In 1818, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, essentially creating a new genre and making her readers rethink what the word "monster" really means. This year, Jennifer McMahon, who always manages to keep me on the edge of my seat and is one of the only horror writers I will read, puts her own spin on that idea.

In The Children On The Hill, we're introduced to Lizzy Shelley, a modern day monster hunter, the kind you'd find in shows on the Travel channel. She doesn't entirely believe in the kind of monsters that she's hunting but she does believe in monsters because she's seen them in action. As we meet her, Lizzy is off on another chase to research a legendary monster who her sister may be using as the foil for her own monstrous acts.

Throughout the book, we move back and forth in time, between the children's search for the truth about Iris's past and Lizzy's search for her sister. McMahon also weaves in pieces from the children's Book of Monsters, excerpts from a book called The True Story of the Hillside Inn, and the voice of the monster, herself. Throughout, McMahon keeps building the tension, as she slowly reveals the truth about what happened in 1978 and the truth about the monster. All of it builds to first one big surprise and then a final twist I never saw coming. I know, I know, you're thinking that it's not the least bit unusual for me not to see the twists coming. But I promise you that you won't see that final one coming, either.

It's been a long time since I've read one of McMahon's books, although I've been meaning to pick them up again for years. This book did not disappoint and has been more eager than ever to pick up more of McMahon's books. They are just the kind of horror stories I can handle - loads of tension but not a lot of gore and always plenty to make readers think. But even if you're not a wimp like I am, I think you'll enjoy this one.

Creepy story of Eugenics experiments gone wrong. The author puts a twist at the end that isn't quite as shocking as it should be but the story holds together.

I absolutely loved this book! To be honest, I haven’t read a Jennifer McMahon book I didn’t liked. It was so suspenseful and was the perfect book to read in October. The perfect amount of creepiness!

I am usually a fan of Jennifer McMahon but I really couldn’t get into this one. The storyline wasn’t interesting to me and it had trouble keeping my attention. I will still try future books.

This might be my favorite book of 2022 so far. I ADORED it and all it's twists and turns. McMahon never disappoints. I love her writing style. I love a book that makes me want to turn on all lights and this hit the spot. I loved that you found out more and more of what had been kept from the children as the book went on.

I went into this one expecting a whole different story - I was surprised by the direction it took. I guess I should’ve known with the whole Frankenstein reference.

I really wanted to love this one, but I struggled so much getting into it. The first few chapters had me hooked, but that didn’t last long. I didn’t love that ending. This is the second book I’ve read by this author and they’ve both been three stars… I really want to love her books. There were some twists here and there that I thought were very well done. The story also dragged at times and was a bit slow.

Woah! This was super creepy, and I didn't expect that ending at all. Gave me The Haunting of Hill House vibes.

The Children on the Hill is my definition of a perfect thriller. It had me sucked in from the beginning, and I could not put it down. Jennifer McMahon does a fantastic job of revealing the twists at the perfect times. There were several surprises that I would have never predicted. I highly recommend this book!

This book starts off very slow moving which made it difficult to keep me interested. This was another book that I kept walking away from and then having to start over because I’d put off reading it for too long. It was a just okay book for me once I got to the end. I felt it was overly predictable (except a small piece of the ending, but I won’t give spoilers) and drawn out. I honestly wanted to just give up on this book. The novel follows Monster Hunter, Liz Shelley. It jumps back and forth between then and now. It also contains excerpts from a book she wrote on monsters along with her siblings as a child as well as a book written on her grandmother and her background by another author. In the past sections, a third “sibling” is brought home by grandma, Vi becomes suspicious about what experiments her grandmother is actually doing at her psychiatric hospital. Vi and Iris become close and start investigating together along with their brother, Eric. In the now sections, she has changed her name after the incident (which isn’t explained until the end), to Liz Shelley, and travels the country hunting monsters. She notices a that 10 teenage women have gone missing after claiming to meet monsters. I didn’t really get interested in this book until I was about 70% done and even then, it was only okay. I would give it 2.5 stars.

The Children on the Hill asks two big questions of it's reader. The first: are monsters born or are they made? The second: what makes a monster a monster? Is a monster a monster because of actions, appearance, behavior, or is it a monster based simply on other's perceptions. The Children on the Hill follows these questions from childhood to adulthood through the eyes of two girls.

The Children on the Hill has a twist that is so unexpected it will leave the reader reeling and rethinking everything they read throughout the book. Just when you feel like you know the answer to the two questions, the book will make you question yourself and your answers. They type of book that will make you want to read more from this author.

Very obviously inspired by Frankenstein, this is another Vermont-based creepy thriller/mystery Jennifer McMahon book (in a good way!). I liked the mystery aspect but the twist was a bit predictable. The 1978 storyline was much stronger, when it switched back to the modern storyline I think it lost some steam. Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

This book was HIGHLY reccomended to me by @chapters.and.charcuterie
and now I'm reccomending it too!

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The Children in the Hill, by Jennifer McMahon, is told in two time lines.

•The first, 1978: Violet and Eric live with their psychiatrist grandmother on the property in Vermont where she treat patients. Violet loves monsters so when Liv becomes a patient and opens up to Violet the three children set out to find out about Liv's past. They find more than they expected.

•The second, 2019: Lizzy Shelley, a monster hunter/podcaster/actress, is on the hunt for a monster that may have abducted a little girl. Shelley knows monsters are real so she tracks the monster sighting to discover what happened ti the child. In doing so she uncovers something shocking.

The Children on the Hill is creepy and captivating while keeping a youthful feel. McMahon creates a vivid settling with even more vivid characters. She hits on all cylinders: family, nature vs nurture, sibling relationships, psychology, paranormal, and reality/truth.

As I was reading I began thinking about how the story would play out. I did not see the ending coming at all and it was better than any of the ideas I came up with.

If you love thrillers this is a book you need to get your hands on sooner than later.


Thank you to @netgalley and for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 out of 5 stars

I have found that Jennifer McMahon doesn't disappoint me. She does a really good job of combining mysteries with a good amount of creepiness thrown in there for good measure.

I really loved all the twists and turns this ode to Frankenstein had. It is sure to keep you reading late into the night!

Not at all what I expected when I started reading this book. Wow! I really didn’t see any of this story coming. Not what I typically read, but it is one I will recommend for anyone who likes the unexpected.

Unfortunately I did not finish this one. I'm not sure what was missing or maybe it was just me and timing but I just could not get into it.

A horror/mystery novel inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, The Children on the Hill, proves woefully uninspired by the classic monster novel.

The premise sounds exhilarating and creepy. In 1978 a strange, orphaned child joins the Hildreth family, Dr. Helen Hildreth, who runs a psychiatric facility, and her grandchildren, Vic and Eric. They play at being monster hunters, a game that breaks the feral, skittish orphan Iris out of her shell. Simultaneously, it's 2019, and Lizzy Shelley is a famous podcaster who hunts monsters. This time, she's hunting for a missing girl, and a monster sighting has the town thinking the boogeyman has her.

The novel is a gentle unraveling of Lizzy Shelley/Vic Hildreth's haunted past. There is no mystery about who Lizzy is hunting down when she searches for the missing girl. The assailant is known to the reader within the first few chapters. More of the mystery lies in unwinding Lizzy's childhood. What happened that forced her and her brother to change their names?

Unfortunately, the book is unbalanced. Getting through the novel's first half is tedious because the more gripping storyline is the 1978 timeline. All you want to do is get back to reading that. However, that flips, and suddenly the present timeline is more intriguing. But at that point, it's been so hard engaging in the modern timeline that it's too little, too late.

The story is beefed up with pointless filler and a most bizarre turn of events where the two young girls, Vic and Iris, go from being sisterly to having romantic feelings for one another. The scene feels unnecessary and out of character. But even making it through to the end will leave the reader with little satisfaction with perhaps one of the fastest, most ludicrous endings to befall a mystery novel.

The Children on the Hill is tired and tedious, with little imagination or mystery captured within its pages.

I love the spookiness of Jennifer McMahon, and this eerie novel is a great addition to her oeuvre. The pacing is great, with slow-burn reveals and expert use of flipping between time periods. While the reveals won't be a huge surprise to anyone who is familiar with Frankenstein, it's a really fun read.

Wow! This mystery is heart stopping and breath taking. It will give you whiplash.
Many thanks to Gallery and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

When it comes to creating eerie small-town settings, Jennifer McMahon is to Vermont what Stephen King is to Maine. Her latest book parallels Mary Shelley’s famous novel and a good chunk of the story is told from Lizzy Frankenstein’s point of view in 2019. Lizzy hunts monsters and she’s so good at it her podcast and reality TV show have gained her a national following. The only trouble is the monster she’s hunting now may be her own long-lost “sister,” who Lizzy suspects is responsible for the disappearance of more than 10 girls.

The novel alternates with an earlier plotline set in 1978, so it has a definite Stranger Things vibe. While the twists aren’t as shocking as they are in some of McMahon’s other books, the sections that chronicle the lives of young Violet, Eric and the mysterious foundling Iris are disconcertingly creepy. All three children are under the care of Helen Hildreth, a psychiatrist who runs a clinic for the mentally ill. Dr. Hildreth is Vi’s and Eric’s grandmother, but who is Iris: victim or villain? Where did she come from? And what doesn’t their grandmother want them to find out about the girl?

Why You Should Read It: McMahon’s ability to entertain is indisputable but in this one she seems to push the narrative further. Yes, this is a horror story — in every sense of the word — but it has larger implications that mirror Frankenstein’s themes.

This is my third Jennifer McMahon book, but won’t be my last! I loved the premise of this novel and was sucked in by the plot chockful of mystery. As with the other McMahon novels I’ve read, The Children on the Hill is 1 part mystery, 1 part drama, and 1 part slow-burn thriller. It’s fun, exciting, and gives you just enough in each chapter to keep the pages turning. It’s full of twists and turns and I’m not ashamed to admit that most of them caught me off-guard.

If you’re looking for an entertaining, quick read that will keep you guessing, this is definitely one to pick up!