A visceral horror story which really gets under your skin! Not for the faint of heart. There were parts of this story which caused me to feel a real sense of dread. The mythology surrounding the Stitcher really helped ratchet up the tension. There were many twists with a very satisfying finale.

This was my first Darcy Coates’ novel and I was excited by the synopsis and in need of the spooky vibes near Halloween time. Even with this being a YA horror, it was terrifying and left me unsettled while reading…

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

Coates has written a story that follows a group of teenagers that are trying to figure out the mystery of a serial killer that causes murders in their small town. “The Stitcher” kills people and dismembers their bodies and sews them back together with red thread. This speculative fiction chilled me to the bones. A cat and mouse story that keeps the tension high. I found this a well written YA horror with a character driven story.

I will never think of red thread the same again.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #SourcebooksFire for the ARC #WhereHeCantFindYou by #DarcyCoates. This book is about someone or something taking people and re-attaching body parts with red thread. Is it a person or a monster? Follow the rules and the ‘Stitcher’ can’t get you. But what if he still does? Love this book and highly recommend.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC.
A YA horror by Daracy Coates? Sign me up. This is such a dark coming of age story about a group of friends that grow up in a town terrorized by the Stitcher. No one is sure who he is or where he takes his victims, but everyone is terrified and has been impacted by him. I liked how this story focused on four distinct characters that all add their own depth to this story. The pacing here is taut and tense. I could feel my heart pounding during certain parts because I just didn't know where Coates was taking this story. I liked the ending and how the story came together. It was perfectly creepy and so fulfilling. I am so impressed with Coates writing and can't wait to see what she came up with.

This has a good concept but wasn't what I was expecting. I like the writing itself, but it read more like a YA story than I anticipated and the storyline didn't hit the mark for me. I also couldn't keep the characters straight and wasn't endeared to any of them. So, it seems like more of a personal problem than anything and maybe it would work better for other readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

I wanted so badly to like this book. Unfortunately, it really missed the mark for me. I had a really hard time keeping track of who was talking, and I really didn't like that it was set up to be a serial killer book and then turned into a supernatural creature, though I didn't see anywhere where this might be classified as Sci Fi/Fantasy. The premise was so intriguing, but the story itself just didn't deliver for me.

ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.

Don’t walk alone, or The Stitcher will find you. Don’t stay out later, or The Stitcher will take you. Don’t close your eyes, or The Stitcher will remake you.

In Abby and Hope Ward’s small town disappearances are a common occurrence, the culprit The Stitcher. No one speaks about the villain haunting the town but everyone knows the legends. Rules are put in place to protect the town’s residents but when Hope becomes the next victim Abby refuses to sit back silently and begins her own hunt. Can Hope be saved before falling prey to The Stitcher’s deadly red thread and what horrors will be endured to rescue her.

Darcy Coates is by far one of my favorite authors, I simply can not get enough of her books! Each book I have read of hers (this being the fourth) are all terrifying and in such differing ways. She does such a fantastic job of writing unsettling scenes and tension. I constantly found myself holding my breathe as I turned the pages of this book. While this may have a label of YA do not let that make you think this book will be any less scary because it definitely is! Abby and her friends racing against time to save Hope gave me serious It by Stephen King vibes. The genuine friendship that is depicted with “the jackrabbits” made feeling connected to each of them easy. The story being told in multiple povs aided in showcasing each of the groups thoughts and emotions throughout the book. Coates does a wonderful job of making the reader question is The Stitcher just a man or something more akin to a supernatural monster. The images that are depicted and described in the pages of this book are intense, horrifying, and even contain some gore. My heart was racing the entire time I read this and I loved every second of it!

If you are looking for a perfect spooky read for fall look no further, this book will have you in it’s grasp. Where He Can’t Find you comes out November 7, 2023.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was… interesting. It was different. I had trouble keeping track of the characters at times because it shifted often. I did find the premise of the story to be intriguing and I thought that the ending was definitely a good one.

People continually disappear from this small town and when they do there are no screams, no technology, everything shuts down. So the people of the town have made rules. Don't be alone. Don't go out after dusk. You do not want to be taken by The Stitcher.
The Stitcher takes people and then takes them apart, sewing them back together in unimaginable ways with red thread.
When Abby's sister, Hope, is taken, Abby will do whatever it takes to get her back. Abby and her friends do the unthinkable and go after The Stitcher.
The writing in this on is such that the images are locked in my brain. It is marked YA, and it can be, but they need to be mature enough to handle the images Coates creates for them. The build up was slow, but the last 1/2 of the book was quick and wonderful. I am a Coates fan.

This book is perfect for spooky season. It was creepy and suspenseful throughout. I’m not someone who usually enjoys a monster story, so I don’t like that it’s marketed as a serial killer novel only to turn out to be a creature. However, I still enjoyed it and was creeped out! 3.5 stars

Don’t let the YA category fool you here, Where He Can’t Find You is an extremely unsettling horror - as Darcy Coates does best!

The town of Doubtful has been plagued by a serial killer called the Stitcher for over 100 years. He takes multiple victims and brings them back sewn together with red string.

For Abby and her friends, The Stitcher is an every day fear and something they want to stop. When her sister is taken, it all comes to a head.

Darcy Coates is great at taking horror tropes and making them her own. We’ve all seen the small town boogeyman trope but Where He Can’t Find You takes it to new places. It’s fast paced, creepy, and has a great cast of characters.

Definitely a great read for the Halloween season this year!

***** I have received and read an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for giving my honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.*****

I love the concept, but I just couldn't find myself feeling scared of the Stitcher.

The setting was there, but the characters just weren't fleshed out enough for me to connect with them. I also think cutting about 10-15% of the book would have kept the tension flowing instead of sagging like it did at times.

Overall, it's a good book, but it's not a fantastic one, and it's not one that I would read again.

Where He Can't Find You is the latest and greatest by one of my favorite authors, Darcy Coates. When I tell you that this book was one that I could not put down, I mean it. This book was wild from start to finish. The intense feelings of dread and doom that Darcy wove together are unlike any other that I have read in a while.

Where He Can't Find You follows two sisters as they navigate life in their small town. Except their town is plagued by the Stitcher. What and who exactly is the Stitcher? Why and how does the Stitcher pick victims? Are the town youth ever going to be safe? These are questions answered in this thriller.

This novel really took me by surprise. I believe that it is Darcy Coates's official entry into young adult literature and what a start it is. I mean truly this was such a great mystery and horror novel. I was flipping pages furiously in order to discover what had happened to these characters and to solve the mystery set within the pages. Readers everywhere are going to love this and don't worry it has all the makings of the classic Coates novel. Horror, mystery, great characters, suspense, and impending doom combine to create a truly one-of-a-kind story.

Fans of Stephen King's It will also love this in particular. I loved the nod to a certain ability that was found in "It." Check this out!

A mysterious killer has lurked for decades, leaving its victims stitched back together in horrendous ways, while Abby and her friends grow up with the constant threat of being taken and returned as gory remnants; growing up and getting out of town to not be the next victim is the goal of every teenager. This started as a very promising read, but I had a hard time feeling afraid of the Stitcher and felt the book lagged a bit toward the middle. I enjoyed the characters and the dynamics between them, but the villain seemed just too far fetched for me to suspend my disbelief.

As expected, another great Darcy Coates book. The story itself and the wording left me with a lingering eerie feeling that I was being watched. At times, the story did get a bit slow which wasn't that big of a deal. I was just waiting for the good stuff to happen and was getting antsy to read it all until the end.

Thank you to the publisher & @netgalley for my #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.


𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:

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.

If you are looking for a creepy read for spooky season-look no further! The synopsis alone had me hooked and wanting to read it. This book definitely has all the creepy and spooky vibes, and I loved every minute of it. This book has it all-tension, suspense, thrills, chills, and so much more. It is the type of book that has you holding your breath at times, has your heart racing, and gives you goosebumps. The Stitcher takes people, but not only that, it dismembers the bodies of its victims and puts the pieces back together with red thread-how creepy and chilling is that?! This book is definitely character driven, and I loved it! Although this is labeled as a YA horror novel, it definitely did not feel like it as it is terrifying and leaves you with an unsettling feeling inside. I loved getting to know all of the kids in the book as they battle The Stitcher, who is something straight out of a nightmare😱 and I found myself rooting for all of them. Overall, this was a delightfully terrifying, spooky, bone chilling nightmarish read that is perfect for spooky season!

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞?
Anyone who enjoys a good character driven horror book, ghost stories that give you the creeps, and books that go above and beyond with the scare factor should definitely pick this one up!


𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫4.5/5

Thank you to Sourcefire for letting me read WHERE HE CAN'T FIND YOU early. This one publishes on November 7.

I enjoyed most of this book but it was a little lengthy in the descriptions to keep me engaged. I think it could have been shorter and the characters could have been more developed, if that was the case it would have been a slam dunk for me. Darcy Coates is great with a creepy setting and I'm so glad she brought that to her first YA novel. I'm looking forward to more from her, for sure. I've got my eyes on her book FROM BELOW, and I think I'll make that my next Darcy Coates read.

I saw another review describe this as "deeply unsettling" and I knew I had to use that in mine, because that phrase completely encapsulates what I was at a loss for words for. This was riveting, heart pounding, unsettling, creepy and all in all...so well done!

YA Horror is my favorite genre, especially when the author isn't afraid to push the boundaries of what is acceptable in YA. This book was deeply unsettling. There were times when my heart was racing, there were times where I gagged, and even times when I nearly cried. The visceral description of the body horror that takes place in this novel rivals any adult horror book I've read. I've read a few books by Darcy Coates and this is now one of my favorite.

First of all I would just like to thank NetGalley, Darcy Coates and Sourcebooks Fire for an ARC of "Where He Can’t Find You” in exchange for an honest review.

I first was introduced to Darcy’s writing when I received an arc of her newest thriller earlier in the year. I loved her writing and could immediately tell she was an amazing horror writer, so when I saw this one it sounded absolutely perfect! I was so excited to finally read some of Darcy’s horror. Let’s just say, she certainly doesn’t disappoint.

This is a YA horror set in a small town. Now, let me just preface this by saying, yes it’s YA but no it’s not for the faint hearted. This is single handedly the scariest horror I’ve read so far, certainly outdoing all the adult horror I’ve read. It’s scary, not in a psychological sense but in a deep dread and grotesque sort of way.

Speaking of grotesque, the imagery is absolutely horrific; but in the best way I promise. The gore is very intense but necessary to get a feel for what the protagonists are up against - it also helps feed the more heart-wrenching moments, as you feel helpless whilst reading about these characters and their traumatic experiences.

The only thing I will say is that I think the ending dragged ever so slightly, but that’s merely personal preference and it doesn’t take away from the story at all.

It’s a VERY frightening concept that’s executed exceptionally effectively and filled with disturbing intrigue- I can guarantee that you will be utterly gripped.

I can’t wait to read more of Darcy’s writing!