What kind of twisted adorableness is this??? It's murder.... but it's cute? I feel conflicted folks. Actually no, I don't, I loved this. A truly unique graphic novels about anthropomorphic animals living their sweet and simple lives in a small town. Except for Sam, the owner of the local hardware store, who happens to be a serial killer. But never in their town! Just in the big city, so, not so bad? When people start being murdered in their small town everyone starts locking doors and pointing fingers. Wanting to protect her town and keep the police away from her own pursuits Sam begins her own investigations and uncovers some shocking answers.

This book was well illustrated mixing lovely animal imagery with gruesome murder scenes. I loved the sweetness and I loves the gore. Such an interesting read, very worth the time.,

I enjoyed this graphic novel. The art style and colouring is beautiful. I loved the contrast between the sweet small town and its citizens with the sinister and graphic murders happening behind the scenes.

The illustrations are so cute but the story is so not! It's so good and the plot twist is so so so interesting. I totally did not expect it at all. All in all, I recommend reading this book.

This was an intriguing, odd but in a good way, graphic novel about a serial killer who tries to solve a murder mystery...
We're so used to seeing cities made of animal characters like cute and sweet, so seeing them in this light was a bit of a shock. A good kind of shock. That leaves you feeling unsure of what you've just read but you know you weirdly want everyone else to read it.

i LOVED this antihero serial killer graphic novel about a butch bear and her cute lil animal town, suddenly facing the prospect of MURDER!

if you like the animal element of bojack horseman or tuca and bertie, this might be right up your alley. somehow a cast of characters is infinitely more interesting when they're all cute critters, many of whom have a dark side.

there is both a level of ironic humor and a tension when anthropomorphized animals and non-anthropomorphized animals coexist. the humanoid german shepherd cop walks his fully-animal police dog on a leash. the friendly teddy bear local business owner secretly brutally murders and dismembers cityfolk now and then. the art is warm and soft, yet extremely gory. and all the contrast is gives me dopamine!

even aside from the animal characters and juicy premise, this story shines. small town vibes are matched with intense suspense and mystery as our big bear protagonist realizes she's not the only killer in town.

i think the pacing is a bit inconsistent across volumes, but the shocking moments and murderous drama make it all worthwhile. i loved this, and would be thrilled to read more stories set in the same universe.

Thank you to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

4.25 stars
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌘

🧠 My thoughts
It’s been a while since I’ve read such a nice comic. It was mysterious and gore. I really liked the artwork as well. The storyline hooked me from start to finish, it was pretty well done.

The only thing that I can complain about was that the storyline felt not super original. I might have seen a similar plot from somewhere else.

Thanks NetGalley, IDW Publishing publisher, and the authors for a great advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

It was unusual, but still cool. Read thanks to NetGalley and the American publishing house IDW Publishing.

Ukrainian review⬇️
Я трішки вчора офігіла від цього коміксу😱
Вудбрук - миле містечко, в якому живуть такі ж милі антропоморфні тваринки. Стиль малюнку налаштовує на якусь дитячу казочку а-ля «Вінні Пух».
Але є нюанс.
Ведмедиця - серійна вбивця. Як вам таке? Головне її правило: «не вбивати місцевих». Тому вона їздить у місто, виловлює там своїх жертв, вбиває, розчленовує і закопує🤯 Спокійно повертається додому.
Тому, коли зʼявляється хтось, хто вбиває саме у Вудбруці, ця ведмедиця занепокоюється: не дай Бог, через це почнеться розслідування і якимось чином зʼясують, чим вона займається. Їй треба вийти на вбивцю першою. Отак. Вбивця ловить вбивцю😂

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Це було незвично, але прикольно. Читала завдяки NetGalley та американському видавництву IDW Publishing.

this was an AMAZNG read! i am not even exaggerating because it is really good. i picked this up because i thought it was going to be fun reading a thrilling book in the style of a children's book. just look up trigger warnings as well when you read this book as it can get very graphic real quick. the story was SO well done in my opinion and the main character was intense, two-sided, and just really messed up in many ways. the inner workings of the bear's mind was a nice touch to her character.

she is both charming & nice, and evil & sinister.

i am so glad to have found this book here so thank you so much to the author and to NetGalley as well for this ARC.

I never thought anyone would be able to capture that feeling of watching Netflix's 'You" for the first time. Who would suspect that their town's local hardware store owner would be a serial killer? This book is like if Beastars had Joe Goldberg as a main character and I was here for it! I'd definitely recommend this one to my readers who love horror.

I LOVED this. It's so original and the illustration is perfect. I had so much fun reading this and I am thrilled to read any other installations in the series

This was a fun, quick read, very much in the same vein as Dexter, if Dexter lived in Cabot Cove. Having a serial killer as a main character is always fun, especially when it's a female serial killer, which I don't see very often. And while the plot wasn't unique, Horvath's approach to the internal motivations that Samantha (our local serial killer) had for doing what she did, and how it was expressed on the page of this graphic novel, was different than what I expected. Different, and at times, darkly comical. The art style was understated and wholesome (a delightful contrast to the subject matter of the book), but also had that element of realism that kept me on the edge of my seat. It definitely approached uncanny valley territory sometimes, especially when the character's hands were shown. A duck with humanoid fingers, and humanoid fingernails, is just unnerving. Overall I enjoyed this book, and I'd recommend it to people who are interested in explorations of immorality and loveable anthropomorphic wildlife animals stylistically reminiscent of 'If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.'

First off, I think some of the other reviews are hilarious. I don't know what people where expecting. The cover is literally a bear carrying off a body and the description says it's about a serial killer and has dark content. Of course there isn't a moral code like Dexter, Dexter is a tv show and isn't an accurate depiction of serial killers or psychopaths. They don't have moral codes, they do what they want because they can. They often don't have reasons for it. I also think it's perfectly okay that the characters aren't likable. They're not supposed to be, they're killers, you're not meant to relate to them. Only to see things from their perspective. If I had to relate this graphic novel to a series/movie, I would say it's much more along the lines of American Psycho then Dexter.

I really loved the art style. This seemed to be most peoples complaint because it "caught them off guard". I think it really works well for the story though. It has that feeling of normality and the feeling of things being okay despite the people who lurks amongst them. It just sets the tone and vibe of the story. Where people are cheery and happy despite what goes on around them. It's also shows the reality of never fully knowing someone and highlights the statistic that "You'll pass 30 murders in your lifetime and never know it". Which this comic kinda rekindled that fear for me a bit.

I would also like to highlight that it's not as gory as people make it out to be. There's no more blood or gore then you would see on tv or any other comic. However, if you're sensitive to blood and killing then this book is obviously not one you're going to enjoy.

It's a quick and easy to get through read. I would say it took me less then a half hour to get through. So if you want something entertaining and quick to read then you might consider picking this one up.

Overall, I think my only complaint is the ending felt a little rushed and felt like it was to eager to finish the story. It also felt a little predictable with how it was going to end once you found out what the plot twist was. It almost felt a little cliched.

Overall, I enjoyed it. If you're a fan of serial killer stuff then you'll enjoy this comic. If you're sensitive to such content then you won't enjoy this series.

Wow... This book was both brilliantly well done, and dark as hell. Like others, I did not take the horror aspect seriously-- that was a mistake. The illustrations were disturbing, and terrifyingly well done. I thought that having animals as characters would make this book softer and easier to swallow. Again, I came to regret that thought.

5/5 stars. I would recommend this book to any adult who is truly looking for a horror and gruesome filled graphic novel.

How disturbing and graphic this graphic novel is. The truth is that with the cover I expected some of this to happen but not so graphic. There were times when I didn't really want to continue reading.

The story seemed correct to me, I think it instantly captures the reader because it presents us with a town where a serial killer hides but who is very clear about what the rules are to be able to continue living his life peacefully until someone starts committing crimes. crimes in his town and he no longer likes it at all.

I found it more impressionable, I think, because they are animals and I have a tender heart towards animals. I think if they were human I wouldn't have found it so disturbing. Makes sense? I don't know.

Thank you IDW Publishing for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who underestimated the fear this Graphic Novel could create simply because the cast are cute talking animals. Do. Not. Underestimate. Cute. Talking. Animals. Period.

This frightening story is about a bear by the name of Samantha Strong. Let's just say… Samantha has quite the gruesome way to relax and release stress. She’s a serial killer who kills in a big city right outside of the small town she calls home. Keep the peace, never kill where you sleep. That’s the rule. Well… a string of murders pop up in her peaceful little town and she has to find out who's disrupting the peace she worked so hard to keep before the police start digging up the wrong bodies.

The art is absolutely stunning, but boy did it fool me. I mean, I was aware of what the book was about before I picked it up and yet… I was still frightened. Getting a look into the mind of a murderer as well as the sense of never being safe is done so well that the reader is too busy worrying about who’s gonna die next and not about the fact that the main character, Sam, is a Killer as well. A killer that this town hasn’t noticed is among them for quite some time.

Giving this a 3.5/5-star rating simply because I am a woman of justice and wanted a different ending. If you know, you know. Let's argue about it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

My thanks to IDW Publishing and NetGalley for the Digital Advanced Reader’s Copy. This book is expected to be published September 17th, 2024.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees is a graphic novel I've been hearing a lot about. This does not disappoint!

Samantha, a cat, lives in this small town. However, Samantha has a darkness inside her. She goes into the city and murders a random person every once in a while. Her world begins to change when her town starts experiencing gruesome murders. Samantha's number 1 rule is that she doesn't kill anyone in town, it's just two messy. Sure, it could be an outsider but she thinks it's someone hiding in plain view. She decides to investigate and try to figure out whose behind these murders before she becomes the suspect.

I really enjoyed this a lot! Samantha gave off major Dexter vibes. However, she would kill random people and not people who deserve it. They show the deaths but they're not very gruesome. It's just wild to see the first couple of times because these are such adorable animals. It definitely was sad to read about some of the towns people who were killed. You don't briefly get to know them and you feel bad, especially about one of the victims.

I can't wait for you guys to pick this up. If you have a library card & a Hoopla account you can read this free there. Otherwise, it will be coming out September 17th. I look forward to reading more from Patrick Horvath.

*Thank you so much to IDW Publishing and Netgalley for a free copy of this comic, in exchange for my complete honest opinion.*

5/5 Stars! I’m honestly speechless. The gorgeous cover art and tantalizing description “Live, laugh, shed blood. Dexter meets Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busy Town in this twisted debut graphic novel! Don’t. Murder. The locals.” is what drew me to this graphic novel in the first place. The illustration throughout this whole novel was stunning! So detailed, colorful, and oh so graphic. The storyline–just as top notch. This narrative was so much more gory and twisted than I expected, but I loved it! The story follows Samantha Strong, a badass brown bear who manages to be both an upstanding citizen and a serial killer. I liked Samantha so much, I was rooting for a serial killer. I had no idea what to expect going into this graphic novel, but I can say I’m impressed! Thank you IDW Publishing, Patrick Horvath, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for review!

Thank you for the advanced copy of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees. This was a very interesting graphic novel. A very quick read. The artwork was well done and pleasing to look at. Now with how nice and whimsical the artwork was, it was almost the complete opposite of the writing and subject of the book. The vast difference between the pictures of sweet animals and them swearing and killing and then showing the graphic portions of the kill worked for me. You can be both. The killings can get graphic so I’m not sure I’d recommend this book to middle schoolers. But I did love this ‘Dexter’ version with nice looking animals! Thanks again for the advanced copy!

Dexter meets Animal Crossing in this dark serial killer graphic novel with cuddle-y animals. I thoroughly enjoyed this arc NetGalley was so gracious to let me read for an honest review.

I really liked this story it had great horror elements, body horror, twists, all that jazz, there was one part that really upset me and knocked my rating down a bit but I honestly should’ve expected it. I thought about feedback I could give and I really don’t have much besides if it were to continue I think I a deeper look into the mental side of things would be very intriguing. I also adore the cover.