What a fantastic debut novel from Katherine Green!

When three children are found dead, Cheyenne leaves town, fed up with her mother's beliefs and with the small town superstitions. She leaves her mother, her best friend Natalie and her boyfriend Jackson without a warning. She just can't stand the fear that everybody has of the evil creature that kills children that venture into the woods alone. She also can't stand that her mother considers herself the protector of that town, practicing rituals to keep the evil away.
But five years later, another child dies and a family friend calls Cheyenne to return to town because her mother is acting erratically and needs her. When she returns, Cheyenne restores the broken bonds with the people she left and they quickly realize that they need to face evil in the woods to stop the killings once and for all, freeing the town from the fear and anger.

What a fantastic debut novel from Katherine Green! Dark, disturbing, eerie, creepy, spooky, this story will make you be afraid of nursery rimes. Forget clowns, vampires, now you'll be afraid of a creature of nursery rimes that lurks in the woods searching for children. I was sucked into this story told in two POV, Cheyenne's and Natalie's. If you like creepy thrillers this is the book for you. Definitely looking forward to more written by this author.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC. The opinions above are my own and given freely.

First of all i want to thank Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books and Katherine Greene for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Woods are Waiting.

This book had a creepy vibe to it, Cheyenne Ashby comes back home after leaving Blue Cliff for 5 years because she couldn't handle the crazy stores about the Hickory Man that the town and her mother were always talking about. Children went missing all the time in this town, and Cheyenne came home to help her mother who wasn't doing well with the newest child that went missing. Her mother Constance was a very superstitious woman, and in my opinion a wiccan/witch with her poppet dolls, herbs and chants. But this book kept me guessing all the way through, just when i thought i figured out what was going on and who i suspected, nope something else would happen and then i would suspect someone else. I enjoyed this read and i recommend it to anyone who enjoys creepy, superstitious, eerie books.

I really struggled with this one. For one thing, the first half was quite repetitive. There's no real development, as we just keep cycling through the same points over and over. Second, the character development left a lot to be desired. There are two POVs, for instance, but I don't think the individual voices of each character were that distinguished. I also feel as if I know no more about them than I did going in. Cheyenne's leaving, for example, is referenced repeatedly, but it's superficial. And it's the same with the setting. It could have been set anywhere. In fact, I--a creature of the woods, reading this in Appalachia--kept forgetting where it was supposed to have been set unless someone mentioned they were in ol' Virginny.

This was like Stephen King’s IT, but in the woods abutting the Appalachian Mountains. Kids are disappearing in three’s and yes, it’s spooky, but there is an element missing in this book that failed to fully pull me in. All of the superstition and Appalachian lore was the best part, but the writing was lacking.

I want to thank Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read an ARC of The Woods are Waiting by Katherine Greene. This masterpiece is set for publication on July 11, 2023.

We all have that childhood campfire story, the hide under the covers tale, a memory of superstitious beliefs. Don’t say Bloody Mary, Lizzie Borden, Candy Man, if you cross your eyes they will stick, don’t step on a crack, and in Blue Cliff Virginia you don’t go into the woods as a child. You keep silver in your pockets and dirt in your shoes to ward off the Hickory Man.

Cheyenne left Blue Hills and this childhood farce long behind as soon as she could. Her inherited name, Ashby, a curse on her soul. When the police chief and her beloved “Uncle Donnie” call her home to care for her mother given her diminishing mental capacity she returns home.

Blue Cliff has a history of missing children that are soon found dead. Blue Cliff is known to eat children since it’s foundation. Cheyenne’s mom is the local “witch doctor” who wards off this evil, this man who creeps through the woods to feed his blood thirst, this Hickory Man of every child’s nightmares.

When young Dakota goes missing it is only a matter of time before the Hickory Man follows his pattern of 3 and takes two more unsuspecting Blue Cliff children. Cheyenne’s Mother begins to spiral. Being a recluse of the woods and the town’s protector from this evil she; begins to diminish leaving Cheyenne to return home to a past of ruined friendships, lost love, and leaving this “crazy notion” behind to have a normal life. Can she stop this town of superstitions to end the Hickory Man myth after all?

Greene leaves the reader guessing at every page turn. Is this myth a hundred year old apparition of death and if not who has been taking these children? As a reader you will be guessing until the very last page. I highly recommend this captivating read! Don’t wait for this to fly off the shelves pre-order your copy now!

I loved this cover. The Woods are Waiting by Katherine Greene is her debut novel and I’m giving this 4.5⭐️. It comes out 6/11/23 so if you like horror-ish, mystery suspense your in for a treat.
The story moved at a good pace and was about unexplained murders that happened in this small town. And someone is missing. I was even scared of the woods!
Well done and I can’t wait to see what the author writes next.
Thanks Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.

I don't know. It was okay. It was also fundamentally stupid (which is fine) while at the same time not all that entertaining (which is, of course, a death sentence for a thriller). I hated the MC, I loathed her friends, and her über-precious mom, and the whole thing about the Thing in the woods and that rhyme and all that... welllll. It was just a bit too much for me, as was the MC's totally over the top fear of the forest (it's a forest, for crying out loud. You GREW UP there, you silly cow). By the time the ending rolled around with its extra helpings of histrionics and revelations and backstory and insight, I was so over this book I didn't even have it in me to snort.
Also, if you've read two thrillers, you'll have the perp figured out the minute they show up.
Too bad, the description sounded really cool.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I like a good story where I don’t see the ending coming. Unfortunately, I guessed this story’s secret about 5% in. As I kept reading, I hoped for some unexpected twist but was disappointed. I still did enjoy the book, though, for the most part. But, overall, it was really predictable. Green’s clues were really obvious, so I imagine I won’t be the only one easily guessing the ending.

From Goodreads: Cheyenne Ashby knows the dark and disturbing history of her hometown of Blue Cliff, Virginia, all too well. It’s why she left. Growing up deep within the woods with her eccentric mother, Constance, she was raised on the unusual customs and generational superstitions linked to the local legend of an evil entity that haunts the forest.

Five years ago, the bodies of three children were found in the woods. It was a man—not a mythical beast—named Jasper Clinton who was convicted of these heinous crimes. For five years, the town breathed just a bit easier with a real-life monster behind bars.

The two women must confront the reality of the superstitions they always believed in and their town’s complicated connection with who—or what—lives in the woods.

But when another child goes missing, Cheyenne and Natalie are determined to discover the truth and uncover the town’s dangerous secrets rooted in its terrifying past.

Even though I knew what was coming, I was still looking forward to the payoff. The first 75% of the book was well-written, if not heavy-handed. But the last 25% was a big disappointment. It was just all exposition with someone explaining stuff. Green definitely needs a less in “show, don’t tell.” With the characters digging so much to uncover the truth in the first sections, the ending is a big letdown, writing style-wise. I still gave this book four stars because I was engaged and wanted to see what happened, but this one could have definitely been better written.

Rating: 4/5 stars
Pub date: July 11, 2023

Cheyenne Ashby grew up deep in the woods of a small Virginia town with a dark past. Her superstitious mother and the troubled town forced her away when it all became too much. Years later, after reconnecting with her childhood friend, Cheyenne is determined to figure out what really lives in the woods.

I was completely hooked from the beginning of this book. The nursery rhyme and spooky prologue, piqued my interest instantly. This book is pretty dark and disturbing. The amount of detail was incredible and as a mother that made it hard to read at times. I have never been to Virginia, but I could picture the town perfectly with its mountains and isolated, dense woods.

I did pick up on something early on and figured things out, but it didn’t take away from the reading experience. I still couldn’t put it down. I typically don’t like to be kept guessing at the end, but I did enjoy the ambiguity of the ending.

If you enjoy mysterious and creepy thrillers, this is an amazing debut novel I recommend picking up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the eARC!

So....

I guessed who the murderer was in the very first chapter.
<img src="https://www.partygameideas.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Who-is-the-Murderer.jpg"/>

Seriously!

<img src="https://i.etsystatic.com/13822435/r/il/1d5d04/2276813479/il_fullxfull.2276813479_roy8.jpg"/>

The author created lots of creepy atmosphere: the Bogeyman is out to get you, no matter how far you run.
<img src="https://i0.wp.com/thereader.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Film-MalignantReview-202110.png?fit=1479%2C686&ssl=1"/>

Everyone was a suspect.

<img src="https://media.tenor.com/foYVCwHDgK0AAAAC/ponste7.gif"/>

The story is told from several points of view and no one trusts anyone in that town. They all seemed a bit unhinged. Something in the water? Well, definitely something or SOMEONE evil was in those woods!

<img src="https://worldtoptop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Haunted-Ballyboley-Forest.jpg"/>

No one seemed to have the sense of one-winged fly as far as I was concerned. (Instead of fleeing for their lives, everyone stayed put like sitting ducks in that literal "dead end town." After the first few chapters, I must confess that, despite the author's best efforts, my interest in the characters and their sorry plight was fast disintegrating. In fact, I was overjoyed at one point when my Ereader alerted me that I was nearing the end of this macabre tale.

Oh, I should mention that there was a cliff hanger of sorts...

<img src="https://media.tenor.com/yY6e_RK01EIAAAAC/cliff-hangers.gif"/>

which was resolved in the very next chapter - phew, no sequel!

<img src="https://media.tenor.com/a5n5GalczLsAAAAC/relief-phew.gif"/>

I'm rating this rather long, involved and tangled tale of murder and mayhem a 3.4 out of 5. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Cheyenne Ashby knows the dark and disturbing history of her hometown of Blue Cliff, Virginia, all too well. It’s why she left. Growing up deep within the woods with her eccentric mother, Constance, she was raised on the unusual customs and generational superstitions linked to the local legend of an evil entity that haunts the forest.

Five years ago, the bodies of three children were found in the woods. It was a man—not a mythical beast—named Jasper Clinton who was convicted of these heinous crimes. For five years the town breathed just a bit easier with a real-life monster behind bars.

But when another child goes missing, Cheyenne and Natalie are determined to discover the truth and uncover the town’s dangerous secrets rooted in its terrifying past.

The two women must confront the reality of the superstitions they always believed in and their town’s complicated connection with who—or what—lives in the woods.

The Woods are Waiting is a fantastic spooky debut thriller! As soon as I opened the book, the eerie and dark nursery rhyme sank it's teeth into me and I was hooked. This thriller takes places in the small town of Blue Cliff, Virginia where all of it's residents have grown up with the legend of "The Hickory Man" that haunts the woods that surround it and creepier yet, every few years children go missing. Cheyenne, once a local, returns to Blue Cliff once her mother's health begins to decline after the disappearance of yet another child. The supernatural element of The Hickory Man added some delicious suspense and there were enough red herrings that I had a difficult time trusting any of the characters or picking a villain in the story. The pacing felt a bit slow at times but it worked as you get to pick up clues along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"The town turned a blind eye to the grisly goings on, wanting protection from the Hickory Man and all that it entailed. He was in every part of our lives in Blue Cliff. He was felt in the herb-infused wreaths people hung from their doors to keep evil spirits from their homes. In the horseshoes hung above entryways. He was found in the playground song we all grew up singing. And in the deep seated fear that went back for generations.
The silver in their pockets. The soil in their shoes. A hideous reminder of our connection to the old ways and how they would always affect our lives."

In the town of Blue Cliff, children have gone missing for a century, never returning alive. A man is in prison, allegedly guilty of the crime, but when he is released, another child goes missing. The town is divided, some believe he is the child murderer, but others believe this is the work of the Hickory Man, the entity said to live deep in the Appalachian forest.
This is a dark atmospheric thriller, if you're a fan of strange rituals, small towns steeped in mystery and deep secrets with a slow burn suspense murder mystery then this book should be on your June TBR!

"I had been home for only a few days, and already it felt like too much. Blue Cliff was a small town - a sad town."

It wasnt as much of a horror book as I thought going in, the synopsis sounds exactly like what I love to read, but I had wanted it to be more horror and less murder mystery thriller. The writing is good, the author manages to write in such a way that you can feel the creepy dark undertone that envelops the mountain like a mist.
I had a hard time differentiate between the dual POV's, Cheyenne and Nat felt too similar to me and I had to backtrack several times to look at the chapter heading.


Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book. The Woods Are Waiting is published on the 11th of June.

I was excited for this story as the premise promised a lot, but ultimately I feel like it wasn't delivered. There are a lot of tropes that persist and I wish they wouldn't, one of them being the daughter who refuses to believe their mother and thinks they are crazy. And this is coming from someone who has zero relationship with theirs, it's old I wanted to see Chey embrace the mountain magic yadda yadda. I liked the alternating POV, it helped propel the story along. I think the creepy facto could have been amped up, and the ending left a lot to be desired. Someone will love this book, but it was just okay for me.

Where do i start with this one.?

The thriller that doesn't feel like a thriller. Being consistently repetitive and so slow paced that I felt like I could crawl faster. Sometimes a slow burn is good and unfortunately, this wasn't one of those times. The characters themselves were unlikable, and a bit unenjoyable. The story though, was the only thing holding everything together. At least I could find a positive for this read.

UGHHHH in the time it took me to write this review, NetGalley logged me out for inactivity and I lost everything. I am now even more annoyed at the time this book as taken off my life. Let’s see if I can remember my rant…

This book was a disappointment, to say the least. To start, it was both incredibly repetitive and extremely slow-paced. This is not a good combination. I feel like the book should’ve been half as long. The first 60% of the book is spent on the same topics over and over, including: Cheyenne, why did you skip town? Cheyenne, your kooky mother needs you to take care of her. Oh no! Another child is missing? Let’s assume the best for now, despite the fact that our town has hundreds of years of history of children being murdered in 3s. The author really beats you over the head with themes, which is not an enjoyable experience, also it is boring.

The book has a lot of factual issues. It was clearly very poorly researched? Edited? Fact-checked? I don’t know who’s to blame, but as a reader with half a brain, it was frustrating as hell. Some examples (this is certainly not an exhaustive list): children have been murdered in groups of 3 for the entire existence of the town with the same MO, and nobody has put this together? The FBI (or some other organization) would be all over this ish. It would certainly not be left to the bumbling sheriff who does next to nothing - and if it were, the town would be up in arms over his inaction. Speaking of MO - the entire town is shocked and confused that the murdered children all had silver coins in their possession and dirt in their shoes, because that’s supposed to protect them. DOES IT OCCUR TO NO ONE THAT THE KILLER IS THE ONE PLACING THE TOKENS???? This would’ve been figured out day 1 upon interviewing the parents regarding what their children were wearing and what they had in their possession when they disappeared. Speaking of interviewing people: Cheyenne and Jack barely chat with the sheriff (are there other police officers? Or just him??) after FINDING A BODY. In fact, they’re told to go into town to take some time to themselves. Is this a joke? This would NEVER fly in a real investigation. Next, there’s the fact that the original suspect was exonerated due to new DNA evidence that proved him innocent. Ok, great. That DNA would’ve been run through the system and the fabric they found would’ve been tested. I’m certain that it would’ve pointed towards the killer. Instead, these pieces of evidence are not even used. Also, the fact that “nobody can figure out” where the children are being drowned but they have testing showing the exact type of water they’re being drowned in, even though they’ve searched for miles? Are you kidding me? They would’ve found the location in a hot second. Suffice it to say, all these gaping holes were mighty frustrating.

The writing itself was also a major issue. The repetition, as previously mentioned, was mind numbing. Furthermore, the sentences themselves were stilted, conversations were unnatural, and the whole thing just felt really novice. The characters were poorly fleshed out and I didn’t care about any of them (though I was confused why Natalie stays with Hunter for so long when he’s actively treating her like hot garbage). The romance was blah (we just keep being told that everything is so natural between them because they’ve been in love since high school)…ok how about you DESCRIBE TO ME what that feels/looks like instead of just TELLING ME.

Lastly, WHY are there two points of view? A dual POV did not benefit his novel whatsoever. In fact, it added to the repetitiousness and ultimately detracted from the book.

Frankly, I am confused how this is so near publication with so many blatant issues.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review - I wish it were a better one.

1.5 stars rounded up to 2 because there was some plot to speak of.

The Woods Are Waiting is a wonderful thriller blended with Appalachian lore that keeps you intrigued the whole way through! If you're a fan of forest settings, strange rituals, and a bit of a murder mystery- this one is one to read.

I kept thinking I had it figured out and though, technically, I did at one point- the author did a solid job of making you doubt yourself. Maybe it isn't who you suspect. Maybe it's something else entirely...

Though this is an intriguing read, there are two things that kept it from being a five-star read for me.

- Dual POV: The voices of our best friends Cheyanne and Natalie didn't differ too much. It wasn't something glaring, but it was noticeable enough.
- Villain monologuing: It happens, it lasts a tad bit too long.

The author was great with setting a tense atmosphere and often transported me into those damn woods myself. This was a solid four star read that I enjoyed quite a bit!

"Watch out for his rough fingers,
His eyes as red as blood,
Whisper a prayer, you’ll need them there,
As he pulls you into the mud."

Everyone in Blue Cliff knows to be afraid. In the woods there is a creature that hunts their children, the Hickory Man. The children are taught disturbing nursery rhymes and told to carry coins and rocks to protect themselves from being taken.

Cheyenne ran away from Blue Cliff 5 years ago, unable to deal with the superstitions of the town and especially her mother. 5 years ago, 3 children were found dead in the woods. A regular man was convicted, and everyone thought those days were over. Until another child goes missing. It can't the the same man, he's in prison. Could it really be the Hickory Man?

I was hooked on this story from the very first page which opens with a nursery rhyme. Thank you Crooked Lane Books for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this one. The description was definitely right up my alley but when I started reading, I don't know, things just never really came together for me. The writing seemed kind of simple and the character dialogue wasn't all that alluring or intriguing. Nothing pulled me in. DNF'd about 1/3 of the way in. Maybe if I had kept going it would've turned around but all in all, I think it just wasn't quite for me.

This is a darkly atmospheric, slow burn suspense novel about a town with deep secrets. Children disappear into the woods, never to return alive. A man is released from prison because he’s wrongly convicted of the crime, and coincidentally-or not/ another child goes missing. I did guess the ending, but what I really liked about this novel was the exploration of human nature. What will we believe to keep our worlds safe? It’s easier to blame an outsider than to look within their own town.