Ms. McMahon does it again. This is an incredible story told in dual timelines. The characters are realistic and easily come to life in your imagination. Hated to put the book down for RL obligations. Just when I thought I had something figured out, something would happen and change everything. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Where do I begin? I wasn’t drawn to the the monster story at the beginning, but I knew I had to stick with it and I’m glad I did. As with Jennifer’s past novels there’s always a good twist. Another book I highly recommend when it comes out!

I love thrillers almost as much as I love podcasts so I was really excited to read this book. This story is told in multiple time lines and by multiple characters. The character I liked the most was Lizzie, the podcaster who investigates "monster" sightings all over the US. Lizzie decides to investigate a string of missing girls, and she may end up confronting her past.

I was very excited to read this book. Add to that, one of Jennifer McMahon's earlier books, Promise Not to Tell, was so amazing and remains one of my favorite thrillers ever. This book was a fast, entertaining read and I really enjoyed the "twist".at the end.

Overall, a fun read with interesting characters and an ending I did not see coming!

*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for this honest review!*

1978: After her parents died in a car accident years ago, Violet and her brother Eric, started living with her Gran. Gran, or Dr. Hildreth, is a renowned psychologist who runs the Hillside Inn. Growing up around a psychological facility, Vi is used to Gran occasionally bringing patients home and she sees them on her visits to the Inn. But one day, Gran brings a young girl named Iris home. Gran told Vi that she is to treat Iris as her new sister, and report back to her daily with any progress that is made. Vi and Eric invite Iris to join their monster club and they spend their time searching for monsters and even writing their own Book of Monsters. As the relationship between Vi and Iris gets stronger, Vi vows to help Iris find out who she really is, even if that means that she goes against all of the rules Gran has in place. While trying to uncover Iris’ past, Vi uncovers that Gran has some secrets and that some monsters hide in plain sight.

2019: Lizzy travels the country searching for monsters. She decides to travel to Vermont where she learns that a girl has gone missing in the night, with reports that she’s seen a local monster prior to her disappearance. Lizzy arrives and starts her investigation when the same monster contacts her and brings back all the memories she has of her hidden past and the monsters that were created so long ago.

This was my first Jennifer McMahon novel and I look forward to reading more of her books. Switching back and forth between past and present, along with excerpts of a journal article written about the Hillside Inn, made the book seem a little slow. However, the slow build was well worth it in the end when everything seemed to turn around and realization strikes the reader. The ending was so satisfying, with a resolution that was pleasantly unexpected.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Gallery Books, and Jennifer McMahon for allowing me to read this advanced reading copy. This ARC was provided to me in exchange for my honest review.

Shortly after I started this book, I realized it was not for me. The cover intrigued me but I only got to 40% before throwing in the towel. I did not connect with any of the characters at all. I have loved many of this author's other books but not this one. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Longtime fan of McMahon. This one was a dud for me. Her books are usually full of pulse-raising action and interesting characters. This one never really went anywhere and I didn't care about any of the characters.

What a page-turner!! After reading The Drowning Kind, I couldn't get my hands on Jennifer McMahon's next piece of work fast enough! I was lucky to receive a digital ARC and flew through the pages, unable to put it down. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, and Jennifer once again created deep, well-rounded characters, placing them into an enticing plot with twists that I never expected! I can't wait to continue to follow this author's work! Thanks to Gallery/Scout Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital ARC in return for my honest review.

The perfect thriller to read over Halloween!

I love Jennifer McMahon's novels, but for me, this one fell short. I was so excited to receive an ARC of this, and somehow I feel a little let down. There were huge plot twists throughout, that I did not see coming. I was intrigued by the addition of a novel within a novel aspect. This provided a lot of background information for the general plot.

This slow burn picks up about three quarters of the way through the novel. Yet, the characters were left with many questions, and unresolved relationships.


I want to thank Netgalley, and Gallery Books, Gallery/Scout Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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.

I absolutely loved this book! It is indeed genre-defying. It could be a mystery-thriller and is. It could be horror and is. It could be fantasy and is. It is everything I love about books rolled into one fantastic story.

Dr. Helen Hildreth is a brilliant psychiatrist who runs the renowned treatment center, The Hillside Inn. Here she helps the worse mental patients, those considered beyond help. She is loved and admired by all who know her, especially her two grandchildren, Violet and Eric.

Known to bring home “strays”, Hildreth brings home, Iris. A young girl with no family, no memory, and no one to care about her. She is accepted by the brother and sister and treated as if she were the sister Violet always wanted. Violet comes to love her so much, that she promises to help Iris find her memories, find out who she is and where she came from. She just has to find out what her Gran knows.

But Gran is not all she seems to be, and she keeps a dark, terrible secret from everyone. A secret that will turn every life it touches upside down.

There is more than one twist in this novel, and one may be predictable once the clues are given but the remaining two are shockers, game-changers. And they are so well crafted, so well executed that you are blindsided by the knowledge you are given and still cannot foresee the end.

I’ve read many of Jennifer McMahon's books, and this is by far the best of them all. Within these pages you will find the ghost of Shirley Jackson guiding the author’s hand, the delight us horror fans found in our youth with movie monsters, a homage to not just Mary Shelly but the monster she created.

Loved, loved, loved this book. Expect to see it in the top 10 Bestsellers.

Thanks to @Netgalley, Gallery/Scout Press, and Jennifer McMahon for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion

This is my fourth book by this author and probably my favorite! I loved the different descriptions of different monsters and the Frankenstein elements very much.

In 1978, Dr. Helen Hildreth is praised for her compassion and contributions for working with the mentally ill. Her renowned treatment center in beautiful Vermont is where this all happens.

She has two grandchildren, Vi and Eric and to them she’s simple Gran. She teaches them how to be compassionate and loving toward people and animals. One day Gran brings home Iris. Iris is unique. She doesn’t speak or behave like a normal kid.

Vi and Eric befriend her nonetheless and invite her to join their Monster Club. They talk about various monsters and how they would vanquish them if encountered in real life. Iris begins to open up and the three kids start spending a lot of time together.

2019, Lizzy Shelly, host of the popular podcast Monsters Among us travels to Vermont where a young girl has been taken and a monster sighting is causing a frenzy. Lizzy knows monsters are real and is determined to figure out what is going on.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The story tells the tale of three children and their unususal upbringing on the grounds of a mental institution. The kids entertain themselves by hunting monsters...but sometimes the monsters are real. The story is told in alternating times (then and now) through the eyes of Viv/Lizzzy. This is the second book I've read by Jennifer McMahon, and I can say I am now a fan. Her writing is creepy yet real and definately keeps me turning pages. Highly recommended.

I love me some supernatural monsters but nothing is more terrifying than the real life monsters of man who can do unspeakable things to another human for the sake of science. 🤯🤯

It gives me goose bumps to think about men wanting to play God and altering one’s subconscious mind. 😳

All there is left to say is: NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS! 👹👹👹👹

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WOW!!! Just an amazing premise and exciting book. A true page turner with surprises that you will not see coming.

Liz is a podcaster and monster chaser. Through flashbacks, we learn more of her story and what has caused her to devote her life to chasing down the human monsters that prey on women - commonly young girls who are easily forgotten across the United States.

Liz and her brother Eric grew up under their grandmother's care ion the land of a facility for mentally insane. Their grandmother provides their homeschooling and cautions them to not speak to strangers in town. They have a happy, joyful life until a new child is brought to the home and they are expected to take in and care for her. The silent child makes them question everything they believed and they team up to seek out answers in the asylum.

Liz is strong, sharp and committed. It's through her flashbacks that you will learn her very complicated story based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

My only critique is that I think a more "modern" title would signify to readers what they are in store for. Based on the title I was expecting a gothic novel set in an old English town.

If you love gothic thrillers, redemption stories, monsters both human and imaginary, this is a book for you! #GalleryBooks #NetGalley #TheChildrenOntheHill

Past and present weave together to tell the story of Violet, Iris, and Eric in the 1970s, and in 2019, the search for a “monster” thought to be tied to the disappearances of numerous girls. This story caught me by surprise in a good way! I was equally interested in the narrations from both 1978 and 2019 as we learned what had happened at the Hillside Inn in the past, and what was driving the pursuit led by “monster hunter” Lizzy in the present. It all ties itself together to give the full picture by the end.

This was a twisty mystery/thriller that I read in less than 24 hours! In fact, my baby woke me up at 3 a.m., and even after he fell back to sleep, I started reading the last 25% on my phone and couldn’t stop until I was finished. There is inspiration from “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, but this story definitely has its own unique spin. My only complaint would be that I wish the final revelation had been given more pages devoted to it - perhaps it could even lead to a sequel maybe??

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was absolutely phenomenal! Are monsters real? We all have monsters inside us. It's up to us to choose if we allow them to come out. I devoured this book on one day it was so good. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone. Gram seriously shocked me. I was extremely surprised and pleased with the ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer McMahon is still one of my favorite authors, and snagging an early read of the Children on the Hill made for a great holiday present! (Thanks Netgalley!) As always, her writing doesn't disappoint. This was a page turner that I really enjoyed because of it's connect to Vermont and it's dark historical ties to the eugenics movement, which was paired with hunting monsters and plenty of plot twists. Absolutely recommend the read!

I love this book.. At first I didn't really care for it. It is a slow burn. But I really like the two time lines, the fleshing out the characters. I will definitely re-read this book.
Thank you so much for allowing me the privilege of this ARC.

YESSSSS! I absolute LOVED this fantastic book! McMahon rocked my literary socks!

A little girl, Violet, lives with her little brother with their grandmother who is the head psychiatric doctor of the Hillside Inn. Their parents died in a car accident years ago and they've been happy living on the Hill. In fact, they've started a unique and intriguing hobby of hunting for monsters. One day, their grandmother brings home a little girl named Iris who she says is their new sister. Who is this girl? Where did she come from? And so the macabre mystery begins . . .

Outstanding writing. Revealing storylines that pull and push the plot forcing readers to guess and change their guesses as they strive to solve the mystery at hand. It's so clever, written by a master with stunning and emotional twists. An ominous setting that courses through the mystery and the characters in the vein of 'Frankenstein.' The ending was utterly satisfying. I wish I could give it five additional stars!

“ The tragedies we endure shape our lives: we carry them like shadows.”

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 then they can ever imagine.

Wow! Bravo!!! Big kudos to this author for a fantastic read. This book was one I devoured!!! The story pulled me in from page one and I held on for the ride ! I was in for every twist and turn, every monster and every monster hunter !!!!

Thank goodness for Jennifer McMahon for having the best book of 2021. Oh my goodness! After finishing it at 3 am (totally worth it) I was kind of sad that I finished it so quickly because it was over. This book had so much going for it: the late 1970s setting, the creepy Inn complete with sketchy groundskeeper, trio of misfit kids, mysterious local legends that could have been featured on X Files. I loved all of it!

The twists were somewhat easy to predict, but the ending was perfect. There were a couple of things that were just a wee bit out of place. The biggest was a totally unnecessary kiss that just made it...weird.