This title is like Stranger Things but with monsters.

The Kid's POV (1978):
Violet and Eric live an enchanted life with their "Gran". Gran is the director of a unique asylum housed in an old inn. Also on the property is Gran's home where she lives with the kids. The kids are homeschooled and explore books, animals, and nature at their pleasure. They ride bikes to drive-in theaters and the libraries. One day Gran brings home a mysterious new "sister" Iris. This leads to the kid's attempting the solve the mystery of Iris's identity.

The Biography:
Interspersed with the Kid's POV are bits of a biography written years later about "The Inn". Bit by bit, readers learn more about the terrible secrets there.

2019:
Lizzie Shelley is a monster hunter. She travels the country in a "souped" up Ford searching for monsters and hosting a blog, podcast, and appearing on television shows. Now she is searching for a very personal monster.

This book is probably the best Frankenstein adaptation, connection, story (whatever we want to call it) I have ever read. It was absolutely fascinating and left me contemplating moral ambiguity, history, science, identity, just everything. Reader's should know though, this book is DARK. At first the moments from the kid's pov is delightful but it gets dark and it gave me major nightmares. But I think that is telling of how good a book this actually is.

I've reviewed all of Jennifer McMahon's books on this blog, from one of my absolute favorites, to one I didn't like so much. The Children on the Hill falls square in the middle for me.

In 1978, Dr. Hildreth is a famous psychiatrist working in Vermont at her own treatment center for the mentally ill. Her grandchildren, Vi and Eric, live with her after their parents were in a horrific accident. One day, Dr. Hildreth brings another child, Iris, home to live with them. Iris won't talk and is skittish around the family. But Vi treats her like a sister, and before long, Iris comes out of her shell a bit.

The Children on the Hill also has an alternating timeline in 2019. Lizzy Shelley is the host of a popular podcast about monsters. She is called back to the same Vermont town where she grew up -- a town where there has not only a monster sighting but a girl has gone missing.

Obviously when you're reading, sometimes you need to suspend some disbelief. But I found the connections between these two timelines implausible and confusing. Also, I would have liked to have learned so much more about Dr. Hildreth. This book still offers the same feelings of suspense and dread that McMahon is known for, but it is definitely not her best.

MY RATING - 3

Expected release date: April 26, 2022

Told in a dual-timeline storyline, this is a story about Dr. Helen Hildreth and her small psychiatric hospital in Vermont called Hillside Inn. Dr Hildreth lives in a house on the grounds with her two grandchildren, Vi and Eric. They are homeschooled during the day, but their free time is spent on the Book of Monsters that they have made, hunting monsters in the woods outside their home, and going to see horror films at the drive-in. One day Gran brings home a patient to live with them - a girl Vi's age, named Iris. They invite her to join their Monster Club and she fits in perfectly. Fast-forward 40 years to 2019, where 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.
First let me say that I am a huge fan of this author, and I have loved every book she has written. This one was slightly different in that it didn't have any paranormal activity in it. This book was about monsters - real & and imagined, made-up, and man-made. The book started out a little slow at first but as soon as the story started rolling along, I was hooked. There was a huge twist a little over halfway through that I really did not see coming, and that made the book even better. If you enjoy suspense/thrillers then you definitely want to add this to your TBR pile!

I absolutely love Jennifer McMahon. I love how the darkness is always just under the surface, foreboding and tense and then the endings just pull everything together brilliantly.

The Children on the Hill may be one of my favorites yet. I was pulled into this deliciously dark story and didn’t want to stop reading.

The Children on the Hill switches between 1978; told through Violet, and 2019; told by Lizzy Shelley.

1978-In a beautiful town in Vermont, Violet lives with her Gran (Dr. Helen Hildreth) and her brother Eric. Dr. Hildreth is a renowned psychiatrist at the Inn. She uses care and compassion to treat her patients. Violet and Eric are raised lovingly by their Gran. One day, Helen brings home a child. She tells Violet and Eric they are to treat ‘Iris’ as their sister. Iris doesn’t act like a normal child and refuses to speak. She is very skittish and looks ill. Violet doesn’t care how Iris looks, she’s thrilled to have a sister. Violet and Eric invite Iris to their Monster club and before long, the three of them are hunting monsters, creating games and going to the movies to catch the latest creature features. Monsters become a big theme between the 3 of them; because as Violet states, “monsters are everywhere”.

2019-Lizzy Shelley hosts a very popular podcast called ‘Monsters Among Us’. She travels around chasing creature sightings throughout the USA. She also notices a pattern of abductions; girls are vanishing without a trace, and it always happens on a full moon right after a monster sighting. The most recent abduction is in Vermont. The town is a smaller, touristy town and everyone is upset over this recent disappearance; especially since the girl was talking about the town’s infamous creature right before she vanished. Lizzy packs up and heads to Vermont. She’s on the hunt for a specific monster. Lizzy knows monsters are real; especially since her sister is one.

This one kept me reading. The tension was creeping and felt like icy fingers tracing under my skin at times. I loved this book!! I highly recommend giving The Children on the Hill a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this ARC!

I sometimes wonder if I'm reading the same book as everyone else... I am in the vast minority here but I could not get into this one to save my life. And I tried. Numerous times. I even tried skipping ahead to see if maybe I just needed to get past a certain point or into a certain perspective more deeply. But not matter what i tried, I just never caught the threads of this one in a way that made it feel coherent to me at all.

McMahon has a quirky way with language (in a good way), and I've enjoyed her previous stories a lot but this time it just felt abstract and abstruse and I really struggled with both characters and plot. I may be the only person who feels this way, and I have no idea why, but I just did not find this one an enjoyable read.

I received this as an ARC and it was amazing. As with all of her books there was a twist I didn’t see coming. Kept my interest through the whole book and left me wanting more!

Every since I watched Winter People, I have been reading this author. Of course the book was so much better as it usually is but I sometimes like to do the book and movie but the book first. The biggest thing I enjoyed about this book, The Children on the Hill , was the surprise ending. I won't tell you but it's a great book about some kids who play together and generally do what kids used to do-riding their bikes and getting into adventures. Then things get really good. Try this book and see for yourself. Also I hope it makes into a movie!

The Children on the Hill is the latest book by Jennifer McMahon. McMahon gives us the story going back and forth in time from when the children were living on the hill with grandma and to today when the children are well into adulthood. Monsters were often on their minds as children and as adults monsters have taken over their lives. I want to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an early copy to review.

This was a great book that jumped from the past to the present. It was ominous, interesting, and another well-written book by Jennifer McMahon.

Wait…what??? This story will blow your mind. At first, I thought the pace was too slow and had a hard time getting into it. But then the story takes off and takes you to places you’ve never imagined! Twists and turns galore! I have to say I really loved it!

This was a unique mystery story that revealed itself a little at a time. I loved the tribute portions to Frankenstein and that the story was told alternating from last and present. Although I thought the monster component was fun in some ways it also felt a bit tedious at times and hard for me to take seriously….I guess that’s the fun on fiction though, it gives room for plenty of imagination.

The Children on the Hill has an interesting setup of dual timelines, plus excerpts from two books. In 1978, Vi and Eric lived with their grandmother, the esteemed psychiatrist Helen Hildreth, on the estate of her renowned treatment center. One summer, a little girl, Iris, is brought home and made an honorary sister and a member of their monster club. In 2019, podcaster Lizzy Shelley traveled the country looking for vanished girls and monsters, specifically the one she knows as her sister.

I will say, I was expecting a bit of horror, and instead, it's more of a PG-13 mystery. But in classic McMahon style, it's wonderfully written and very atmospheric. If you typically read mystery/thrillers, you're going to guess some of the twists early on, but it was still a delightful read. I loved the excerpts from the books, one written on the treatment center and the other written by the children. Both timelines were compelling, and the pacing was good throughout the book.

Great suspense novel that keeps you engaged throughout. I was a little disappointed in the wrap-up after the build-up, but all in all, an interesting read. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is one I have been waiting for. Sometimes you get into a reading slump and look for something to get you out of it. This is that book. A thriller for sure, but you just want to find out the story behind the story. Where are the children from and why are they here? Excellent read.

“The Children on the Hill,” by Jennifer McMahon, Gallery/Scout Press, 352 pages. April 26, 2022.

In 2019, Lizzy Shelley, the host of the podcast Monsters Among Us, is traveling to Vermont, where Lauren Schumacher, 13, is missing. Before she disappeared, Lauren told her friends she met a legendary ghost.

Flashback to 1978. Dr. Helen Hildreth, a psychiatrist, is acclaimed for her work with the mentally ill. She is director of the hospital called The Hillside Inn in Vermont.

Her grandchildren, Violet, 13, and Vi’s younger brother, Eric, live with her since their parents died in a vehicle accident. Hildreth occasionally brings home a patient when she thinks it will help in their treatment.

Then one day Hildreth brings home a child to stay with the family. Iris does not behave like a normal girl. Still, Vi is thrilled to have a new playmate who is about her age. She and Eric invite Iris to join their Monster Club, where they catalog all kinds of monsters and dream up ways to defeat them. When Iris reveals she can’t remember her past, Vi starts snooping in her grandmother’s notes to find out what is known about Iris.

The chapters alternate between times. In the present, Lizzy explains that they changed their names after something happened. At first she doesn’t say which of the girls she is. Lizzy has a degree in anthropology and psychology, and a master’s in folklore. Ten girls across the country have gone missing, always the night of a full moon. Lizzy thinks her sister is taking them.

About a quarter of the way through the novel, Julia Tetreault is introduced. She wrote about the Hildreths and the mental health center. As Vi wrote in her book, “But you must ask yourself: Who is the real monster? The creature being made, or the one creating it?”

This was inspired by Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” but it isn’t a horror novel. There are several twists: One I saw coming and the others that surprised me. The characters are well developed. The plot builds slowly and races to an amazing ending. Jennifer McMahon’s writing is excellent.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Great book! This book kept me turning the pages, I had to know what was going to happen next. A must read!!

After falling in love with the author’s book The Drowning Kind, I was excited to be approved for an e-ARC of THE CHILDREN ON THE HILL.





The story begins in 1978 where children Violet and Eric who are orphaned, are being raised in Vermont by their grandmother, brilliant psychiatrist Dr. Helen Hildreth. One day their grandmother brings home a feral 13-year-old girl named Iris and the children are told she is their new sister. They know something is not right with Iris. Nevertheless, they bond over their love of monsters and how to slay them even writing a book called The Book of Monsters.

There are flashes to 1980 throughout the story where excerpts of a book written by a journalist start to tell a story of the unimaginable horror that took place to the children on the hill.

Flash forward to 2019 and Lizzy Shelly who hosts a popular podcast about monsters, has come to Vermont to investigate a monster sighting and a missing teen. Who is Lizzy Shelly and why is she hunting monsters?
This was such a creepy and atmospheric read with a great twist. I love this author’s writing style and the way she played homage to Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. I highly recommend this creepy thriller!

The Children On The Hill was an immersive read with a gripping mystery, and at its core was a nuanced meditation on family and the monsters we create, both visible and unseen. While I admit that I suspected the twist for much of the book, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of actually reading the story, which was engaging and compelling. I had a lot of fun reading this one, and once I got far enough in, I could hardly bear to put the book down, due to the urge to know what was going to happen next. The very ending had me react in the same way that The Witch had me react when I saw it for the first time - “good for her.” However, I won’t spoil…but I was pretty satisfied with the ending overall, although I wish we had got more from it - it felt like we as the readers are given a span of 1-2 relatively short chapters to come to terms with the resolution of the story, which had such promise. I would read a sequel to this one just to get more detail.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Publishing for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

O.M.G. How have I gone this long without reading anything by Jennifer McMahon??? Honestly, this is the first book I've read of hers and it definitely won't be the last.

This story is told in alternating timelines. Vi in 1978 and Lizzie in 2019. This story is about real monsters. They do exist. I won't divulge anything else because this is best going into knowing no more than it is a unique Frankenstein retelling. With the influx of fairytale retellings lately, it's great to see one of the classic horror stories being retold. Brilliant!

Jennifer McMahon is quite the storyteller. I will be seeking out her other books in the immediate future. This book gripped me from the first page and I read it within a day. I literally couldn't put it down. I loved the characters, the story and the ending. There really wasn't anything I didn't like about this book! Monsters do walk among us. I highly recommend this book!

What an amazing book based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The book is from multiple point of views and explores what really makes someone a monster. I loved the storylines of both 1978 and present day. The twists in this book were so good and made it impossible to put down.