What Waits in the Woods is a dark, atmosphere psychological thriller with masterful suspense and brilliant writing, with complex characters and an intriguing plot.

First and foremost: a huge thank you to Kensington Books, Terri Parlato, and Netgalley for the advanced digital copy!

I need you to know that I was immediately endeared to one of our FMC - Esme - as her dance career came to a screeching haunt after an injury. I experienced the exact same thing, though it was my knee to her hip. So I felt a sort of kindred spirit to her right from the get go.

With no more performance prospects and a dead end relationship, Esme packs up her life one night and begins the journey home. Upon her return she immediately learns that one if her high school friends has been murdered and it is currently an open investigation.

Enter Rita, the second voice in our alternating POV and the lead detective on the case. She is no-nonsense, straight to business, and already forming a list of suspects of her own. Surprisingly, however, this sleepy unassuming little town and its inhabitants have more secrets and mystery about than one would assume. The murderer is anyone's guess.

This novel unfortunately was not it for me. Right from the get go the writing style is bleak and bland. Instead of being shown information to absorb, we are just told things through heavy amounts of dialogue. It felt impossible to connect to the story or the characters as it sounded like a second hand retelling. While I greatly appreciated the mystery and the ultimate reveal, I found the journey getting there difficult and off putting.

What a great thriller. Follow Rita as she determines who killed Kara and why they did it. Secrets are spilled and the town starts to question how well they all really know one another.

this book was so so creepy and i was OBSESSED!!!! the storyline had me hooked instantly and i had no idea where the end was going!!! 10/10

WOW! This book sucked me in pretty quickly. The first things about this book that caught my eye were the cover, the description and the fact that one of the characters had the same name as me. I mean, she was a murder victim, but who is judging? Its rare to see my name around, so I was impressed. This one also takes place in my hometown of Boston, so that also caught my eye.

But once I got started reading, the details and plot were what really sucked me in and kept me guessing. Esme Foster comes back home to the Boston suburb to be closer to her family as her dad is dying when she comes home to police at her home. What we find out is that they aren't at her home, but in the woods behind her home. Her high school best friend, Kara Cunningham, was found murdered in those woods. Rita, the detective on scene, starts to investigate all the nearby players.

Through twists and turns, we follow Rita and Kara's journey to rediscovering their roots in this small town and navigating life with a murder on the loose. They both have self-discoveries of why they love this small town. I don't want to give it all away because, what fun is that?

This book comes out right after Christmas so what better present than a pre-order of this book! I would absolutely definitely recommend for any and all of you who love a good detective mystery!

#WhatWaitsInTheWoods #NetGalley

"Her ballet career derailed by injury, a once-promising young dancer returns to her hometown only to face a grisly discovery - and the increasingly alarming realization that nothing from her past is quite what she believed - in this electrifyingly twisty suburban thriller for fans of Stacy Willingham, Greer Hendricks, and Megan Miranda.

When Esmé Foster left the Boston suburbs to become a professional ballerina, the future shimmered with promise. Eleven years later, her career has been derailed by an injury, and Esme knows it's time to come back to Graybridge to help her brother care for their ailing father. But her return coincides with an unthinkable crime. Kara Cunningham, one of Esme's high school friends, is found dead in the woods behind the Fosters' house.

Esmé is shocked and grieving, but also uneasy. In her dreams, she still sees the man who showed up at the scene of the car accident that killed her mother - and told Esmé he was going to kill her too. Family and friends insisted the figure was a product of Esmé's imagination, that she was concussed after the crash. But she and Kara looked alike, sharing the same petite build, the same hair color. Could Kara's murder have been a case of mistaken identity?

Detective Rita Myers is familiar with close-knit communities like Graybridge, where, beneath the friendliness, there are whispers and secrets. The town has seen other tragedies too, including the long-ago drowning of a young girl in a pond, deep in the woods. Even within the once-close circle of friends that included Kara and Esmé, Rita discerns a ripple of mistrust.

Day by day, Esmé discovers more about the place she left behind - and the friends and family she thought she knew. Soon, shining a light into the darkness to learn what really happened the night Kara died is the only way she can bring the nightmare to an end..."

It would be super frustrating to be a killer and kill the wrong person I think.

"What Waits in the Woods" by Terri Parlato is a gripping thriller that immerses readers in a chilling tale of suspense and secrets. The atmospheric narrative creates a sense of foreboding that keeps you on the edge of your seat, making it a compelling page-turner.

While the plot is engaging, there were moments where I craved a bit more exploration of certain themes. However, the author's ability to create a palpable sense of unease and deliver a satisfying conclusion earns "What Waits in the Woods" a solid four stars. A recommended read for those who enjoy psychological thrillers with a touch of the supernatural.

Esme left home years ago to pursue her professional ballet career, cutting off all contact with her close knit friend group. When she returns home after her career unfortunately ends, she arrives home hours after one of her childhood best friends is killed in her own yard.

Detective Meyers is on the case, following the clues, bust also focusing a strong attention to the once so close friend group. Kara and Esme strongly resembled one another. Could this have been a case of mistaken identity? Or was this a calculated act to end Kara’s life?

Secrets are uncovered and the pool of suspects is growing rapidly. We get the interesting aspect of the case of Kara’s murder, but also a more in depth look at the friendships between the characters, the strained relationships between friends and family members, and the discovery of long since buried truths about Esme’s own mother.

I really enjoyed this book. I found the characters all so fascinating, both good and bad. I called the culprit from early on, though the ultimate reveal was still satisfying!

This was a dark psychological thriller. The story itself revolves around Esme's return to her childhood home where her alcoholic father slowly deteriorating away. As Esme's returning home, the house is surrounding by law enforcement, investigating the death of her childhood friend Kara, who was found murdered in the wooded area behind their home. The police question Byron, her father (who heard a scream), as well as the neighbors.

I think the title is perfect for the atmosphere of this book - Esme's home backs up to an ominous pond surrounded by woods that let people creep around to other people's houses. The book alternates between the POV of Esme and the Detective, Rita. I thought the book had the perfect amount of suspense and a large cast of characters that could be responsible for killing Kara. The ending was good, and I wasn't expecting who the killer was revealed to be - very unexpected IMO.

3.75 going home stars

Esme was forced to throw in the towel on her professional ballet career due to injury, and her boyfriend of six years wasn’t very sympathetic. She does what many people might do: she goes home. She’s got a sick father, and she’s hoping for a fresh start in her hometown.

Here's what she finds though -- emergency lights in her driveway and a dead body in the backyard. Sadly, this is one of her childhood best friends, Kara.

She also discovers a father who is quite sick. Her brother is a nurse living at the family home to care for their father. There’s still a tremendous amount of guilt from a car accident on icy roads many years ago where their mother was killed.

Esme is quickly drawn back into high school friendships. She finds a job at a café but is otherwise trying to find her new place in town. Can the case be solved, or is Esme next on the list?

I loved the alternating perspectives from Esme and the detective investigating the case, Rita. There are quite a few characters in this one, and I had lots of suspicions. There’s good pacing, and I was eager to figure things out. The ending was a surprise I did not see coming!

I didn’t realize there’s an earlier book by this author, and Rita is in that one. A new title for my growing list!

Esmé Foster left Graybridge, Massachusetts eleven years ago to pursue her dream of becoming a ballerina. That dream was quashed when she developed a hip problem. She returns home on the day her best friend from high school is found murdered in the woods behind her family home.

As she renews her friendship with her old clique, suspicion falls on many of those close to her. It is up to Detective Rita Myers to solve the mystery. Secrets that have been hidden for years are revealed about many of Esmé’s friends, family, and acquaintances.

There is no shortage of possible suspects in this character driven, engrossing thriller. This dark tale of a small town is told from two POVs, Esmé’s and Rita’s. There are twists, turns, red herrings, and a surprise ending.

Although this book is not touted as part of a series, this is the second Parlato novel I have read featuring Rita Myers. She is a good detective who is sometimes “creative” in her pursuit of criminals. I follow a number of mysteries/police procedural series featuring strong,capable female characters and I am pleased to add this one to the list.

I really enjoyed this read. Esmé is a young, retired ballerina. Her career ended early due to injury, and she left her boyfriend. The day she returns home to be with her dying father, she finds that one of her childhood friends was murdered. Detective Rita Myers is trying to find out whodunit, so they both tell the story in alternating chapters. Both are likable. Esmé is not a typical whining heroine, she knows she may have messed up, but is just trying to fix it. Rita is persistent and nice to her team. There is enough personal information on both women to make them relatable, without adding too many details to bog down the action. I was engrossed in the story. My problem was the ending, the resolution of the mystery was unexpected but the reasoning behind it seemed a little silly, in my opinion. I’m still adding it to the good books of the year because it kept me turning the pages and I had a good time reading this.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Kensington Books.

More police procedural than thriller, this sophomore effort from Terri Parlato, reunites us with Detective Rita Myers for a second case in Graybridge, Massachusetts, although it can easily be read as a stand-alone.


When Esmé Foster left the Boston suburbs to become a professional ballerina, her future looked bright. Eleven years later, her contract has not been renewed, her career ended by injury, and it’s time to admit that her 6 year relationship is probably over too.

She decides to return to her hometown of Graybridge to help her brother care for their ailing father., and to regroup. But her return coincides with a shocking crime which has occurred in the woods behind her childhood home.

Kara Cunningham, Esme’s closest high school friend has been found dead and it doesn’t appear to be an accident. Could it possibly be a case of mistaken identity. Could she have been the intended target?

Esmé is still haunted by the memory of the night of childhood car accident that claimed the life of her mother-one where she remembers a man who showed up at the scene of the car accident and told Esmé he was going to kill her too. Family and friends insist that no man exists and that her memory is faulty. But is it? The timing is too coincidental.

Told from the alternating perspectives of both Esmé and Rita, I was immediately engaged! There are plenty of unsavory suspects to choose from, and I was eager to find out who was responsible for Kara’s death.

My only small critique is that I felt like the ending came out of left field. I prefer to have an “Aha” moment where I can say to myself-“That’s the clue I missed”!

Although I think the author’s debut “All the Dark Places” was stronger, this is still a worthy follow up, and I will definitely be watching for her next release!

3.75 rounded up!

Expected publication date: December 26, 2023

Thank You to Kensington for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

3.5 stars. Esmé returns home to her tiny New England hometown the same morning that the body of her former best friend is discovered in the woods next to her house. The suspect list includes two of her neighbors as well as her brother and her ailing father, but Esmé thinks the culprit is a strange man that tried to kill her years ago, coming back for her after all this time.

This is a nice twisty read, with a large cast of suspicious supporting characters and plenty of small-town secrets to keep you interested! I sniffed out part of the "whodunit" but this didn't detract from my enjoyment, because there were several facets that I wouldn't have been able to guess at. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this book included detective Rita Myers, whose story I enjoyed in All the Dark Places. I enjoy Rita as a character, and I'm a big fan of ballet fiction so I loved that Esmé was a former ballerina! Overall, this story dragged a bit in the middle but was a solid small-town thriller.

Thank you to Terri Parlato, Kensington, and NetGalley for my advance digital copy.

From the beginning of this book I was glued to the story and although I’m sure you’ve read the reviews were they say they have twist after twist but in the case of What Waits In The Woods BY Terry Parlato it is absolutely true every time there is a suspect that looks totally legitimate and like OMG they must’ve done it something happens and it’s like OK they definitely didn’t do it but the storyline is so legit and so compelling you believe every suspect and they have some really good ones! The only thing I didn’t like it was a few things in the epilogue but that has nothing to do with the ending nor the awesome narrative. I want to thank the publisher and Net Galley for my free art copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I was really excited about this book; however, I feel like the ending reminded me why I sometimes avoid thrillers. The ending felt rushed and felt like it came out of no where. I understand that the whole point of books like this is for the reader to not be able to guess the ending and that's fine. BUT there has to be some kind of clues or foreshadowing in the book. Some justification for the ending and I just felt like there wasn't any in this book.

I really enjoyed All The Dark Places and was hoping for another book featuring Det. Rita Myers and I was not disappointed. I was thrilled when I was able to read an arc. I loved the different POVs and the many characters that I came to suspect at different times. I highly recommend What Waits In The Woods for anyone who loves a good mystery to solve. So far I would love to see this series continue!

Esme Foster returns home to Graybridge, a small town suburb of Boston, after a long term break up and her dream career ended only to find a murder in her own backyard. One of her childhood friends, found murdered in the woods behind her house. To Detective Rita Meyers, everyone is a suspect. She wades through the small town secrets and the plethora of suspects to try and find the truth.
This suspenseful mystery was full of twists and turns. The author masterfully doles out the perfect amount of information to keep you guessing until the end. The characters were authentic and well rounded. Usually I don't like stories that switch between character perspectives because many times it feels too choppy and hard to follow, this is not the case with this book the author does a brilliant job and I found it easy to follow and riveting. I loved this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys mystery thrillers. Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to review this book.

Y'all, this book was messy. It's told from two main POVs: Esme and Rita. However, in my opinion, Rita's POV is completely unnecessary and, if anything, shows the bias people in law enforcement have when dealing with violent crimes.

Esme returns home to a dead body in her childhood home's backyard, and Rita is the lead detective on the case. Of course, the dead body is Esme's best friend from high school, Kara, and bears a slight resemblance to Esme. Rita interviews all the main suspects: Ray (the sketchy neighbor with a mentally disabled sister), Esme's younger brother who had dated Kara a month ago, and other various men throughout the town. Honestly, they all had names I can't remember because I was so disinterested in this book.

Esme, as a character, is so stuck in a ballet career that ended because of injury, and she left a 6-year relationship to move home. We never hear from her ex-boyfriend, not even a text. Esme literally packed her stuff and left a note. Even if their relationship was failing, the boyfriend didn't even send an FU text? It was weird. Everything about Esme was so paper-thin. She had no real personality outside of moping.

Rita was like a halfway competent detective, enough to recognize when people were creeps. However, she never puts any stock into female suspects. Granted, most violent crimes against women are because of men. As a veteran cop, you would think that she would at least suspect some of the female characters.

As for the central mystery of the book, I actually thought that it unfolded nicely. I don't read a lot of mystery novels, and I was intrigued from start to finish with that plotline. I liked the whodunit, and I thought the clues were planted nicely but not obviously. Once you get to a little over 50%, it becomes more clear who probably killed Kara and the motive, but I thought there were a nice little twist or two that made me gasp.

Even though I enjoyed the mystery, this book is going to be a no for me. The characters just weren't developed enough, and I felt like focusing on a single point of view and fleshing Esme out more would have made a better story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC!

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book! My review will appear on episode 36 of my podcast which drops on Monday, November 27. The review will also be posted to my website and Goodreads that same week.

Review:
I went into this one expecting an edge-of-my-seat thriller, but what I actually got was more of a mystery. The novel is narrated from the dual perspectives of Esme and Rita, providing insight into the investigation of a murder and the unraveling of secrets in a small Massachusetts town.

Esme Foster, a former ballet dancer, is forced to return to her hometown of Graybridge after a career-ending injury. Her homecoming is marred by the discovery of her high school friend Kara Cunningham's lifeless body in the woods behind her family's house. Literally, the day she returns home, Esme pulls up to her father's house to find the police packing up Kara's body in the woods behind their home. How's that for a welcome home gift?

Esme is devastated and immediately on edge. When she was a kid, she was riding in a vehicle with her parents when her father lost control of the car. Her mother was killed in the accident, and Esme distinctly remembers a man pulling her from the car as he shouted, "I will kill you." The problem is that her father claims there was no man there with them, and the police didn't indicate that anyone else was present at the scene of the accident. With Kara and Esme sharing a striking resemblance, Esme wonders if maybe the man WAS real, and he's come back all of these years later to fulfill his promise. Was her friend's murder a case of mistaken identity?

Detective Rita Myers, a seasoned officer, is assigned to the investigation. As she delves deeper into the case, she uncovers a web of secrets surrounding several suspects. Esme's brother had recently dated Kara. Esme's neighbor - an eccentric costume designer - had recently been working with Kara. Esme's other neighbor, Ray Ridley, also likes to hang out in the woods that connect their properties, and many say he's a shady character who could have been responsible. And then we have Ray's sister, Cynthia, who was accused of killing her sister years earlier. Cynthia recently returned home after a stay in an institution. Could she be involved?

As I mentioned earlier, this one plays out as more of a mystery than a thriller. Aside from a couple of chapters, I was never really on the edge of my seat with this one.; it all felt a little formulaic to me. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I never really connected with Rita. Her chapters lacked depth, and I wonder why the author chose her as our second narrator, as she really didn't offer much aside from giving us insight into the suspects and setting up several red herrings. I felt that the investigation went in circles and didn't add much to the story. Her chapters were my least favorite in the book.

I feel like had the second narrator been Cynthia - the young woman accused of murdering her sister years earlier who has now returned - it would have been more interesting. Not only would we have been provided with an unreliable narrator, but I feel like it would have added depth and a sense of unease that was otherwise missing. Cynthia's character is rich and complex, and I wanted more from her.

Despite these shortcomings, the novel succeeds in creating a haunting and atmospheric setting. The small-town dynamics added depth and intrigue. As Esme peels back the layers of her hometown, readers are taken on a journey of discovery. Through her exploration of the town's history and the people she thought she knew, Esme slowly uncovers the truth behind Kara's death.

While it wasn't the heart-pounding thriller I'd hoped for, it is an intriguing mystery. While the pacing and some characters may have room for improvement, the atmospheric setting and the unraveling of secrets make it a worthwhile read for fans looking for a good mystery to cuddle up with in the colder months.