Read this if you love books that aren’t finished.

The Haunting is a typical Halloween slasher story like the ones you know and love. The story follows Penny and begins one year after a small town was terrorized by a masked serial killer. The killer was the father of Penny’s boyfriend and has been serving time in federal prison ever since he was caught and arrested. But on the one-year anniversary of his first killing, another body was found. Soon, they realize they have a copycat killer on the loose and nobody knows who to trust anymore.

As far as slashers/thrillers go, this was actually pretty good. It’s rare that I get spooked by a book but this had me double-checking my locks and jumping at small noises. The dialogue sometimes felt like the author didn’t really know how teenagers talk and act, and it is definitely a YA book, but it wasn’t bad.

I didn’t have many complaints until the last chapter. There is a lot of action and quick dialogue which was confusing at times. And then it ended on a huge cliffhanger. Like I don’t even want to call it a cliffhanger. It was like the author meant to write another chapter and forgot to send it with the rest of the book. I understand stories that have “non-endings” but there was literally no reason for this one to do that. Apparently, that is common for this author which I didn’t know or I wouldn’t have started this book in the first place.

This was looking like it 4⭐ book until the ending. I really liked a lot of things about the story, but they were all overshadowed by the lack of resolution. I ended up giving this a 2.75⭐ and rounded it up to 3/5⭐.

Natasha Preston has done it again! I truly twisty tale with a shocking ending. A murder and then a copy cat murder the next year! An intense and thrilling read

3.5/5 ⭐️
A year after a horrible serial killer was caught, more bodies are turning up. Penny is still dealing with the aftermath of her ex being the son of a serial killer who killed fellow students at her high school. Now bodies are showing up again, but Jackson (the killer) is still in jail. Is there a copycat?

I found this fast-paced and enjoyable until the end. It ends on such a weird “cliffhanger” (which would imply a sequel but it doesn’t seem like it). Like no epilogue, no nothing. That really took away from my enjoyment of this one! It was such a page-turner and then I was so let down by this. If you can deal with a wildly abrupt ending with lots of unresolved plots, then you’ll love the ending. Otherwise, enjoy the ride but prepare for the abrupt ending.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Young Adult thriller in time for Halloween. A young woman is kinda trying to move on from her relationship with a young man whose father committed a multiple murder last Halloween 👻. Only, this Halloween 🎃 she finds a body and now she is in the thick of it, how can it be the guy’s father when he is in prison? Is he killer her ex? The feel of this read is right for young adult, dialog seems in tune. Just didn’t seem “thriller” enough for more 🌟s.

The Haunting had me hooked on every chapter. I really loved the small town setting in this one and all the festive Halloween vibes! It was a fast paced story. Perfect to read during spooky season. I really needed so much more from the ending though!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my e-ARC of The Haunting!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🎃 love all things Halloween
👀 feel like you can’t trust your friends
👫🏼 have ever had to stay away from the person you love
🌽 live in an area surrounded by corn

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Penny's trying to forget about her ex, Nash. His father was arrested for the brutal murder of four teenagers on Devil's Night last year. Penny's parents have forbidden her to have anything to do with Nash or his family. It's hard not to think of what happened as spooky season gets underway—but she's trying. 

That stops when she goes to the Halloween store with her friends to find a costume. What she finds instead is ripped from a horror movie: a classmate bleeding out on the floor of a dressing room. Stabbed.  

Is a copycat killer on the loose? The adults are saying no. But Penny knows better.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

I went into this one with high hopes, and I really enjoyed the suspense of not knowing who the killer was. I did have my suspicions but wasn’t 100% sure who it might be, and I was definitely shocked by one twist, but the ending was way too open ended for my liking! Is there going to be a sequel or are we just supposed to assume we know what happens next? I am stuck in the middle between the two options. Overall, this is definitely a fun thriller for younger kids who will enjoy the fast pace and constant thrills!

What a read. Honestly, Natasha Preston knows how to keep a reader engaged up till the end. Even for a YA Thriller it was extremely hard to put down and that means this was a good book. I do love a good slasher book. I am in love with this authors writing style and her sense of story telling. I really enjoyed this and I’ll continue to pick up her next ones too!

Thanks, NetGalley,

Overall, I enjoyed the book and have to remind myself that I can't hold it to the same standard as an adult horror novel. I despised the ending but the writing was good and I enjoyed the storyline. Preston referenced Scream a few times and that is the vibe I got from this book..."The call is coming from inside the house!" I would definitely recommend this book to YA readers but I wouldn't recommend it to adults..


Penny's trying to forget about her ex, Nash. His father was arrested for the brutal murder of four teenagers on Devil's Night last year. Penny's parents have forbidden her to have anything to do with Nash or his family. It's hard not to think of what happened as spooky season gets underway--but she's trying.

That stops when she goes to the Halloween store with her friends to find a costume. What she finds instead is ripped from a horror movie: a girl from school bleeding out on the floor of a dressing room. Stabbed.

Is a copycat killer on the loose? The adults are saying no. But Penny knows better.

The plot was interesting, if the characters were a bit stupid. My main complaint here is that it was clear that this is someone British trying to write American teens. Some research about speech patterns would go a long way

I swear if Preston ever decided to switch to adult or New Adult horror stories that she would put a lot of authors out of business. Her stories have a way to pull you in and hold you there for ransom. Until the story is done. I loved the characters of this one man was it crazy! This is coming out at a great time for spooky season.

This is a typical teen slasher with a typical Preston atypical ending.
I'll probably forget about it in a couple of days.
I read the whole book, so it gets 3 stars.

If you have ever read a Natasha Preston book, you will love this one. If you're looking for a good haunting and a good scare with a few jumps, this book is for you. While reading I could tell this was a Natasha Preston book and it fits in with her theme of fright night with twists and mystery and an unknown, with you wishing for more.

A year ago, their town was devastated by a serial killer that killed four teenagers. The killer was later discovered to be Penny's boyfriend's father who is now serving time in prison. Everything has changed, but when the murders start again and they're happening closer to home, the town starts to blame the original killer's children, but Penny knows it can't be him. Is it a copy cat or did the FBI arrest the wrong person? Penny and her friends will do anything to prove that the killer is not Nash, but will the killer make their identity known?

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the free copy of The Haunting by Natasha Preston in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars!!! Oh my goodness! Again, Natasha Preston does not miss. This may have taken the top as one of my favorites. I didn’t not see the twist coming, and it ended beautifully, well I mean as beautiful as a thriller/horror book can end!
You are not going to want to miss this.
When a serial killer is already in jail how are people dying again a year later?

Another thriller from Preston and, as usual, it'ios perfect for fans of the Scream franchise. One year ago at Halloween, Penny's town was rocked by the murders of 5 teenagers. It turned out that her boyfriend's dad had murdered them all and was sent away to prison. In the past year, Penny hasn't been able to talk to or see her boyfriend, Nash. But when new murders start happening, the town isn't sure if there's a copycat afoot or if they didn't catch the right person to begin with. My students are going to love this one.

My daughter (16) read and loved this book by Preston. I know that it will be a popular read with my students who devour her novels. I don't love to be scared but my daughter assures me it was the right amount of scary to make her nervous and stressed. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I started off a big fan of Natasha Preston's work, but recently I am starting to dislike her more and more. Seriously, someone needs to tell her that readers are NOT into the abrupt cliffhanger endings that she so thoroughly enjoys writing. The only way it would work is if there was a sequel planned for readers to have closure.

I really liked the premise of this book, but I felt like a lot of the back story was missing. It almost felt like this book was the sequel and that there should have been a book prior to this that centered around the murders from the previous year. I would have really enjoyed more character development to be able to connect with them more.

Overall this was a solid read from Natasha Preston, but she is starting to have more fumbles with the ending of her stories than Brett Favre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own

I am a huge fan of all of Natasha Prestons books. She is the queen of thrillers. Really can not go wrong with any of her books and The Haunting was great. Girl breaks up with her boyfriend because her boyfriends dad turned out to be a serial killer, then after boyfriends dad is locked up and it is a year later, people start dying again. Was the dad actually a serial? Is her ex boyfriend now following in his dads footsteps? Or did they never actually catch the killer and they arrested the wrong guy?

I really wanted to like The Haunting. The premise was interesting, if a little generic, but I’ve seen authors take basic premises that have been done before and turn them into something great.

Unfortunately, that’s not what I can say about this book. Also unfortunately, a lot of my issues are at the end of the book and are spoilers. I’ll just generally say: I found the ending abrupt and unsatisfying. I don’t think the choice of who the killer turned out to be was good and I think any twists related to it weren’t well foreshadowed.

One thing I can say without spoilers is that I wasn’t fond of the main character, Penny. She’s kind of self-absorbed and hypocritical.

This was a quick read and I was interested in finding out who the killer was so it kept my attention at least.

This is my first book by Natasha Preston but I will be reading all of her backlist. I love a good YA mystery/thriller and this didn’t disappoint! Penny and her friends are reliving a nightmare when their friends start being killed, one year after her boyfriends father was sent to prison after his killing spree. This book had me doubting all of Penny's friends at some point and it was quiet and ending. Loved!

As someone who isn't really a fan of Natasha Preston, this one was actually pretty fun. I enjoyed the Halloween setting and the nods/references to classic slasher and horror movies.

Dialogue and writing were meh, and the premise was definitely not unique, but it was still a good time anyway

If you're looking for a fun Halloween slasher in book form this fall, this will be a good pick for that!