A chance meeting in a grief group leads Mina Harker to her first job as a child psychologist. Sam, a reporter, is mourning the death of Maggie, his seven year old daughter. Mina is grieving her brother who died when they were children. She’s supposed to be planning her wedding to the taciturn Oscar but she’s far more excited about Sam’s employment offer than she is the upcoming wedding.

In the Cornish village of Bathanel, Alice, a teenage girl, claims that a witch stares at her through cracks in the brick wall. She speaks to her and tries to control her thoughts and behavior. Sam is writing an article about this case and Alice is to do the psychological assessment. Every day, villagers crowd the house asking for spells and favors. Sam believes the supernatural activity is a trick, planned to gain fame and money for Alice and her family. After some violent episodes that theory becomes impossible to believe and Mina begins to look into what could be behind Alice’s possession. What she finds is very real and threatening to her own life.

Something in the Wall is horror at its best. This is a slow burn of a mystery leading into what can only be described as Stephen King meets the Salem Witch Trials. There are elements of feminist mythology here but the mystery itself dominates. A convoluted plot and strong characters, especially Mina, Alice, Lisa and Fern, dominate. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Daisy Pearce for this ARC.

i received this ARC from Netgalley and man am i glad i did! this story was phenomenal. i swear my heart was beating fast the whole time - definitely a good spooky read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Author for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Something in the Walls. This was excellent. It hooked me from the beginning, and I honestly didn't want to put it down. Mina was a interesting. She was a skeptic who wanted to believe. This was a very spooky tale about witches and superstition. Will definitely be reading more by Daisy Pearce.

So, I was super drawn to this one because it had such a Halloween feel. A crazy cult town, witches, and someone possibly possessed? Sign me up! It felt like the perfect thing to read as we usher in spooky season.

And it was a fun read! I found myself constantly torn, wondering if everything that was happening was real or not. Like, at first I had no idea what was actually going on in this small town 😅 It felt so satisfying putting together the puzzle pieces of this story. It was fast-paced enough that I didn’t get bored and I wanted to understand what was happening.

Here’s the issue though. First, a LOT of grammar issues. That took me out of it pretty consistently 😫 Also, some questions didn’t get answered, like at all, which did take some of the satisfaction out of the end (example, the weird creature stuff. What was that?) I wanted a little more into how this all came together.

I definitely had a feeling about the main “bad guy;” however, the depths of it went further than I expected so that was a fun twist. It definitely felt like a fun, spooky read, and I was still able to enjoy it overall!

I’d say ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 💫 A little more development into the story, and it’d be a classic Halloween, spooky read! Especially considering I do love a good look into cult mentality 👀 And anything having to do with witches 😂

I am participating in the boycott against St Martins Press so will not be speaking on my opinion of the book until they comply with the demands currently being asked of them.

So this book was definitely creepy! I absolutely love any books with witchy/ paranormal vibes! The town setting to the characters were all written perfectly in my opinion!

I’d give this a 4.5 ⭐️ out of 5! My only critique would be and I read this as an arc SO many spelling errors/ typing errors in this draft.

3.5 stars!

Okay I have mixed reviews on this one. Was this creepy and entertaining? Yes, absolutely. Did it kind of drag on at points and leave a lot of unanswered questions? Also yes! This book definitely had some eerie parts which I can appreciate, and it did take a turn I wasn’t expecting. I really didn’t know where this story was going so it did keep me guessing. This story takes a deep dive into small town folklore, superstitions and honestly gave me cult vibes which I loved! I always find those plots intriguing and captivating. I loved the main character Mina and how drive she was throughout the story. The one thing I didn’t love was that there were some plot holes for me. I had questions that were never answered that were vital to the plot - you do get answers in the end but it doesn’t answer everything and leaves things up in the air a bit. I think this was a good read but wasn’t my favorite! I would read more from this author though!

If you are looking for your next great mystery, thriller, check out Something In The Walls by Daisy Pierce. This was a great read.

It's 1989 and Mina Ellis is grieving the loss of her brother Eddie who died six years ago. She’s attending group grief support but she’s still seeing Eddie in the background of her life. When she meets a young journalist—Sam—at group, the two bond over their grief. Discovering that Mina is a new child psychologist, he extends an offer for her to gain some experience.

In the town of Banathel, teenaged Alice Webber is hearing voices and claiming that there is a witch in her family’s chimney spying on her. The town is steeped with ancient folklore and superstition.

This story is appropriately and deliciously witchy and foreboding with meditations on mass hysteria and herd mentality. I enjoyed the small town atmosphere but I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing or that I, myself, was missing something the whole time I was reading this; the characters’ actions didn’t make sense a lot of the time and there were many blips in the narrative that disrupted the overall flow of the story. The narrative blips took me out and caused me to lose interest overall; a strong start, a muddled middle, and a good ending.

With a description like this, how could you not want to pick up a copy of Something in the Walls? The mix of horror and folklore immediately grabbed my attention. (Also, that cover!) However, the writing didn't hold my attention. It simply just isn't for me. Judging by the expanse of glowing reviews, many other readers *did* connect with it, which makes me very happy. This books has clearly already found its audience.

Oh. My. God. This book was absolutely incredible. I hear people mention a book being so good, they’d give it six stars if they could, and this is the first time I’ve ever felt that way about a book. Five stars simply doesn’t explain how amazing this book was. I read the whole thing in a matter of hours and I am speechless.

Something in the Walls follows our main character, Mina, who has recently graduated as a child psychologist. She is presented with an opportunity to help a teenager named Alice who claims she is being possessed by the spirit of a witch. In a small town with a population of about 1,000 people, rumor spreads easily, and people are calling for harm to come to Alice. What started as a mission to uncover the truth and debunk the superstitious claims, suddenly turns into a fight to save not only Alice’s life, but her own.

This is probably the creepiest book I’ve read recently, if not ever. My heart was racing, it felt hard to breathe at points, and I was so entranced by the story that I couldn’t put it down. This is the ULTIMATE witchy book, and I strongly suggest everyone read this for a good “ghost” story when you’re feeling brave.

It’s not easy to scare me with horror novels, but this was genuinely scary. Like, enough to make me uncomfortable lol. The Midsommar and Haunting of Hill House comparisons were what drew me in, plus a plot line about a young girl in a remote village with disturbing symptoms who claims to be haunted by a witch. And with me starting this at the beginning of (almost) spooky season, this is the first weekend all year that *kinda* feels like it’s about to be the start of fall. I needed something spooky to get me in the mood for fall so this arc could not have come at a more perfect time.

I wasn’t too sure if this was going to be a mystery thriller or a paranormal horror story, though I was hoping it would be the latter. I’m not going to spoil what it ends up being because that’s part of the mystery, but from the get go, it does feel very much like it’s going to go the paranormal direction. Or at least, that’s what the book wants the reader to think. Paranormal or not, this very much feels like a horror novel, not a thriller, which is exactly what I was expecting and wanted. Alice Webber, the child who claims to be haunted by a witch who watches her from beneath the chimney, has things going on with her that can’t be explained. You even find out the event that caused it all, the event that caused her to be supposedly haunted by a witch. The doctors deem her fine physically, so Mina is sent to the village of Banathel as a child psychologist to investigate this possible haunting.

Despite the ambiguity over whether or not this will end up being paranormal, this very much is a horror novel, with the investigating haunted places and even a seance. There’s a lot of mystery where you don’t know where the story is going but you are being directed a certain way the entire time, which is the paranormal route. Is that what’s actually going on or is the book trying to throw you off? You’ll just have to read it and see! Mostly, this book genuinely is just very scary. It takes a certain kind of skill to make a horror novel actually scary, and Daisy Pearce has that skill. I hope she sticks to this genre because she’s great at it. My main complaint is I feel like too many things didn’t get a proper explanation. I was left feeling a bit confused over certain what character’s motivations even were and this lacked explanations for some of the strange occurrences. But this actually was very scary!

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

This book is so creeptasticly scary! I had to read with the lights full on and every sound while I was reading made me jump.
Full witchy, evil spirits, small creepy English town vibes. Unreliable characters, strange town rituals, and dark history. A teen girl afflicted by something sinister or a mental health breakdown? and the MC child psychologist and her reporter colleague are called in to investigate. They don't know what they are getting themselves into. I didn't see any of it coming.
Brilliant, edge of your seat, cant look away story. I loved it and any fan of Horror Thrillers won't be able to put it down.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. What a fantastic read! Daisy Pearce is quickly becoming my new favorite author. The storyline was fabulous and kept me guessing the entire time. The characters were very well done. The main character relatable and likeable. The creepiness throughout the story gave me chills! What an ending!! Loved this book
Highly recommend!!

Do you know the trend " Yes, no , Maybe". This is a MAYBE. It wasn't bad and it wasn't good. I didn't hate it. I think its worth the read.

This cover lured me in and didn’t disappoint! Oftentimes, I feel duped when I read stories that are marketed as “witchy”, but this was not one of those times. Something in the Walls is the perfect mix of psychological, creepy, emotional, feminist, and yes, “witchy”. Think Shirley Jackson with a more modern, propulsive style of writing. The characters and the setting were well-developed and the descriptions kept me on the edge of my seat. I read far past my bedtime with this one!

Publication: February 25, 2025.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I couldn’t put it down!
The author blends psychological tension with eerie supernatural elements to create a beautifully haunting novel. Mina, a child psychologist, gets drawn into a haunting mystery after meeting journalist Sam at a grief group. Together, they unravel the chilling secrets surrounding Alice, Lisa’s daughter, whom is believed to talk to the dead and is haunted by a witch in their chimney. As they dig deeper, the plot reveals unsettling connections to Mina and Sam’s pasts, as well as the hidden secrets of Alice’s town, Banathel.

**this releases on Feb 25, 2025**

Mark your calendars because this was SO good! You’ll definitely want to add this to your list. This had me at the edge of my seat from the first page until the very last. The ending was perfect. The story line did not have one dull moment. It had the perfect, spooky setting.

It was a 5/5 for me.
I’ll definitely be picking this one up again and recommending it to all my friends!

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC!

I think that this one was too much of a slow burn for me. It picked up in the end, but I was still wanting more.

Edge of your seat, screaming at your kindle kind of fear!

This book was SO GOOD I'm still reeling. The main character, Mina, is relatable and you are immediately sympathetic to her cause. I loved Alice. Sam could've used a little more character development, but honestly, it wasn't his story.

This is a story of women, girls, and the horrors they face.... sometimes what we suspect to be supernatural, might just be the worst of humankind...or is it?

You will be left with unanswered questions, and it's so worth it!

Thank you to @NetGalley , @DaisyPearce @StMartinsPress and @MinotaurBooks for this advance review copy.

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