The synopsis of this comparing it to busy busy town is spot on! A little Dexter mixed in as well. I loved this! It was a propulsive read and delightfully filled with gore. It’s also got horror movie vibes. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

A fun, gruesome story. Normally fun and gruesome shouldn’t go together, but it does in this story. Woodbrook is a cosy and pretty town where the animals live in peace and harmony together but that suddenly changes when the town residents begin to turn up dead.

The town serial killer, Samantha Strong is concerned. She is a serial killer but she goes into the city to select her victims. With this fear in the town she worries that her own nefarious deeds will be discovered and she realises that she will need to find the killer herself.

The artwork is pretty and bright and contrasts nicely with the underlying darkness of the story. It is a graphic novel which is anmusing and horrific at the same time.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Did you (or do you 👀) enjoy creating dark and gruesome plots when playing with your stuffed animals and dolls?? If so, look no further than Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees for gorey, 'Sylvanian-Families-but-make-it-sociopathic-murder' time! Don't let the soft pastel art style fool you, the very graphic on-page murders (and cover up, and unravelling) are definitely not suitable for all audiences. Around halfway through the art style of the animal citizens of Woodbrook started reminding me of taxidermist imagery; very intruiging regardless if this was intentional or not!

I appreciated the disquiet message that no home - not even the small, tight-knit communities - are safe from violence and the unpredictable nature of *people*. Despite the main character, Sam's, tendencies for cold-blooded, random-targeted killing, there was actually a thoughtful discussion on the ethics of murder, and her rationale for her choices, versus *someone else's* in town.

All in all, an enjoyable and different-for-me reading experience! Would definitely consider reading more from this author/illustrator in the future~

This is delightfully dark in such a cozy way. The art is wonderful and really enhances the reading experience. There is so much emotion even though the MC doesn't experience them like most people do. This story hooked me from the first couple of pages and I could not put it down.

I love every single thing about this book. I went into this without reading what it was about, just loving the artwork immediately. Then only to find out it was Richard Scarry crossed with Dexter, I was so giddy to read it! I was all in, and still am for the rest in the series. And after finishing it, this was one of those things that I wanted to tell everyone about it.

First, the artwork. Brilliantly done. The colors, the lines, the care of the layouts. Amazing work. I love love this. Then add in the storyline! Finally something nostalgic that reminded me of Richard Scarry yet loomed the story with a serial killer trope. This was perfection, I couldn't rave enough. Plenty of us grew up reading Scarry only to now be obsessed with true crime and mysteries and thrillers. Like I said, this was perfection. I can't wait to read more and more of this series, and read anything by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for a copy of this fantastic illustrated series. All opinions are my own.

I loved this so much. It blends all my favorite things together: anthropomorphic animals, horror, mystery, slightly cozy fall vibes. The art style was perfect and I loved the coloring especially. I would have ate this up if there was a whole series in this world, or 200 more pages. I hope the creators continue to write more in this style. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this for review!

This was great! I love the juxtaposition between the dark subject matter and the pleasing pastel aesthetic. Refreshingly different - hope there’s another arc!

Hell yes. It was described as Animal Crossing and Gilmore Girls meets Dexter and damn was that right. I honestly had no idea what I was getting into and it was so much fun. I loved the cozy, dark vibes. I read this one so fast and cannot wait for the next one to come out. Everyone needs this on their October TBR. The vibes were so much fun!

I requested this arc because I was curious based on the premise, and it definitely is what it says it is. I don't think this was exactly my kind of thing, but if it seems like it's yours, I think its pretty well executed. The arc of the mystery is fairly rote, not saying I predicted the culprit or anything (I usually don't) but it was all resolved pretty quickly. The art style is not my favorite but I think it delivered the "Richard Scary but horror/gore" so that's cool. Thanks to the publisher IDW and NetGalley for access to this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review of 'Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees' by Patrick Horvath.

Five out of five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I need to buy an 'in the hand' copy of this as soon as possible. I absolutely adored this graphic novel. It's as dark as my little ole soul.

Welcome to your average but perfect tiny town where everyone knows everyone else's name and your neighbor is a serial killer.

100% I would recommend this to anyone with a love for Dexter and/or serial killer documentaries before bed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really liked it, stuck with me & would recommend
Berenstein Bears meets Dexter. This grabbed me right at the front and carried me through until the very end. A complete page turner. I loved the social commentary, the uniqueness, and the morbidity wrapped in cuteness. The art was a perfect vehicle for this story. 

Thank you to IDW Publishing, NetGalley, and author Patrick Horvath for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees is out September 17, 2023.

This was such a fun little morbid graphic novel! 'Dexter' in the form of a lady bear living in a small little town and hiding her serial killer nature- what could possibly go wrong?

I think the art has a very unique style and it got across a sort of wholesome look while having plenty of darker (murderous) moments. The mind games of the main character (whos a serial killer herself) hunting down whoever is killing in her safe haven home were interested to be a part of and I found myself devouring this one in quick sitting.

If youre a fan of the POV inner minds of shows like Dexter and Hannibal this is the one for you!

3.5/5

Well, that was certainly grisly!

All jokes aside, this comic was seriously dark and gory. I'm not usually into this kind of story, but the premise sounded interesting so I thought I'd give it a go. However, by the time I actually read the comic, I'd forgotten most of the premise, so it was quite a shock once the first animal was murdered.

I'm not sure how I feel about this... On the one hand, the artwork was well-done and creative but on the other, the world building was a bit confusing. At one point, we had a pig character looking at a pig in a butcher shop, and the main character Sam (a brown bear) interacting with wild grizzly bears who couldn't understand her. Are these animals all cannibalistic? Are they 'domesticated' vs wild? I have no idea.

At the end of the day, fans of Dexter or slasher movies will probably really enjoy this dark and unique story. For myself, I found it a bit too dark with no real message at the end of it other than 'do you ever *really* know somebody?'

Can "charming" even be used to describe a graphic novel about two competing serial killers? We probably shouldn't, but I would present Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees as evidence that sometimes there are exceptions.

This novel follows a bear in her small town who has a bit of a secret hobby, murder. When a second serial killer in town makes themselves known, but tries to frame our anti-hero bear, things get wild. The quaint town and art style subverted with the graphic and violent theme make for such an odd combination that makes the reader introspect on certain aspects of media and life. I really enjoyed this graphic novel and will still be thinking about it for a long time.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

I was drawn by the smear of blood on the cover and I am glad I was. This was the perfect fall read. A little mystery, adorable critters, and murder.

This is not an illustrated novel for children.

this was an interesting read! definitely a story unlike any other, i liked the idea that it was all animals instead of humans! it made for a very unique story

Do not let the cute at first glance art style fool you, Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees is a dark horror comic book. It has an interesting cast of morally grey characters and a grim plot that somehow reminded me of Dexter and of Happy Tree Friends. A weird mix, I know. I felt some points were a little weaker and some of my questions left unexplained but overall it was a good solid read.

This graphic novel is filled with gore visuals mixed with the very cute graphic style I initially mentioned, which won't be everybody's taste. As long as you're fine with those and you're into horror stories, I strongly recommend this book.

Patrick Horvath seems to have seen that one Richard Scarry drawing where the anthropomorphic pig is, disturbingly, a butcher selling sausages, and from that image built an entire ominous world of gore. Horrifyingly sinister. And just like, very gross! I really hope this isn't inspirational to some really creepy serial killer types.

Oh man, this book had me fully gasping on a packed tube on my way to work multiple times! The story is simple yet gripping, and the cuteness of the anthropomorphic characters contrasts amazingly with the gory happenings in the story. The characters are likeable, and although the book is short, I felt like it only took a couple of pages to get extremely attached to a character (which, when you read this book, you’ll find extremely stressful).

Overall a gripping read and a compelling graphic novel!

Thank you IDW Publishing for providing an ARC for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

“Awww, it’s a comic about a cute little bear in a cozy animal town and OH GREAT HEAVENS.”

I’m loving this renaissance of furry fiction for grown-ups. (Like, let’s say what it is, it’s furry.) The town in this book has very Richard Scarry, Daniel Tiger, outskirts of Zootopia vibes. A lovely animal community, living and working together, with maybe a few local curmudgeons, but nothing worse than a Karen skipping the line at the coffee shop.

And then Samantha, the bear who owns the hardware store, goes into the city. And things are a little grittier there, yes. But it’s Sam who turns the whole story upside-down. Sam is a serial killer, and she’s good at what she does. She has a routine. Not a ritual, but a science. And she never plays at home.

And then…someone’s else’s little toy is paraded before the town, for all to see. So, if Sam wants to keep killing, she’s going to have to find out who did it, and get them to go play somewhere else.

I just love how the art in this is simultaneously so cozy and so gory. Everyone is so fuzzy! And so full of viscera!

The search for the killer–well, second killer–also adds a fair bit of mystery to the story, though I don’t think there’s enough hints given early on to solve the case before Sam does herself. That’s fine, though. The mystery is a bonus, not the main genre.

If you like anthro animal/furry fiction, this is a must read.

Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.