What a captivating book! I was hooked from the very beginning and genuinely enjoyed this one. The plot, while somewhat slow, was engaging and full of twists and turns. The characters were so well written. All of them were unique with their own distinct personalities, flaws and all. This was my first book by this author and I can't wait to read more. The writing was dark and atmospheric. The vibes were on point with this one.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.75/4 stars.
I really enjoyed this audiobook and was engrossed in the mystery very quickly.

The plot was original, I could not see the twists coming. I thought the pace was great and really sped up in the last 20 percent of the book which is key for a thriller. I think the narrators were definitely a positive feature and enhanced the storytelling. In particular the voice actor for the character Rita was a highlight. The dual narration worked well and kept my attention throughout.

I would recommend this novel for fans of the vera series as there is a similar setting staring a strong female detective lead.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Solid, well-written mystery with interesting twists and turns, I highly recommend it. Fair warning, once this story grabs you, it isn't easy to put it down, so you might want to start it on a weekend.

Minor issue - narrator, sounded like the primary one has a cold or nasal issue, no idea what it was, but as you get into the story, it becomes a relatively minor distraction.

Excellent mystery, with a few very UNUSUALLY ODD neighbors tossed in the mix.

🎧WHAT WAITS IN THE WOODS by Terri Parlato is a suspense read by Christina Moore and Leah Horowitz.

I really like the narrators for this story. They had extremely distinct voices that fit my idea of each character. I do love when that happens.

This particular mystery brings Esmé back home where she had been a rising ballet star, now forced into retirement by health issues. One of her former group of friends is found dead in the woods behind her house and it begins triggering her memories of when her mom died and the mysterious man who said he wanted to kill her. Detective Rita is the one who has to parse through this tight group and discover the truth before more bodies come up dead.

While the narration was great, the story here fell a bit flat for me. It had a lot going on with red herrings and sketchy characters that felt strong, it sort of unraveled at the end. I felt a bit disappointed with each tidy revelation. I expected more as I really did enjoy the first 3/4 of the book.

I still feel like it was ok and certainly more than I could come up with. Not a bad read, but a bit forgettable. ⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to @recordedbooks and @netgalley for this story that published on December 26th.

I finished the last Detective Rita Myers book wondering why the story focused so much on her - now I know - this is a series

You definitely don’t 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 to read book 1, as there’s some exposition, but there’s a lot less about Rita’s life with more focus on the investigation

Alternating chapters come from Esme, who’s returned to town after her ballet career ended. She comes across as very naive and I struggled to get a sense of her even though she narrated

Similarly, we didn’t get much depth or time with her friends, one of whom was murdered, initiating the investigation. As prior school friends, I would have appreciated flashbacks to gain more of a connection

This is a police procedural rather than a thriller. There’s a lot of sketchy characters that all look guilty and I didn’t guess whodunnit. I’m not sure if that’s because of writing skills or the lack of personality in some of the key characters

Overall, this is a solid mystery. As a series, I’d really like to start enjoying Detective Rita. However, even after the second book, I don’t feel like I know her. There’s no strong storyline grounding her essence, and that’s something I’d love to see

Thanks to Netgalley and RB Media for access to this arc in exchange for my honest review

This was such a creepy and atmospheric read! I really enjoyed reading All of the Dark Places last year so I was excited to get from from detective Rita Myers!

I throughly enjoy books where I’m immediately intrigued and this one gives us the WHAT right away and we’re left to guess and determine the WHO and the WHY! This whodunit and police procedural kept me compelled the entire time!

I also loved that this felt like an absorbing domestic drama that was twisted with every page turned! Told from gripping dual POVs, this is one not to miss!

I struggle a bit with this author so far. While decent, this book is just not unique enough to really stick with me. I forget the characters, plot, etc as soon as I stop listening. I am warming to Rita, the detective, but that's about it. I hope that if we see more of her, the cases are a bit more compelling and memorable.

What Waits in the Woods by Terri Parlato

Read January 1, 2024

#WhatWaitsintheWoods #NetGalley

Who killed Kara?

I read this book in one day. I thought it was a fast paced thriller told in a dual POV. It’s the second book in a series, but can be read as a standalone. Esme Foster returns home after a failed ballet career to care for her dying father. I liked that the chapters were short so it was easy to listen to. I was invested in the story and was curious to see who our killer was. There were a few people that I suspected, but in the end there was a twist and I was wrong. I thought our two main characters Esme and Detective Rita Myers were likable and I was rooting for Esme throughout the book. I would recommend this thriller and I would read more from this author.
Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ARC of this audiobook.

Esme Foster returns home after a break-up ready to face the traumas of her past, only to walk in on a new trauma unfolding. One of her childhood best friend's bodies was discovered in the back yard of her childhood home. Who could have killed Kara and why was her body in her backyard?

Detective Rita Myers is on the case and it's seems quite a few people in town harbor their own secrets. Can she unravel them and catch Kara's killer before it's too late?

Perspectives rotated between Esme and Rita as evidence and details come to light. I really enjoyed this novel and read it as a standalone. I never guessed who actually had done it, though I had several suspicions.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

I had been looking forward to reading What Waits in The Woods so I was just as excited to listen to the audiobook. I cannot wait to read more in the series and more books by Terri Parlato in the future.

3⭐️⭐️⭐️



✨slow paced.
Thankyou netgalley for the arc copy of this book for a honest review.

✨ I did not finished the book . That I said it. This is my first time reading to this author and to be honest it was good but it’s really slow paced and its quite repeated of sentences which I’m baffled .

Anyways, I would love to give another chance to this author but the book was not it at the moment .


❤️shaye.reads

I was only able to finish about 5% of the audiobook. There wasn’t enough background setup and there were too many important details in the first few minutes that it was overwhelming. I felt that I went straight in to the climax without being invested in the characters.

This was my first book by this author. Wii hi it kept me engaged to the end the constant plot twists to keep you guessing became monotonous and I was more than ready for the story line to wrap up around 75% through. The audiobook narrator was enjoyable and I give this book a solid 3 stars:

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ARC of this audiobook.

What Waits In the Woods is a police procedural thriller told from a dual POV. While it is the second in the series you can definitely read it as a stand alone. There were plenty of twists but I definitely felt like I wanted either more or less from some characters. The ending you definitely don’t see coming mostly because the puzzle pieces aren’t all there. I enjoyed it enough I would continue the series if nothing more than to see if I can find out more about some of the characters.

📖 Book Review 📖

📕🎧 “What Waits In the Woods" by Terri Parlato

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

A thriller and police procedural novel featuring a retired ballerina returning to her hometown after years of pursuing her dreams. When the dead body of an old high school friend is found in her backyard Esme’s life falls apart.

Esme is haunted by her mother’s memory. Beautiful, loving, and supportive of her daughter’s dreams, that the death in a tragic car accident years earlier throws Esme into believing a man at the scene said he was going to kill her. Family and friends insist that no man exists and that her concussion caused her to see things. Since returning home she worries her friend was killed due to mistaken identity and the killer is after her.

The author brings Detective Rita Myers back for an another Graybridge case, however I read it as a stand-alone. I didn’t see the ending at all and feel like it kind of came out of nowhere, but will now pick up
the first book “All the Dark Places”.

#givemeallthebooks #books #letsread #bookfriends #homelibrary
#somanybooks #readsomemore #audiobooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

After an injury ends her ballet career, Esme finds herself back in her hometown to take care of her sick father. But just as she arrives home, her childhood best friend is found murdered in the woods behind Esme’s home.

This book was just alright for me. The twist did surprise me, but I just didn’t feel drawn in to the story. I liked Rita’s character, but didn’t love Esme. The pacing was slow at certain points.

The whole subplot with Mr. York was interesting, but also felt incredibly disjointed from the rest of the book which threw me off.

The narration was great and I appreciated having two narrators to differentiate the pov’s.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the ARC!

Thanks to RB Media, NetGalley, and Terri Parvati for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. Who would have guessed Esme would stir up so many long hidden secrets when she returned home after so many years away? She has come home to change her life after her ballet career has ended and when she arrives at her father’s house it is a shock to find a old friend has been murdered in the woods behind her dad’s home. She has to find out what happened to her old friend and the other people she grew up with quickly before she finds herself the killer’s next victim. The killer is someone she not only knows but she has trusted. The ending kept me guessing up until the end and I really enjoyed the book.

Thanks to RB books and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy of this audiobook!

This twisty murder mystery reminded me very much of Twin Pines books. I read this novel as a standalone, not having read the first in the series, but I did not feel as though I was lost at all reading it this way. The plot of this book did not feel reliant on the previous story.
The book begins with Esme Foster returning to her hometown feeling like a failure, having nothing to show for her life in Syracuse but a pair of dirty, old ballet slippers.
Rita Myers is instantly likeable as the wise, judicious veteran detective. Her chapters intertwine with Esme's as Detective Myers unravels the mystery of who killed Kara Cunningham.
I really enjoyed reading this novel, and I look forward to the next installment!

Note on the audio: I found the Esme chapters a bit tinny sounding at first compared to the Rita chapters.

Esmé was a professional ballerina but after an her career was cut short by an injury, she returned home to live with her sick father. Right away she learns that her high school best friend has been found murdered near her home.

The story is told in dual narratives between Esmé and Rita, a long experienced detective. There are a lot of twists, turns & misdirection throughout. I really enjoy a story that has me guessing up until the very end and that’s exactly what this book provided.

Thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for providing me with an advanced copy of this audiobook.

First I want to say, the narration was great! I love when there are a cast of voice actors so I can differentiate between POVs. For me, the story itself was just okay. The twist was unexpected and perfect, but I just didn’t feel connected to the story. Esme ignored so many red flags, it was hard to root for her 😂