre read. It takes readers from 2019 to 1978 in alternating chapters and three children are center stage. I loved all the 70s references because that’s when I grew up.
The ending does reconcile all the events.
It will leave a chill down your spine.

I have read every novel by Jennifer McMahon. Each one has been creepier than the last. However, this one fell short for me. There were no likable characters in this one. There was little to no ghost/creep factor, which I have come to expect from all her other books. The first three quarters of the book seemed to drag and the last quarter of the book finally seemed to take off with some action. I still love Jennifer McMahon's writing style, this one just didn't do it for me.

Told mostly from the voice and eyes of children who's Gran works as a doctor at the nearby hospital for mentally ill patients. They have the normal childhood of wandering, exploring, creating, they also love to learn about and look for monsters!

They collectively write a book all about the monsters one might come across, what they look like, how they behave and how to ward them off. Your typical monsters like vampires, werewolves, and ghouls.

This was a win for me because I found myself completely invested in all the POV! Often I find myself sad to move onto the next POV, but in this book I was excited to return to that persons story!

The second POV is an adult woman who is a "monster hunter" in her van and travels the states based on rumors. She has a podcast and a tv show about her monster hunting. She dives into her next monster search and takes the reader along.

This would be the perfect, atmospheric book in October. I wasn't scared...until a few chapters towards the end when I was cringing on where it was headed (it didn't help that it was late at night and I was alone in the house...).

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery books for the advanced e-copy of this book.

"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Drowning Kind comes a genre-defying new novel, inspired by Mary Shelley’s masterpiece Frankenstein, that brilliantly explores the eerie mysteries of childhood and the evils perpetrated by the monsters among us.

1978: At her renowned treatment center in picturesque Vermont, the brilliant psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hildreth, is acclaimed for her compassionate work with the mentally ill. But when she’s home with her cherished grandchildren, Vi and Eric, she’s just Gran - teaching them how to take care of their pets, preparing them home-cooked meals, providing them with care and attention and love.

Then one day Gran brings home a child to stay with the family. Iris - silent, hollow-eyed, skittish, and feral - does not behave like a normal girl.

Still, Violet is thrilled to have a new playmate. She and Eric invite Iris to join their Monster Club, where they catalogue all kinds of monsters and dream up ways to defeat them. Before long, Iris begins to come out of her shell. She and Vi and Eric do everything together: ride their bicycles, go to the drive-in, meet at their clubhouse in secret to hunt monsters. Because, as Vi explains, monsters are everywhere.

2019: Lizzy Shelley, the host of the popular podcast Monsters Among Us, is traveling to Vermont, where a young girl has been abducted, and a monster sighting has the town in an uproar. She’s determined to hunt it down, because Lizzy knows better than anyone that monsters are real - and one of them is her very own sister.

A haunting, vividly suspenseful page-turner from the “literary descendant of Shirley Jackson” (Chris Bohjalian, author of The Flight Attendant), The Children on the Hill takes us on a breathless journey to face the primal fears that lurk within us all."

If I hadn't already been sold with the Frankenstein vibe, name checking Shirley Jackson put the nail in the coffin.

This book takes place in two alternating timelines - 2019 and 1978. The story largely follows siblings Vi and Eric, two kids obsessed with monster hunting. The two children live with their grandmother, renowned psychiatrist Helen Hildreth at a property adjacent to the mental hospital where their beloved Gran lives. The two spend their time creating their very own monster book, while simultaneously learning how to hunt down and kill monstrous beings. After Gran brings home Iris from the hospital, a child around Vi's age, the children are more tempted to find out the history behind the hospital treatments and Iris's past.

The twists in this book caught me completely by surprise. I loved the characters and I loved the exploration of monsters and monstrousness, which interestingly enough is something I've been studying with my own students this year.

The suspense in this book had me on the edge of my seat and by the time I hit the 40ish percent mark, I could not stop reading. This was a phenomenal page turner and I loved all of the references to Frankenstein. It was right up my alley! It was my first experience reading Jennifer McMahon, but will definitely not be my last!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a free digital copy of this book in exchange for a review.

This was a twisty, crazy roller coaster ride! It was dark and exciting. It really kept me on my toes! Great mix of a quality story and creepiness! It is not a book I would use in my curriculum but would recommend to higher readers for a free read choice. It was very engaging. I have discussed in my book club and several people are anxiously awaiting it to be released!

Jennifer McMahon has done it again. I've been a fan since Winter People and she hasn't let me down since. This is another twisty, dark drama reminiscent of last year's The Drowning Kind, with a hint of Stranger Things vibes. Troubled siblings, secret pasts, and perfectly creepy elements are McMahon's forte and I love it. I'll be over here not-so-patiently waiting for her next book. Much thanks to Gallery and to Netgalley for providing this ARC.

Thank you so much to Gallery Books and Jennifer McMahon for my copy of The Children on the Hill. I was a fan after I read The Drowning Kind, but this just reinforced what a phenomenal writer McMahon is. This book, inspired by Frankenstein, is about Dr. Helen Hildreth, a renowned psychiatrist, and her grandchildren Vi and Eric. She owned and operated “The Inn” for psychological unstable and mentally ill patients, and one day she brought home a little girl named Iris. Vi and Eric are so happy to have a friend to join their Monster Club, even if this girl doesn’t talk and is covered in strange scars. Around 40 years later, Lizzy, the host of a popular podcast, is traveling to the site of where a girl was abducted. She chases down monster sightings and hunts for the truth, especially because she thinks the real monster is her sister.

Thoughts: This book was EVERYTHING. The writing was intriguing and drew me in from the very first page. I loved both the past and present chapters, and couldn’t get enough of both storylines. The idea of the children’s monster club was so interesting and the home for the mentally ill was dark and ominous. Lizzy’s Monsters Among Us podcast was so unique and I loved that she had a tie to the crime she was investigating.

This story was so creepy and I loved the dark and chilling tone the author uses. The pacing is perfect and she weaves together two perspectives to culminate in the perfect ending. I did think of one more twist that would have added to the story, but the ones that did happen were intriguing and worked so well. I loved this story for the build and the journey, and think it is written perfectly for a dark mystery lover. Even though the twist was predictable, the ending was not. 5-stars!

In the book Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon, the children make a Book of Monsters. In it, they have information on the types of monsters, the behaviors of monsters, and how to make a monster (electricity, radiation, potion, bite, kiss, etc). However, a key question is, who is the real monster: the creature or the creator? However, they are often impossible to spot; for many monsters look and act just like people, and, no matter what the type of monster it is, you must kill it.

Combining elements straight from Mary Shelley’s fictional Frankenstein (1818) with the all-too-real Vermont Eugenics Project (which led to the state’s 1931 Sterilization Law), we are confronted with the question of who the real monsters are in this world.

This well-written book uses several points-of-view (POV) to delve into the monster/eugenics theme, and the actions, motivations, and fears of the characters. First, there is the POV of “The Monster”
written in 2019. We must be wary, for the monster is not identified, but gives a clue: “I’m the real monster now. Not pretend.” Second are the sections entitled Vi (for Violet); these take place in 1978. We experience the childhoods of Vi, her brother Eric, and Iris: a patient who comes to live with them. They live with their “Gran”, Dr. Helen Hildreth, the director of the Hillside Inn, “widely considered one of the best private psychiatric institutions in New England”.

Third, there are the portions that take place during 2019 from the POV of Lizzy. She grew up at Hillside Inn; when the children grew up, they were given different names. Lizzy is a Monster Hunter who has never met a monster, nor found proof that they exist. She has noticed a trend of missing girls; the type no one will notice are gone. As she embarks on finding answers, she receives taunting emails from MNSTRGRL: catch me if you can. What kind of monster is it? Fourth—and last—are excerpts from the book, The Helping Hand of God: The True Story of the Hillside Inn (1980). It explores what was really going on at the psychiatric institution under Dr. Hildreth’s (Gran’s) care.

What a fantastic read. I have read and enjoyed two other books by this author (The Invited, and The Drowning Kind). It moves along quickly and logically, raising many questions for the reader to ponder. The people are well rounded, and make you want to take care of them: with compassion or with malice, depending on the character.

I enthusiastically recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Scribner for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Although I’m not a huge fan of the horror/suspense genre, I have read and enjoyed two other Jennifer McMahon books, so I was happy to have the opportunity to read this ARC provided to me by NetGalley. It took me a little while to get into this book, but once I did I really enjoyed it. I found it mysterious, chilling and unpredictable. I like that it was written in two timelines, and that they converged at the end. The characters were well-written, however I would have like to have known a little more about the background of the grandmother. There were a few twists and turns throughout, but the one at the end really caught me by surprise. A good read for those who enjoy horror and suspense.

This book was not what I expected, but in the best way. I recommend going in knowing as little as possible, because there is a lot of small reveals throughout this story.

This is definitely a book for true crime lovers. I loved the true crime aspects in this book, and the reveal of what the actual crime was so scary and sad. The relationship between the siblings is so genuine, it makes the ending, as well as the entire future timeline just heartbreaking.

And the twist, WOW. I thought that I had this book all figured out, and I partially did, but the reveal with the book is just *chefs kiss*

The Children On The Hill is quite a different story than I’m used to, which made it all the more fascinating. Violet as Eric live with their grandmother who is a Psychiatrist. Their grandmother is raising them after the car accident that killed their parents. The story alternates between 1978 to 2019. One day a little girl named Iris comes to live with them. Violet and Eric are told by their grandmother that they should treat Iris like a sister. There seems to be something “off” with Iris. She’s seems to be very different than Violet and Eric…….or is she? There are lots of twists and turns that had me flipping pages until the end of this explosive conclusion. Don’t Miss this one!
Thank You to Net Galley, the Author Jennifer McMahon and Gallery Books, Gallery/Scout Press for allowing me to read this advanced copy of a great and interesting novel.

I really enjoyed this creepy, slow-burning, story about the various types of monsters that walk among us, The book is told in two timelines with some bits from books mentioned in the story sprinkled in between. In one timeline it is the 1970’s and Vi and her brother Eric get a new sister when their Gran brings a girl from work home, but the odd thing is that Gran works at a mental hospital that doesn’t treat children. Iris has some significant scarring and doesn’t remember a thing about her life before coming to their home. The three children learn that something more is going on and there is a lot more about Gran and her work than they could have guessed. In the other timeline Iris and Vi are playing a different game of hide and seek where one is a monster hunting traveling the country and doing a blog/podcast/tv and the other seeks areas with their own local monsters, imitates them, and kidnaps girls who are then never seen again.