After reading this book, I am convinced that Darcy Coates is one of the best voices in thriller/horror fiction.

Abby's town is haunted by The Stitcher. What sounds like an urban legend to an outsider is all too real for the residents of Doubtful. If you're out after dark, if you're out alone, The Stitcher will take you. If you're lucky, your body may be returned (pieces of it at least), held together by bright red thread. Abby's friends have strict rules in place to make sure they're safe from The Stitcher, but when Abby's sister Hope is taken it will take all of them to work together to figure out who - or what - The Stitcher is and get Hope back before she's consumed.

This book is creepy, grim, and unsettling. The dark vibe that hangs over the town is palpable, as is the fear among the residents. As for the characters, I love Abby and her friends so much. The relationship among them is so pure and protective, I wish I had friends like this growing up (town monster notwithstanding). The inspire each other to be brave and courageous, while still watching each other's backs.

Overall, I loved this book. If all of Coates's books are this creepy, I will gladly read every single one.

Darcy is a talented author known for her ability to create a specific mood and atmosphere in her writing, particularly when incorporating darker elements. I have read several of her books and have never been disappointed. I was fortunate enough to meet her at a book signing for Dead of Winter, and her presence was as warm and inviting as sunshine.



In the town where Abby Ward lives, people often go missing without explanation. As a result, citizens are cautious and avoid venturing out after dark. Abby, her sister Hope, and their friends have strict rules to follow to stay safe. They are determined to leave town and discover the identity of the enigmatic Stitcher, who is known for stitching together victims with red thread. But when Hope goes missing, Abby will stop at nothing to find her and prevent her from becoming the next victim of the Stitcher. With the help of her friends and a new arrival in town, she embarks on a quest to rescue her sister and uncover the true identity of the Stitcher.

Unexpected. I was expecting something other than a fantasy thriller and I didn't really enjoy reading it. The ending is a little too easy for my taste, and the story has too many lengths. Not a bad read, but not unforgettable.

This was a spooky and creative read that I really flew through! Where it could have gone a little bit silly/unbelievable, it instead kept the creepy vibes going. Overall this was unsettling and a great YA story from this author. I appreciated that we got answers and not an ambiguous ending! There were a few aspects I would have appreciated exploring more, however I do not think it took away from the story at all. I have really found myself becoming a big fan of Darcy Coates!

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire as well as Darcy Coates for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased and honest opinion.
#NetGalley #SOURCEBOOKSFire #WhereHeCan’tFindYou #DarcyCoates
Title: Where He Can’t Find You
Author: Darcy Coates
Publisher: SOURCEBOOKS Fire
Publication Date: November 7, 2023
Themes: crime, sister relationship, small town vibes, supernatural horror, coming of age, Stephen King’s “It” feel
Trigger Warnings: Gore, true crime, child in danger, claustrophobia

Darcy Coates can always be counted on for a great book. I always love her characters and I love how she never flinches from the gory or creepy stuff. This book is no exception.
Abby Ward and her little sister, Hope, live by a strict set of rules intended to keep them safe from “The Stitcher”. The Stitcher has been haunting their town for far too long. When he gets his hands on Hope, Abby is determined to get her back before it’s too late. The police aren’t able to find her, so Abby has to before Hope loses too many parts to be saved.
What makes a YA book different from an adult book? I’m honestly not sure. I do know that I enjoy them the same way. Is it because the protagonists are young? Whatever the reason, this was a creepy read. I enjoyed this one under a blanket during a rainstorm. It was perfect. This was the creepy read that I’ve come to expect from Darcy Coates. She has a knack for dialogue and character development. The pacing is brisk and moves quickly but not so quickly that it sacrifices the tension. The characters were well established. Each one had a distinct personality and, when the book ended, I found that I missed them when I was finished. I felt delicious Stephen King vibes throughout. I was reminded of “It” in that this story features kids battling a common enemy when the adults fail.
There are few things that I didn’t love about this one. I loved how it read like a ghost story. I loved how character driven this story is. I wish it wouldn’t have ended.

I have read and enjoyed several of Darcy Coates' books and I am happy to report that this one was no exception!
Where He Can't Find You follows a group of teens living in a dying town notorious for its high number of disappearances, which are blamed on the Stitcher. They each live by a strict set of rules to avoid that fate themselves but when Abby's sister is taken by the Stitcher, the group risks their own lives to try to save hers.
This is a solid story that reminds me of the early part of IT by Stephen King. It was well-paced- I felt the tension from start to finish. I was rooting for the characters and the story kept me guessing. While it didn't blow me away, I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to others.
My biggest complaint is how uninvolved most of the teens' parents are. Some are given good reasons, but others I didn't fully buy into. Although this is a common trope in YA, it would have been more believable in the characters were a few years older.
Overall, this is a decent book that I would recommend to other horror fans.

4.5 overall!

I absolutely love Darcy Coates and when I found out she was doing a YA novel; say less. I was instantly hooked from the start with this story and couldn’t put it down. Coates is the queen of creepy and gory and she definitely brought that into this book well even though it is YA. I really enjoyed all the characters throughout the story and was rooting for the Jackrabbits the whole way through. I did have a feeling of how the twist was going to go but I still enjoyed it even when it happened.

This book is just over 400 pages but it honestly doesn’t feel like it and is more of a quick read with it being YA. Did it have to be that long? Probably not and it did feel a little repetitive at times.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and recommend it to anyone who loves creepy, gory reads that makes you want to sleep with the lights on. I will definitely be reading more from Coates and am so here for more YA novels from her!

I tried to engage with this book but found it to be a real struggle. It certainly captures the horror of the concept. The tone throughout is uneasy and it leans into the body horror. The ancient evil element certainly isn't unexpected. It's something we see a fair amount in teen horror. THe characters aren't strong enough here to drive us through the slow slog of horror.

I thought this book was a good read. I felt that the beginning was a bit slower than the authors other books I have read. Overall, this author is fantastic and I can’t wait to read more by her!

Darcy is one of my all time favourite authors and this was her first YA book? I absolutley loved it, it gave me strong IT vibes which is also a favourite book of mine, great believable characters(as always) and a solid plot, really enjoyed it!

Darcy Coates is the queen of horror in my eyes. This is her first YA and I was so pleased that it was just as scary as many of her other books though it felt completely different than many of her books.

Abby Ward lives in a strange town where people randomly go missing regularly. Because of this the town doesn’t stray out after dark and Abby, her sister, Hope, and her group of friends have strict rules that they follow. The group of friends are dedicated to getting out of the town and learning as much about the mysterious villain they call the Stitcher (as the victims will reappear stitched together wrong with red thread) so they don’t become his (its?) next victim. But when Hope goes missing Abby is desperate to do everything she can to get her back and not have her be the Stitcher's next victim. With the help of her friends and a newcomer to the town she goes after her sister and uncovers just who (or what) the Stitcher is.

While this is such a dark and sad story in a dark and sad town I couldn’t help but love the characters. The group of friends all have unique qualities and personalities and their relationships with each other are heart warming. The townspeople are well written and the villains are absolutely creepy. My favorite part is trying to piece together if this is supernatural or just the work of a serial killer. Without giving anything away I can say there are some downright terrifying scenes. Between the group digging into the town’s history to the action packed scenes I was entertained throughout the whole thing.

This was a great book! Good story, good plot, it kept me interested. BUT, upon finishing it, I got very strong IT vibes. Monster underground, group of friends work together to kill it and the town is happy again. Very IT like but still great!!! I will always love darcy

I love a unique urban legend story and this book does have that. A scary monster looming just out of site, desolate setting, and creepy serial killer all check a lot of boxes but somehow this story just doesn’t find its stride. The characters are underdeveloped, the pacing is slow, and I don’t feel invested in the story at all.

2.5 Stars

I’m not sure what I was expecting going into Where He Can’t Find You but it definitely took me to a place I wasn’t expecting at all. I was expecting a creepy serial killer story but it was a lot more than that… still definitely creepy tho!

I loved this misfit crew of teenage friends, they were found family at its best! Each one unique, each one interesting and each one has their own issues because of the “stitcher” who hunts and kills people from their town.

I had some issues with this group of teenagers running around a town alone with a know killer on the loose and no one seemed to care. They made so many ridiculous decisions and at times they were a bit unbelievable. A few things were left unresolved for me in the end too and that bothered me as well.

Overall, this book kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next!

This may be a very small spoiler below…

For me this was like Goonies meets, Stranger Things, meets serial killer suspense drama. It was good but slightly confusing a bit all over the place at times.

The characters, gripping plot, and well-executed scares made it a compelling read. Darcy Coates, as expected, crafted a brilliantly suspenseful story. The ending kept me on edge, and the literary scares felt like scenes from a horror movie.

Darcy Coates is a skilled master of the thriller novel. I am such a fan and really enjoyed this particular novel. There are always interesting plot twists and turns that are hard to anticipate. Looking forward to the next one!

I really liked this book. It was appropriate for bring a YA book but still gave enough scares and gore that it was still a great horror novel. I will say one of the plot reveals felt a little unnecessary as it was never mentioned again but other than that it was really cohesive. I read the end of this book in the dark with just candle and it freaked me out a little.



Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I genuinely loved this book. Thank you so much netgalley for letting me read this book. To be completely honest, at first I didn’t like Abby or the new girl in town Sam but they quickly redeemed themselves. I found the characters and the story very interesting and the plot gripping. I devoured this book just to see what was going to happen next. The story was brilliantly constructed as expected from Darcy Coates. It almost made me think of a few parallels with Steven King’s IT. The ending was incredibly suspenseful I was just as anxious for the characters as they were. The spooks and literary jump scares were also executed well enough that they weren’t predictable and fit in smoothly. It was like watching a horror movie in my head. Darcy Coates is brilliant at making her books very descriptive as if you’re literally in the pages of whatever book you’re reading of hers, this one was no exception. It’s easy to forget you’re reading a book when you read her works and this one had me checking my surroundings even after I was finished.

Despite being YA, this was super dark and gruesome and I really enjoyed it! This was incredibly reminiscent of IT, mainly the remake movies. The friend group with the one newbie and the journey to uncover a killer in a town determined to ignore the disappearances. Uncanny! (and Georgie, if you know you know). As it's one of my favourite movies, it was almost a guarantee that i'd like this and I for sure did!

This was the first time I have picked up a YA release from this author and despite LOVING their adult releases, I just wasn't sure but I feel like the horror is not at all dampened despite targeting a younger audience, The eeriness, fear and tense atmosphere remains just the same and leaves me so nervous for the outcome and what will happen to to the characters.
I love Darcy Coates writing style, she has an incredible way of building intrigue in a way that I love and keeps me engrossed even through the long page counts that her books often have. I can't wait for her next release and encourage everyone to pick this one up!

Supernatural folklore and a towns dark past is what Where he can’t find you brings to the table. Abby and her friends live with strict rules to stay safe. Never go out after dark, never go out alone, and don’t close your eyes or the stitchers will get you. As people go missing and come back mutilated, everyone lives on edge. When Abby’s sister goes missing, she will do anything to get her back including find stitcher.

This YA horror was an absolute gem to read! I really enjoyed the pacing and storyline of the novel. I will forever insta-purchase Darcy Coates! One of my favourite authors ever!