Thanks to Patrick Horvath, the publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC. Although the illustrations might attract young readers, the subject matter and plot are definitely more suited for grown-ups! It's a fascinating story that I highly recommend.

As a child, I grew up re-reading Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busy Town and its beautiful illustrations. But boy this book put a spin to it.

As an adult, this was enjoyable to say the least! An illustrated whodunit from a serial killer's POV and the plot unfolding with a surprise was cherry on top.

Definitely worth picking up.


Thank you NetGalley and IDW Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this!

This was adorable and *deeply* disturbing. It did what it did really well, but I cannot understate just how disturbing it was. If you like slashers and horror, you'll probably like this. As for me, I need to go read something uplifting now to cleanse my brain.

The perfect blend of cozy anthropomorphic animal tale and shocking murder thriller.

Beautiful artwork blends with a psychologically tense narrative, managing to create a strong world that feels grounded in a plausible reality and all in under 200 pages. There is still mystery and ‘rules’ to uncover here though (the bears! the sniffer dogs!) that leaves me hoping for a second volume to explain.

A brutal, yet beautifully illustrated, graphic novel about a series of small town murders.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees follows local serial killer Samantha Strong, an intelligent, well known community figure that has been carefully, and quietly murdering for years, when all of a sudden a new killer shows up in town leaving horrifying crime scenes for all to see. Samantha must find this killer before the police can, to prevent her years of crimes from being discovered.

The well drawn, full coloured, illustrations and riveting description pulled me in, and now I'm hooked. I hope Patrick Horvath will create more stories set in this town or at least in this style.

Thank you so much to Patrick Horvath and NetGalley for the ARC.

If Dexter were a graphic novel told with personified animals... this would be it. Samantha the bear seems like an ordinary citizen of her small town. She owns the hardware store, she visits her oldest and best friend and she harbors a deep secret - she has an urge to kill people. She does it away from the city. And she's always careful. She doesn't make mistakes. But when people in her town start showing up violently murdered.... she knows someone knows. Who in the town is toying with her?

What I loved:
It was a tad violent
The Dexter vibes
The twisted fate of some of her friends

Sam has owned the family hardware shop for years. She knows all the people, she knows all the routines, and it's her home, her safe place. She knows better than to hunt inside her town, but someone else has decided the small town is just ripe for picking. After a few residents are murdered, Sam realizes that she knows who the killer is, but also that she's the main suspect. Not willing to give her town up without a fight, Sam becomes a hunter in her own town. A strange but fascinating story that juxtaposes humanity and nature. In a blend of soft colors, the small town feel is beautiful, and while the story wraps up quickly, it's a horrifically beautiful graphic novel. A definite read.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees - ARC Review

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

Title: Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees
Author: Patrick Horvath
Rating: 5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Release Date: Sep 17 2024

THIS BOOK IS JUST SOOO GOOOOD! I absolutely love it to death. If you have been around my page for a bit now you would have seen me talking about the individual comic issues of this story as they were released, well I am happy to say that the full trade paperback of all 6 volumes is out this September and you need to pick it up to kick off the spooky reads.

It's got the aesthetic of Little Bear, Beatrix Potter, and just that small-town picturesque vibe that I love.

But it's got the story of Dexter, Hannibal, and Beastars.

Who do you trust more, the serial killer you know or the one hiding in the shadows?

This is a fantastic battle of wits between two stone-cold killers in a trap where only one of them can make it out.

This book is also one you’ll definitely have to give a reread after you finish to go back and find all the incredibly well-executed foreshadowing and hidden elements in the art.

I loved this. The juxtaposition of the adorable animal character with the very gory violence added an extra layer of horror. The story was fast paced and interesting. Highly recommend for horror fans.

The mix of this cartoon style and the gore and murders is perfect. The idea is so fun and the execution is also very good. I would love to continue reading this series.

Super lovely graphic novel. Loved the characters and the art style. Was a pleasure to read. Can't wait to engage with more from this author! Can highly recommmend if you like darker storytelling

thank you netgalley for sending me an earc

this graphic novel was really fun to read, i loved the contrast between the pastel color palette and the horror story . the plot was very interesting and it kept me glued to the pages. i hope to read more from the author

I was really excited by this concept because animals who lives lives like humans tends to be really fun, but this one was a miss for me. The art style was really uncomfortable which I think is the point with a horror/thriller. I also didnt feel like the mc was all that compelling to like. dexter is a serial killer but he is compelling and after a while people like him. this killer was none of those thing which was hard to read. I would have preferred if we got some backstory for why she started to kill people and exactly how it started but we didnt get that. overall I think some will like this one but was definitely not for me.

I absolutely loved this graphic novel!! I love how it starts out like a wholesome story and then things get dark real quick! I hope to see more from this author in the future! 5 stars!!

Spooky book! But a fun read. Probably not appropriate for my collection, but I'm looking forward to reading more by Horvath!

Wow, how can this be so dark and cuddly at the same time?

Samantha is a brown bear in a town filled with other loveable animals. She's kind and sweet, and also sometimes kidnaps people and murderers them in the forest. Simple life, right? But one day someone else is starting to kill, and it's in town, which starts to make people suspicious. It becomes almost a cat and mouse game, even when the killer is found out, Samantha must figure a way to outsmart them if she's gonna survive this. Overall fun and exciting, huge dexter vibes, but also adorable cute art. I really want more from this series, and hope we get a follow up of some sort.

I think it's well-written, well-narrated, and well-drawn. It was unexpectedly dark but fun to read. I love the humor here and there. The puns were really great too! I love the characters, I really enjoyed reading it, it made me want to read books similar to this.

This graphic novel has some serious Dexter vibes and I'm all for it! I love that it looks like a sweet little animal based graphic novel but is really serial killers trying to literally get away with murder!

Absolutely chilling. I felt the dread coming from these animal townsfolk as their community was ripped apart, literally.

The story is engaging, fast paced and intense. I loved it. I could not stop reading. I’m Amped for the next volume.

I adore the art style. The color palette really stood out to me. As a fellow artist, I could appreciate the details and care put into creating each character.

This series will be a favorite, I can feel it.

How delightfully morbid this was!! I grew up on horror. So to find cutesy stuff with an adult horror twist really makes me feel like a big kid again and makes me kick my feet in the air. The killings were brutal but the images aren't TOO bad. But then again when you're immersed in a cute little animal village like Animal Crossing and then you see the dark, twisted side of the murders.... well, my jaw dropped and I just loved it. There is no mercy. This comic was like if Pietro the clown from Animal Crossing decided to go on a killing spree. I love Pietro. I would love to check out more from this author.