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.

OOF. Sending a huge thanks to Kensington Books, Terri Parlato, and Netgalley for granting me advanced physical and digital access to this fast-paced thriller before it hits shelves on December 26, 2023. This is my second Terri Parlato novel, and while I enjoyed All the Dark Places a bit more, this one still kept me on the edge of my seat, and I finished it in less than 24 hours.

Esmé Foster is headed back home to Graybridge, MA, after her ballet career hits a halting end. Coming home to her dying father, and her overworked brother, she's welcomed back with the sudden murder of one of her former high school friends, and a trial into a case that will show everyone's true colors before it's over. Our lead detective, Rita, has a few suspects readily lined up for questioning with likely motives and intents, but the back-and-forth POV will leave readers trying to solve the case as well.

I would have hoped for less side banter in both of our MCs lives, and just to focus on the main issues at hand, but overall I enjoyed the read and look forward to more Terri Parlato reads to come.

3.8* rounded up.
I wasn't sure what to expect when i first open it.
It started out a classic murder mystery/detective plot, everything was typical.
I didn't enjoy the pace so much, its too slow for my liking. the first 50% was running in circle and have a lot of side stories.
The Characters weren't specially interesting, i wasn't connected with them. they are just.... you know, typical/regular people in a small down. There wasn't a lot of background telling of the town and some characters were quite useless if you ask me.
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However, the story picked up just before 60%, it started to get interesting and i started to making guesses "Who'd done it?"
I DID NOT see the plot twist coming!!!! i was like " WHAATTTT??".
It was indeed a good twist, I was only a little disappointed that the ending was a rush. A little more action, a little more suspense.
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To sum it up, slow burn; not very thrilling thriller, rather a murder mystery set in a small town.
It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, it didn't wow me nor i was disappointed.
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Thanks a lot for the ARC.
All opinions are my own.

This was an okay thriller. Found it to be very predicable but also I did enjoy reading about the characters. Giving it three out of 5 stars because I wasn't as shocked as I hoped I would be.

This was fine. It was definitely entertaining and kept me reading, but the end reveal felt flat and forced to me. I’d still read more by this author though!

I really enjoyed this book. The short chapters alternate between Esme and Rita which made it fly by. Rita was a great character, and I wouldn't mind if we see her as the detective in more books. There were lots of red herrings and suspicious characters, so I was constantly changing my mind about who I thought was guilty. I never did get it right, so the ending was definitely a surprise. I will say that I didn't like this one quite as much as I liked All the Dark Places, but it was still a solid detective novel. 4.5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC!

I was intrigued by a few of the characters, but the plot seemed a little unfocused. There was a lot going on and a lot of red herrings which kept me guessing, but I was looking for more depth in terms of emotions, setting, and character relationships. Ultimately, this book was entertaining while I read it, but didn't leave much of a lasting impression on me.

I DNFed this at 10%, but not because it’s a bad book. It’s just not my taste.

This is a crime thriller with two POVs, a detective and a friend of the victim. That’s where it went wrong for me because I do not enjoy detective or cop perspectives. That’s just a personal preference.

Otherwise, I liked the serious, dark tone the story had. It was also very readable, like most folks want a thriller to be.

I think the characters in the story are given varied, unique backgrounds. There was some fresh content there, at least for me.

I’d recommend this to others who like dark crime fiction based on the bit I’d read, but it’s not the kind of thriller for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley & Kensington books for an eARC of What Waits in the Woods by Terri Paralto. All The Dark Places was one of my favorite reads of 2022, so I pushed this to the top of by TBR as soon as I was approved for a copy!

This book follows Esme, whose ballet career is derailed by an injury and she finds herself back home with family and friends she hasn't seen in years, including her sick father. As soon as she arrives, one of her high school besties is found dead in the woods behind her father & brother's house. Could this be linked to the accident the night her mother died?

Great writing - The ending came a bit out of left field for me which on one hand I loved but was also like, huh? I enjoyed the detective aspect of this storyline in addition to Esme's background and mystery. I can't wait to see what Paralto comes up with next.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC copy of this book! My reviewing & platforms information is linked in my profile.

Thank you netgalley for giving me a chance to read this book. I have to say I was severely disappointed in it. The premise itself has intrigued me but it felt completely flat. It was so drawn out, the storyline overall was too outrageous and even the resolution and "twist" was not at all relevant to the rest of the book.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED!!
This was a nonstop read for me!
I had NO idea where this was going and it was twisty, suspenseful, and I loved the character development, which is sometimes missing in thrillers! Highly recommend, 5/5 stars!!

After her career in Ballet comes to an end, Esmé moves back to her hometown to find that her old friend, Kara, has been found dead in the woods.

Flipping between the perspective of Esmé and Detective Rita Mayers, this book gives the reader a lot of insight, and is really engaging throughout. It's a slow burn mystery with likeable characters, and has quite a gloomy writing style that makes it perfect for rainy days.

I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting story and kept me guessing throughout! I kept changing my mind about who the murderer was. It was a little slow in parts and the ending felt a little rushed but still a good read.

I'm torn here. I really, really loved parts of this book but I found myself skimming parts that felt like filler. The plotting felt imbalanced between past and present, and the side characters felt repetitive at times. Overall, the plot itself was very interesting, but the characters and pacing could have used some work.

I was enthralled with this thriller novel! A town shook by a body found in the woods. Small town feels with friends that are inter looped and you feel like you know who is to blame! Everyone looks suspicious! The thrills and chills will bring you to your knees as you move through the pages to be completely blindsided and baffled by the ending! . I loved every minute of this book!

I wanted to like this but gave up 16% of the way through it. Sometimes the writing felt so poorly done that I couldn’t focus on the story. I am interested in what would happen but I can’t do it.

Thanks to Netgalley & Kensington Books for the Arc!
"What Waits in the Woods" by Terri Parlato is quite a rollercoaster of a story! It's an atmospheric read (I love reading about the deep, dark wood!) and you get to experience the story through the lenses of Esmé, a young dancer returning home after a breakup, and Rita, the detective on the case. Both stories were told in first person, which I'm not a huge fan of. I never felt a connection to either main characters, but I did not understand nor enjoy the storyline of Rita at all. We learn so much about her life outside of the station; her family, her brother's alcoholism, her older brothers deaths 30+ years ago, and her neighbors, but it goes nowhere. I'm guessing the author is planning on making it a series based on the dump of background information on Rita, but I wouldn't read any future books starring her. She's pretty one-dimensional, flat, and honestly kind of boring...
Otherwise, it's a pretty decent thriller.

This was a really slow book and it was hard for me to stay interested. I did like the duel POV. The chapters are not long. There is not a lot of depth with some of the characters but the main characters are likeable. I just couldn’t connect to this one. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

This is a story of two women at different stages of their lives and the murder that connects them. This is a small town mystery with lots of characters with secrets, and atmosphere, woods and houses with secrets. Lots of issues to discuss, the bonds of family, the bonds of friends, addiction and making our own path