I really liked the premise of this book! Teenage girl possessed by a witch from a broken bottle. Then we learn the neighbor holds Riddance parties and is going to save her and let her get back to her life. There is a reporter and newly minted psychologist in town trying to get to the bottom of things and the neighbor makes it clear he’s not thrilled.
I was hoping for more of what was in the walls/ haunting type story but still enjoyed it!

This was so creepy, eerie, afraid to turn the lights out scary! I’m not a big fan of supernatural/witchy books usually but this one had me feverishly reading.

I thought the author cleverly tied so many things together and kept dropping so many twists that it was so easy to keep reading.

One critique is that parts of the book were never quite “explained”. There are parts that have no explanation and to me feel “unfinished”.

If everything had been explained I think I would have easily given this 5 stars for its clever story and creepy vibes.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for this early ARC!

When a child psychologist is brought in to assist a family whose daughter seems to be haunted, things become very disturbing quickly. Upon reading the premise, I immediately thought to sign me up for this one! This was a chilling story that continued to build layer by layer until the last page. I will always be drawn in by creepy children & Alice was no exception. So many things came to light that I was not even considering so I appreciated the elements of surprise. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys spooky, witchy reads. 4 STARS!

Thank you to NetGalley, Daisy Pearce, & St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

I personally had a really hard time getting into the story of this book. If I’m being honest I DNF this book and I rarely will do that… I feel like it was advertised to be tense and dark like the haunting of Hill House which I do not understand how this book comes close to comparison of that. Feels like a lot of marks were missed and the ideas were lost. Giving a 2 stars unfortunately.

Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce
Genre: Psychological horror
Themes: Witchcraft, grief, small-town paranoia

Came for the cover, stayed just to avoid a DNF.

Freshly minted child psychologist Mina, stuck in grief and a stale engagement, takes on her first real case: a 13-year-old girl named Alice who claims she’s being haunted by a witch. The village of Banathel is remote and not exactly welcoming to outsiders. The deeper Mina digs, the more twisted and surreal things get.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. The first few chapters were promising, with a strong setup and eerie moments that made me hesitate to read before bed. But the pacing dragged, and the ending didn’t deliver the payoff I was hoping for.

Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy of #SomethingInTheWalls.

“It’s not the dead we ought to be afraid of, it’s the living.”
And Daisy Pearce? She UNDERSTOOD the assignment 😮‍💨

From the moment Mina steps into the sweltering, secret-soaked village of Banathel, I was HOOKED. She’s here to help a girl haunted by a witch, and suddenly I’m side-eyeing every single character like 👀

✦ Sam? Weirdly calm. Too calm. Definitely ghost-adjacent.
✦ Oscar? Walking red flag. Belittling, shady, and absolutely not a surprise when the truth dropped.
✦ Bert? 🚨 CREEP ALERT. That switch flipped fast.
✦ And Paul?? Sir, what is going ON in that head of yours??

This book gave full-on Haunting of Hill House meets Evil energy—creepy, twisty, and impossible to look away. I was on edge the ENTIRE time. Every room felt like it was watching. Every character? Suspicious. Every scene? Stress. (In the BEST way.)

The writing is so vivid and uncomfy (in a “why does this smell like mildew and dread?” kind of way). I could feel the heat, hear the whispers, and I honestly would’ve read it in one sitting if life hadn’t rudely interrupted.

Also... I need a sequel. There’s more to Paul. More to Alice. More in those walls.

🖤 Big thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!
This was my first Daisy Pearce read and I'm already adding the rest to my TBR stack.

A pretty quick read that delves into the horror genre, and does a good job at it. I loved most of the book and it had me hooked from the start as the characters tried to find out what was happening with Alice and if she was really possessed. Especially since I didn't really know what to expect, the "witch" in the chimney when they went to go inspect the incident location where Alice seemed to undergo horrors and possible possession. This book was so creepy and unsettling and I really enjoyed this feeling. My main complaint, why I'm rating this book at 3.5 stars is because of the ending. There was so much build up throughout the book, creating so much tension, and then the ending just didn't really meet the expectations that I had built up throughout the book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Daisy Pearce, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

A WELL DONE CREEPY HORROR STORY!


Mina is a child psychologist who is hoping to start working in her new career while also making upcoming wedding plans with her fiancee Oscar who works as science researcher. Mina has always struggled with her brother's death from years ago so she attends a bereavement group where she meets Sam who also continues to grieve his little sister who disappeared long ago.. Sam is a journalist and works where the stories take him. The two bond as friends over their painful grief and share some of their personal history as well. One day out of the blue Sam calls Mina to offer her a job to consult with a thirteen year old girl named Alice who lives in a small village hours away. Alice's family does not have any extra money to see a seasoned psychologist to find help but they are at the end of their rope trying to get her help. Alice has been seeing things and also claiming a witch lives in their chimney who tells her to do bad things. Her friends and others have become afraid of her so she had to leave school because her behavior had completely gotten out of hand.

Mina excitedly agrees to go with Sam against Oscar's wishes but this is a chance to get her feet wet in her chosen profession. They will be away for few days so Mina can evaluate Alice and hopefully Sam will get a good story from the eerie experiences that her family are claiming to be supernatural occurrences that they are witnessing as well around Alice. Mina was not prepared for the superstitious community of Bethanael where many people crowd outside Alice's home and want to see and talk to her. Shortly after visiting with Alice who claims everything is real and just wants it all to go away, Mina and Sam decide to stay longer hoping to see some psychic phenomena which they don't believe but strange things are happening and suddenly Alice starts going downhill and getting worse although Mina and Sam are trying to sort things out but maybe they need to leave but Alice begs Mina to stay and continue helping her. Before long many of the townspeople are blaming Mina and calling Alice a witch, even Alice's parents think she has gotten worse since Mina started treating their daughter so they want her and Sam to leave their home. When they decide to finally leave since events have gotten so out of control with most of the superstitious villagers, Mina will find there are other forces at work and they are not going to let her leave and unbeknownst to Mina or Sam someone will die tonight and their lives are in serious danger unless they leave immediately.

This was a most creepy and entertaining story dealing with a superstitious small isolated village and it's inhabitants. The atmospheric storytelling and writing are filled with wonderful eerie tension throughout the entire book. I thought the author 'Daisy Pearce' captured the essence of all the characters where I could visualize each and every person that was mentioned in this spooky story. I have to say I loved this book and I highly recommend it to any reader who loves a good horror/thriller with heart! I hope this author continues to write horror books because I will be first in line to read them!

I want to thank the publisher "ST. MARTIN'S PRESS" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this terrific book and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have give a rating of 4 1/2 TENSE AND HORROR FILLED 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!!

I hadn't read anything by Daisy Pearce before, and went into this one not knowing what to expect, but it did not disappoint! This was a thrilling, ghost-story turned dark and it was a very enjoyable read. It's the summer of 1989, in a heat wave that is making people lose their minds, literally. Mina Ellis is a recently engaged, recently graduated woman still grieving the death of her brother (um, absolutely relatable over here). She meets a journalist at a grief group and is intrigued by the case he presents her of a teenage haunting. Que psychological brain jumping to conclusions!

Daisy Pearce did a phenomenal job of painting a picture of wanting things to be true and paranormal but also not true and purely psychological. I liked that there was horror, suspense and a little bit of delusion all packed into one book. It's a time before "social media" and strictly focuses on what is in front of them, which was really refreshing. It was well written and the characters were relatable - mostly likeable and ultimately felt real. I felt there was a good blend of everything and it came together well at the end!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Daisy Pearce for the eARC of Something in the Walls in exchange for an honest review. Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce was published 25 February 25.

Daisy Pearce's Something in the Walls is a chilling exploration of grief, superstition, and the dark undercurrents of small-town hysteria. Set against the oppressive heat of a 1989 British summer, the novel follows Mina, a newly qualified child psychologist, as she investigates the case of Alice, a young girl believed to be haunted by a witch residing in her home's chimney. Pearce masterfully blends psychological tension with supernatural elements, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of Midsommar and The Haunting of Hill House. The narrative delves deep into themes of fear, mob mentality, and the human capacity for cruelty, all while maintaining a gripping suspense that keeps readers on edge. While some may find the ending leaves questions unanswered, the journey is undeniably compelling. A must-read for fans of eerie, introspective horror.​ So good!

Freshly graduated child psychologist Mina takes a temporary job in a remote British town, hoping to escape the mess of her personal life: a fiancé she’s unsure of and the lingering grief over her brother’s death. The opportunity comes from Sam, a journalist she met in a bereavement group, and her assignment is to work with 13-year-old Alice Webber, who insists she’s being haunted by a witch.

Determined to approach Alice’s case with scientific reasoning, Mina is instead pulled into something far stranger. The town is filled with eerie traditions, and the difference between folklore and reality gets confused fast. As Mina tries to help Alice, she has to face the truth about her past—and what really happened to her brother.

Though marketed as a thriller, I’d file this more under horror/paranormal/occult. Not typically my go-to genres, but this one actually hooked me. The atmosphere was so vivid I could feel the creepiness at times. It’s a slower burn for the first 60%, then takes a sharp turn that was both intriguing and a little out there. I’m not sure I loved how far it veered into the unrealistic, but the haunting vibe of the setting definitely bumped up my rating.

This book read easy and was entertaining overall. It was odd though in that some things were natural and some supernatural and there almost seemed to be overlap. I also don’t really understand what the point of the fiancé was… Interesting enough though.

I’m somewhere between 3.5 and a 4 stars with the one.

There were parts in this book that legit had me completely creeped out and I always enjoy not figuring things out until the the pieces started to fall into place. <spoiler> I will say it’s not an environmental issue like carbon monoxide, which the book I read with that being the cause of the cause is Kia mood killer. </spoiler>

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for a digital advanced reader’s copy.

This book creeped me out!! There was a few times I had to turn all my lights on. Great story. Nothing better than old town superstition mixed with a ghost.

2.5 stars. This book was captivating from the very beginning, but there were so many loose ends.

We never found out what was actually going on with Alice and at around 300 pages, I wish there had been the additional 20 to give the reader some resolution.

I read it all in one sitting, but it just didn’t stick the landing.

A really good horror "ghost" story - only it's a witch that is haunting and terrorizing Alice, a young teenager. Sam, a newspaper man, in search of a good story brings the story to Mina, a newly graduated psychologist, who is interested in helping children overcome trauma. He enlists her to help determine what is going on with Alice.

When Mina meets Alice and her down on their luck family, she's baffled by the family, the town, and the situation that Alice finds herself in. As the reader gets deeper into the story, we realize that not only Alice is terrified of the witch and what it's doing to her. The town seems to be crazed.

It's almost until the end of the book that the extent of the madness is revealed. There is an exciting ending. I recommend this book for mature readers.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Something in the Walls by Daisy Pierce in exchange for an honest review. This book felt like The Enfield Haunting meets The Wicker Man. It had a wonderfully UK feeling and I almost felt like I was watching Inspector Lynley does a documentary on possession vs mass hysteria. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.

Mina is a new child psychologist is eager to get more experience in the field and when the opportunity comes to assess a 13-year-old girl who claims to be haunted by a witch, she quickly agrees to take the job. Alice Webber lives in a remote village with her family. The village has a long history or superstition and witchcraft, but Mina is sure there are other causes for Alice's "condition". The locals believe evil is the cause and have their own ways of dealing with it. Is the haunting truly something evil, or simply a confusion of a medical condition?

There had been a lot of buzz about this book since it came out in February. The story was unique and gave the creepy vibes but was just ok in the end for me. Horror aspect was mild, and the thriller vibe was more slow burn. I never felt really hooked by this book. It was good, I kept with it, but the characters never had me wanting more and I felt there were some things that didn't make sense, and it caused a disconnect from the story for me. There are many readers that really loved this one though, so if you like spooky witch stories, it is a good one to give a go.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-book for review.

This book just wasn't for me. That doesn't mean the book is bad, I just couldn't get into it so I chose not to continue reading.

Mina was a newly graduated child psychologist that had been asked by journalist Sam to assist on a story of a "haunting" of a teenaged girl, Alice, in rural England. The two went to see if the hauntings were real and worthy of a news story. The town of Banathal seemed to be a hotbed of witching and hauntings, and Mina wanted to prove they were not real. Her father was hoping to make some money off the story, her mother Lisa was afraid since she had an aunt who went crazy and thought Alice would get "locked up". Most of people in town felt a ritual exorcism or "riddance" was all that was needed. The good natured neighbor Burt was always there to help, he and his wife took in some of the troubled teens when they needed a break from their parents. Unfortunately, the hauntings got worse after Mina and Sam arrived in town and people started dying.

Horror is not a genre that I read often, but I got through this one. A bit of a cross between the Salem witch trials and the Exorcist. Unfortunately there were enough hints dropped that you knew what was going to happen. Also, the ending had one unnecessary twist. I don't understand why the author added it.