2.5 Stars

Content Warning: Child kidnapping, confinement and abuse. Domestic abuse. Eating disorders/ body shaming. Trafficking. Alcoholism. Murder.

Bronswood is the most prestigious private elementary school in Windwood. Heather Hartford has moved there fairly recently with her new second husband, after having escaped from an abusive first marriage, and this husband seems to be all that she could have wished for. At first.

Oops! You know the doo-doo is going to hit the fan when you read a statement like that, don’t you?

She's now part of the PTA Moms clique, and all they ever talk about throughout the book is the big reunion coming up (or is it an auction? I don't remember, I was too bored to care. I was just waiting for something to HAPPEN at this point). Everything going well so far? Check.

After the first two or so chapters of mind-numbingly banal details and the PTA moms being b*tches, the story finally picks up when Heather's son, Charlie, disappears one day. The school claims that she picked him up from school, but she knows she didn't.

So, at this point, dear reader, what do you think a close-knit community would do? Drop everything and start searching for the child, right? Not this community, though. They don't seem to give a rat's a** that the child has vanished into thin air. Heather herself behaves at times as if it's some possession that she has misplaced, such as a watch or her keys, instead of her actual CHILD that's disappeared without a trace.

Then the story takes off on some weird tangent, and even by the end of it, the motives of some of the characters will have you scratching your head and wondering why. Criminals would have to be way more slick to pull off what the ‘villains’ in this story are doing, and how can you have a whole town conspiring with you to hush it up?

So many plot holes and inconsistencies, and just plain WTF-ery that creates an 'ick' towards what could have otherwise been quite a taut and gripping thriller. I hope the book that went into final print was better than this ARC.

I would, however, like to thank Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and NetGalley for a copy of this digital ARC that I received in return for my unbiased review.

Marissa can do no wrong. This was PERFECTION. I was so glad to get to read the ARC for this and it was a wild ride the whole time. If you love crazy housewives. RUN and pick this up

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

I loved this captivating mystery, and immediately after er I finished it I "followed" author. This book sat in my library for a while, as I don't think the cover (which could have benn used for almost any type of novel - from any time period from the 50s, 60s, 70s, etc, really did NOT do the book ant favors, as this is a top quality mystery, and somehow I wish the cover would have portrayed that better, rather than suggest that the book might be a hum drum outdated yawner (which itmosr decidedly was not

This novel was one of the VERY BEST MYSTERIES I have read so far this year, it has heart, and makes you care what happens to the book's characters.

Pick up a copy: you won't regret your purchase (as soon as I finished this book, I went out and bought (rather than borrowed through my Prime account) the first book I. The series (so that my purchase would be benefit the very talented author financially, if only by a small amount).

Thank you for a chance to discover this new (and very talented) mystery author, without Netgalley I am sure I never would have known of her).

Looking for a book you won’t be able to put down? This is it. Affluent community. Creepy, old elementary school. Missing children. And, of course, deep dark secrets. All the staples for a suspenseful thriller! I read this in two days because I had no idea what was going on and HAD to know how things would end. While I do have a question or two (probably a me thing, will have to re-read to see if I missed something), I feel that the storyline came full-circle and I actually really enjoyed the final twist at the end - did not see it coming AND it was different from most of the other thrillers I’ve read. Hats off to the author, Marissa Vanskike; now I want to read “How It Had To Be”!

I am very appreciative to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Trigger warnings: domestic violence, psychological/emotional abuse, child neglect and abuse, substance use

Heather seems to have finally reached a point where she can allow herself to be happy. Having left behind an abusive domestic situation, and with full custody of the two children from that relationship, she is now married to Nick, who is very comfortably off.

Among other things, this means that she can afford to send her two children, Charlie and Theodora, to the most prestigious elementary school in Windwood, an imposing edifice known as Bronswood. Nick's social status has opened some very exclusive doors for Heather.

So, the biggest problem she has these days is dealing with PTA moms who aren't always friendly - and even then, Heather finds it easier to handle them than her friend Zola, single mother of talented scholarship student Beck, does.

But all that is about to change because something very strange is going on. When Heather comes to the school to be informed that Charlie has already been picked up, the CCTV camera footage seems to indicate that it was Heather herself who took her son from the school.

But she knows better. The problem is, she is having a tough time getting anyone to believe her.

And then she finds out that Charlie isn't the only missing child...

After a slow start, this story is both engaging and suspenseful. And there are plenty of twists to keep thriller readers happy. A solid domestic thriller.

For readers of sinister, domestic thrillers, look no further for your perfect fall read. Heather goes to pick up her son, Charlie, from school but they say she already came to get him and there's even video proof. Heather has no memory of this...where is Charlie? This book is full of twists and turn that will keep you guessing until the very end.
The setting of Bronswood lends itself well to old mysteries and Vanskike does not shy away from digging into the darkest possibilities. The characters are woven together in a web of deceit, lies, secrets, and unexpected connections. The beginning starts off a little slow but the character dynamics that are set up are important and come into play throughout the rest of the story.
Overall, this was an amazing twisty triller. I loved the way that the pieces to the puzzle were dropped consistently throughout to keep your attention. I was fully invested in finding out the truth hidden behind the doors of the Bronswood school. There's a lot happening and you're never really sure where it's going until the end, where it all comes together in a beautifully tragic way-this is a thriller afterall.
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Marissa Vanskike, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In reading the blurb, I was interested in this story centering around the rich and their posh schools that their children attend. The disappearance of a child was also of interest. But, I found that the story just did not hold my interest. The first 2 chapters should have grabbed my attention but instead were excruciatingly slow. From there, the story did pick up a bit but it just did not hold my interest.

I would definitely give this a try but for me, this was a DNF 30% in.

Loved this story, was totally gripped from beginning to end. Heather’s children attend a fancy school because her new husband is a big deal in their town and is part of the popular people. There’s 3 women on the PTA that seem in charge, and everyone wants to be in their good books. Heather’s getting there, her friend zola not so much. Lots of twists and turns. I highly recommend you read this.

I was attracted to this book because I love all things centered around bad happenings in schools. This one fell a bit short for me though as I thought the characters could’ve been developed a bit more and a bit more creepy factor. With that being said, there is still a lot of tense moments in this book and some surprises I didn’t see coming. I did enjoy it, but wasn’t blown away. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

'When she goes to pick up Charlie from school, Heather’s world is upended when his teacher informs her that she picked him up earlier that afternoon. Security camera footage confirms it.
But Heather knows she hasn’t picked him up.'


This blurb is enough to build a psychological tension and evoke a sense of mystery.


The plot is good, and although the first two chapters were slow and monotonous, I began to connect with the story and the writing style after that. It kept me engrossed, well mostly, but faltered at regular intervals. Certain things seemed vague and confusing, and predictable way before the ending.


Even the ending didn't make sense to me, as after a particular and significant incident, it just goes on and on unnecessarily. I can understand the need because the entire story's been told from Heather's point of view. The author could have used another point of view ―Zola or Hariet or maybe Paul ― to make it look more justified and plausible.


Certain things bothered me and kind of disrupted the flow of reading:

Like Heather, visiting school to see the gala preparation was odd. I mean why would she care about it, especially when her child vanished from the very place just 2-3 days back, and nobody cared to support?

The amount of food she was dumping in the garbage bin was cringeworthy. I mean, her loss for appetite is understable but why cook and then dump, and eat a full packet of chips.

That love making scenario, at that point, was even more cringeworthy.

But, I understand it's an uncorrected copy, so I hope some loopholes would be fixed by the time it finally gets published. Overall, it was an intriguing read, which mostly kept me engaged.

Monotone, perplexing, ambivalent.

Our MC recently escaped an abusive relationship and has full custody of their two children. They are in a new relationship, allowing for their son to attend a prestigious elementary school.
🇺🇸 Set in Northern California, USA

🐺🐕 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags:
😐 The story concept wasn't bad at all but the writing style, plot and character development didn't work for me.

🫥 We are deep in Heather's mind, but there isn't much in there? She seems so robotic and one-dimensional. Her reactions and thoughts for happy and horrific things (and everything in between) are so "oh no..." "oh good..." energy and lots of "she's going to do this, then this." "she thought this, then remembered that."

🤷 Heather is in an abusive relationship and the suspense and plot is partially driven by that situation. It isn't problematic rep, rather it's shallow and we never deep dive in the thinking patterns and traumas that come with abusive relationships, or examples of how easy it is to get trapped in an abusive relationship and justify the a roller coaster of emotional ups and downs. It was all heavy on the telling, not showing, so for me it came across as melodramatic and unfinished.

👎 The characters and their dialogues all sound similar. The way Heather and her bestie talk isn't much different from the conversations between Heather and the snobby PTA moms in terms of dialogue and Heather's reactions and thoughts. It kind of read like a screen play draft. A lot of the events felt contrived to make the controversies work.

🤨 Were there a few ageist comments randomly dropped? This may just be because we don't really get to know Heather, but it seemed like it was being stated as fact, rather than Heather being judgey. A young staff member looks "like a child" and is therefore assumed to be incompetent and annoyed by anyone who makes a request of them. I don't even think anything happens, it's just a straight-up unresolved statement in the narration?

😩 It's hard to pull off that trope for an ending. Without giving spoilers, we got scenes where Heather is doing weird things leading up to the reveal and it didn't feel like a twist, more like a sadness and a disappointment.

Mood Reading Match Up:
-Suburban mom, grade school, PTA mysterious drama
-Missing children and organized crime conspiracies
-Amateur sleuthing with suspense driven by hiding findings
-Touch of supernatural and tragic story arcs
-Simplistic writing style where you can infer (i.e., lots of space for reader intrusion?)

Content Heads-Up: Physical, emotional, mental abuse (relationship, domestic). Eating disorders (controlling partner, food logging/calorie counting). Body shaming. Missing child. Confinement. Child abuse. Murder. Alcohol. Trafficking.

Format: Digital advanced review copy from Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and NetGalley

Welcome to Bronswood. The most prestigious private elementary school in Windwood.
Heather Hartford's life is finally looking up. She's traded an abusive relationship for an affluent second husband with connections and status in the community. His social standing opens Bronswood's great wooden doors for Heather's two kids. The Bronswood PTA royalty have taken Heather under their wings. Her children, Charlie and Theodora, will have every opportunity in life that she herself never had.
But Heather's dream quickly becomes a living nightmare.

Lots of twists and turns. Well-written, great characters. I really loved this.

This was absolutely incredible. I had an idea what might be going on, but I never quite put everything together. There were a few things that made me suspect that final twist, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Love love love!

I'm a sucker for any thriller that centers around a prestigious school, so Bronswood looked like the type of book I would love. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with the writing. The first two chapters felt like an example of telling, not showing, which left me a little overwhelmed with information and disinterested. I DNF'd it pretty early on, so I can't speak to the broader plot, but hopefully this book will be a better fit for other readers.

I’ve been anticipating this book since Marissa teased it on Instagram last year. I was so excited to get an early copy from Netgalley and to be able to jump into my fall thriller era with this book.

Honestly I am blown away with how this book went down. It’s a little slow to start but once you get acquainted with the full cast of characters you are pretty well hooked. There is so much going and there were twists galore that I didn’t see coming. I kept trying to guess at who and what and why and most of them were incorrect.

I didn’t see the end going the way it did, and although it had me all in my feels and shocked, I wish it could have ended differently but then it wouldn’t be the book it was.

I could not put this book down once I was into it. Once the story really gets going you’ll be clutching your kindle, or your book, with the nerves of needing to know what is happening. You will stay up way past your bedtime because you just cannot stop, you need to know. I read about half of the book in one sitting because I just couldn’t stop myself.

Do yourself a favor this spooky season and grab this book, you won’t regret it.

Loved this. Fast paced and enthralling story. I was little a confused toward the end but everything gets cleared up. I give it a 4.5