Where he can't find you by Darcy Coates is a fast paced, suspenseful YA book. Our main character is Abby who lives in a town where people go missing all the time and then bodies show up, stitched back together. When her sister goes missing, Abby is determined to find her.

Abby has a set of friends and these friends have rules to keep themselves safe. These rules are explained in the book and make sense, they add a lot to the book in terms of building the town of Doubtful as well. I loved how the stitcher affected all of doubtful and people's reactions to it were believable. It makes for one interesting story!

No one knows much about the stitcher and this keeps everything mysterious tight up until the conclusion - which is terrifying for so many reasons!

The pace is good, and sometimes we get other characters point of view which really helps move the story along. I liked all the characters, there wasn't any I really strongly disliked.

I love anything Darcy Coates writes. Even though this is different in its own way, she manages to absolutely nail it. The setting of the hopeless town, the friends close friendship with an incredible amount of devotion to each other and the creepy, gory, nightmare filed stitcher is one hell of a story. Seriously, she can write anything.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was my second Darcy Coates book and I was so excited to enjoy this one as much as the first! The book burst forth with an explosive beginning and held its relentless pace without pause. Darcy Coates masterfully wove a narrative filled with suspense and tension, both in her expertly crafted dialogue and storytelling. The gripping intensity of the scenes left me breathless, my heart racing in anticipation as the unknown loomed, ready to spring from the pages in the form of unimaginable horror. This tale unfolded as a ghostly specter, one destined to eternally inhabit the realms of our dreams, refusing to be forgotten. The book's grip was unyielding; I struggled to set it aside for even the briefest moments. Only life's interruptions prevented me from consuming the entire novel in a single enraptured sitting.

The camaraderie among our central characters, adolescents whose youthful nature is easy to overlook, was a true highlight. Each character was meticulously developed, radiating distinct likability through their unique personalities. Their unwavering loyalty to each other served only to amplify their endearment. Approaching the conclusion of the book, I found myself fervently championing their cause, their fate becoming a matter of personal investment, irrespective of the outcome.

The novel introduced a villain of astonishingly ingenious construction—the very name, "the Stitcher," conjured up gruesome and horrifying imagery. The unsettling nature of this antagonist was deeply etched in memory, persisting as a haunting entity capable of evoking shivers and nightmares. Reading the book at night proved to be a formidable challenge; each creak and rustle in the surrounding darkness became a jarring experience. And the climax—so impeccably executed—sent shivers down my spine, an ending that exceeded every expectation. I mourned the approaching final pages, such was the extent of my enjoyment. (It's worth noting that this story possesses all the makings of a chilling cinematic masterpiece.) For enthusiasts of spectral tales, horror-laden narratives, and those who thrive under the cover of night, I wholeheartedly endorse this creation by Darcy Coates. The cost? Perhaps a tad more sleep than you had bargained for. :)

Darcy Coates is a natural at writing horror and the supernatural. Her books are always page turners, shivering as you read, sometimes needing the lights on. In the town of Doubtful Abby and her friends know the rules. Stay inside after dark, never go alone and let someone know where you’re going. It’s a terrifying and strange place where electronics work sporadically, cars stop running, and even flashlights are known to fail. All of this means the Stitcher is ready to abduct his new victim, killing them and sewing them back with red thread.
When Abby’s sister Hope is taken she will do anything to get her back alive.

Normally Darcy Coates blows me away and gets all my 5 star rating but this book was just boring to me. It wasn’t quite on the mark and I can’t place what was wrong with it

Most myths and legends come from someone’s perception of a situation. After moving into a small town with her policeman father, high schooler Jen gets real world experience into how small town gossip works. Unwillingly she is also thrust into a town wide conspiracy revolving on one they refer to as The Stitcher. Riddled with anxiety in believing the ridiculous warnings of her peers it doesn’t take long for Jen and her group of friends to be dragged into a dangerous and dark world in which some may not survive.
The buildup is a little slow early on but once this book got going it didn’t let up in intensity until the end. It’s unclear if the villain is an actual monster or not and thus only adds kindling to an already raging fire atmosphere of dread. I’ve still yet to be disappointed with a book by this author. Aside from almost no character transitions (likely due to my copy being an ARC) there were a few times where the scenes flowed together so well it was unclear whose POV I was reading-until someone else would say their name. Such a good read from start to finish. Wildly outrageous ride and down right chilling!

This was my first Darcy Coates, and I'll be sure to bump her adult horror up on my ever-growing TBR stack! WHERE HE CAN'T FIND YOU is pretty hardcore for a YA horror novel -- the Stitcher's crimes are truly nightmarish and gruesome, so this one isn't for the fainthearted teen in your life. The found family vibes are strong, and I was on board with the IT-levels of a youthful gang teaming up to take down the town monster the grownups don't want to acknowledge.

Another wonderfully scary book by Darcy Coates. Abby and her sister live in the town of Doubtful, where there is someone or something who has been kidnapping and killing people. When the bodies are found (some never get found) they have been dismembered and stitched back together in unnatural ways. This has been happening for as long as anyone can remember, but they don’t know where or why it started. The group of teenagers keep together and try to figure out what is happening. When Abby’s sister goes missing, they do whatever they can to save her. They finally figure out the mystery behind the legend.

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire and Darcy Coates for the ARC for my review.

I really enjoyed Where He Can't Find You.
This was my first book by Darcy Coates. I'm definitely going to have to check out their other books!

This book didn't have a slow moment which definitely made it difficult to put down. I finished it really quickly!
It was a great horror book as it had some genuinely creepy scenes that were really well written!

I definitely highly recommend this book!
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Abby and her sister live in the town of Doubtful.

Sinister things happen in this town; people go missing and their bodies are found weeks sometimes months later dismembered and sewn back together in strange ways.

Abby and her friends are not rule breakers! They never travel alone, they stay away from Charles and they stay indoors when night comes.

Abby’s sister is taken and it’s up to the group of friends to find her.

Could the Stitcher be human or something no one's ever seen or heard of?

When Abby’s sister goes missing, Abby and her friends will do anything to get her back, and finally finding out the secret behind the Stitcher.

This was my second book by Darcy Coates. I enjoyed this more than the other one I had read, I thought the writing was spectacular. This book isn't formatted very well, although I know it's an ARC so I'm not holding that against Darcy. The storyline was very unique and I enjoyed it.

This is my second book by Darcy Coates and it definitely held her style and unsettling style well. It was a bit hard for me to get into and took maybe 7-10% of the book to get really invested and follow along but after that point I couldn't put it down. The characters were great and the book was well paced and super eerie. I love her writing and look forward to reading more! Side note: If you like this book I think you would also like Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi and vice versa.

I won't take points off for it because it's not the finished product but, to other potential ARC readers and as a note to the publisher, this was not formatted well and that definitely made it a bit hard to stay in the story so I would urge the publisher to fix formatting before putting it out to ARC readers because it was really bad at some points.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC!

Before writing my review, I want to extend a huge thank you to NetGalley, Darcy Coates, and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for gifting me the ARC of this book! I appreciate you trusting me with an honest review!! It was a privilege to be able to read WHERE HE CAN’T FIND YOU before publication in November.

When I saw this book by Darcy Coates available on NetGalley, I requested it immediately. And I was like a kid on Christmas morning when I found out my request had been approved! I started reading at that very moment, and realized early on this was going to be an unforgettable read. And it was!!

The book started off with a bang and did not let up for even a second! The suspense and tension created through Darcy Coates’s narrative and dialogue were off the charts. I found myself holding my breath during the most intense parts, my heart racing, not knowing what was going to happen next—realizing I probably wasn’t ready for whatever horror would soon jump off of the pages. The book read like a ghost story, one that would forever haunt your dreams. It was difficult to put it down for even a few minutes. Had life not gotten in the way, I definitely would have finished the novel in one sitting.

I loved the friendships among our protagonists, whom you forget are only teenagers. Each one of them is so well-developed and incredibly likable, with very distinct personalities. Their loyalty to one another only makes you like them more. As you near the end of the book, you find yourself rooting for them, fiercely protective of them, and completely invested in what happens to them, good or bad.

The novel had a brilliantly written villain! Even the name —the Stitcher—creates horrific and terrifying images! Creepy, oh so very creepy, and horrifying. Definitely memorable, haunting, and the stuff of nightmares. I found this book hard to read at night — in the darkness, every noise in my house made me jump. And that ending — could not have asked for a better one! Actually gave me goosebumps. I hated for the book to end—I enjoyed it that much! (And what a fantastically chilling movie this would make.) For fans of ghost stories, horror-filled novels, and night owls everywhere, please read this one from Darcy Coates! All you have to lose is a bit (maybe more than a bit) of sleep. :)

I’ve only read one other Darcy Coates novel before and loved it. Dead of Winter was a great thriller and I loved every minute of it.

Where He Can’t Find You was horror from start to finish. And I don’t deal with horror as well.

I gave this 4 stars because I do NOT like horror but if you do, it deserves 5 stars! I will be losing sleep over this book for sure! Whenever I see red thread I will think of this story and trust me, they won’t be fond memories!!!

The small town of Doubtful has a stranglehold on its residents . Horrible things happen in this town: people go missing, their bodies are found days, weeks, months later, dismembered, sewn back together in strange and unnatural ways. People have gone mad and fallen ill in Doubtful and if they’re sent out of town to recover, for treatment, they don’t survive.

Abby and her three close friends follow all the rules. They never travel alone, they stay away from Charles Vickers. They stay indoors after nightfall. But that wasn’t enough. Abby’s sister, Hope, is taken, and it’s up to the group of friends to find her and rescue her. What they go through is the stuff of nightmares, and despite the relatively happy ending, I think the nightmares will last.

Yet another Darcy book that I absolutely loved. I have yet to read something that I don’t like by her. This story was different in the sense that it is YA characters but it is no less creepy and gory. There is a little stretch of the imagination with some injuries these characters survive but I mean there’s a reanimated monster haunting the town so I got over that real quick. I loved being able to get all the different stories about each character and their development was awesome. We learn pretty early on what their greatest fears are and all the characters face them by the end of the book. There was plenty of creepy dark parts and some really haunting descriptions. I’m super excited to get a physical copy of this book with the graphics in it. Highly recommend this one for spooky season!

Huge fan of Darcy Coates. I've loved nearly every piece of dark fiction she's penned. This one was a little difficult for me. It was quite confusing in parts and I struggled to follow along. In the none infusing parts it was spooky, chilling, twisted, thrilling, and suspenseful. A goof urban legend tale that will keep you up at night.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Abby and her sister live in the town of Doubtful, where there is someone who has been kidnapping people, dismembering them, and stitching them back in unnatural ways for as long as anyone can remember. Could the Stitcher be human or something more sinister? When Abby’s sister goes missing, Abby and her group of friends will do anything to get her back, and finally ending the mystery of who, or what, the Stitcher is.

This was a good spooky read for sure! It was dark, gory, atmospheric, and chilling. The spooky scenes really did have the hair standing up, and it was just good. I had a harder time with the plot and that there was way less lead up to the urban legend of the Stitcher. I think I needed a lot more back story before jumping right in like we did. Was a 3/5 stars for me!

Bestselling adult horror author Darcy Coates enters the cut-throat world of YA with an absolute 5/5 banger! I’ve read a few of Darcy’s adult titles (would highly recommend both From Below and Dead of Winter) but Where He Can’t Find You was probably scarier than both those adult titles. Actually, do not be put off by the YA tag, there is more than enough horror and creepiness in this novel to keep most adult readers happily, mainly because the boogieman creature ‘The Stitcher’ who dominates the novel from the shadows has such a clever mythology built around him. I loved the fact that Coates pretty much tells us who The Stitcher is very early in the novel, you might think that might ruin suspense, far from it, instead it adds to the intensity and nothing is quite as simple as it seems. Rarely have I seen ‘smalltown horror’ done as effectively as it is in Where He Can’t Find You, where the activities of the Stitcher serial killer dominate every waking moments of the inhabitants of the town Doubtful. When a murder is anticipated technology begins to fail and red thread is often discovered close to the victims, who have often been dissected and sewn back together with the pieces of other bodies. Ritualistically, it is seen as bad luck to move the belongings of those who have been killed, so cars can sit abandoned with the wallet of the dead untouched on the car seat.

Instead of trying to solve these horrible crimes the police force takes bets on who the next victim might be! I already said, the probable identity of the Stitcher is made very early and that just makes this clever page-turner even more gripping. Abby and Hope Ward live with their ill mother and have a solid group of friends (the Jackrabbits) around them, they follow a mantra to keep themselves safe from the Stitcher and keep in regular text contact, including do not walk alone and do not stay out late. The friendship dynamics was outstanding, particularly including Rhys who lost his parents to the Stitcher some years earlier. The story revolves around the arrival of a new policeman who has a daughter the same age as the Jackrabbits who joins their friendship group but does not believe in the Stitcher. This novel had outstanding pace and when it morphed into a creature feature in the second half was hard to put down as the group (these kids were brave!) came face to face with the Stitcher. Darcy Coates has delivered an outstanding YA horror novel and I hope this finds the audience it deserves and that there are many more to come. AGE RANGE 13+

This wasn't my favorite Darcy Coates. While the concept of the Stitcher was interesting, there were many characters that were involved but had little character development. I had a tough time identifying with the characters because there were so many. Overall was a decent read but didn't stand out to me as a "must read".

Where He Can't Find you
by Darcy Coates
Pub Date November 07 2023
3.5⭐⭐⭐

DON'T WALK ALONE OR THE STITCHER WILL FIND YOU.
DON'T STAY OUT LATE, OR THE STITCHER WILL TAKE YOU.
DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES, OR THE STITCHER WILL REMAKE YOU.

Creepy, supernatural, serial killer, monster whatever it is I am here for it! This is my first ever read by Darcy Coates and I can't wait to grab another. It took me back to my younger years when this type of book was all that I read.

Can you imagine growing up in a town where people go missing, only for their bodies to be found dismembered and stitched back together in a ghastly way? This is how Abby and Hope Ward grew up, and why they followed a strict set of rules to keep themselves safe. But even their rules couldn't protect them. Hope is taken and Abby's world comes crumbling down. She is determined to do whatever it takes to find her before it is too late. Abby and her friends team up to take on the Stitcher and rescue her sister, but they have no idea what they are up against. A killer or something far darker than any of them even know.

This book had all the feels for me, I loved it! Creepy, twisty, and unsettling are a win in my book. It is rated as a YA which is exactly what it was.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Darcy Coates & Sourcebooks Fire for an ARC of Where He Can’t Find You. This review is wholly my own and may not be reproduced (except quoted synopsis).

“DON'T WALK ALONE, OR THE STITCHER WILL FIND YOU.

Abby Ward lives in a town haunted by disappearances. People vanish, and when they're found, their bodies have been dismembered and sewn back together in unnatural ways. But is it the work of a human killer…or something far darker?

DON'T STAY OUT LATE, OR THE STITCHER WILL TAKE YOU.

She and her younger sister live by a strict set of rules designed to keep them safe―which is why it's such a shock when Hope is taken. Desperate to get her back, Abby tells the police everything she knows, but they claim their hands are tied.

DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES, OR THE STITCHER WILL REMAKE YOU.

With every hour precious, Abby and her friends are caught in a desperate game of cat and mouse. They have to get Hope back. Quickly. Before too much of her is cut away. And before everything they care about is swallowed up by the darkness waiting in the tunnels beneath the home they thought they knew.”

We read Darcy Coates because we love Darcy Coates! She is an author that I am going to read every single time and enjoy her books.

Like most of her others, this is a solid 4 stars from me. I know I can always count on her for at least a 4-star read. It will be gripping, fast-paced and an easy read.

No exceptions here. I highly recommend for all Darcy Coates fans and for those who have never read anything by her, I’d highly recommend they start ASAP!

*3.5 stars rounded up*

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I had been meaning to try a book by Darcy Coates, so I was very excited to see this one pop up. Overall, it was a good read. However, some of the characters were definitely more compelling than others, and the pacing was a bit off. I was happy to see the book jumped straight into the action, but then things seemed to drag out for quite awhile. The story was engaging enough without the book needing to be as long as it was. Also - this book could use another readthrough for typos before publication, as there were more than an in the average ARC I've read (including using the wrong character name at least once, which was confusing).