It’s like this was made for me! Beautiful artwork of cute anthropomorphic animals in a small town, but wait, there’s a serial killer on the loose. I flew through this, and I can’t wait to buy a physical copy so I can appreciate the illustrations even more. Hope he releases more of this soon, I’m obsessed.

Sylvanian Families meets Criminal Minds.

This book is quirky, interesting, terrifying and cute. The mature content and storyline and the gorgeous art are kind of the opposite of each other but it's done so incredibly well.

Thank you IDW Publishing and NetGalley for the review copy.

This is an adorably dark graphic novel about life in a small town for a serial killer. I’d describe it as evil Winnie The Pooh, I mean murder can be cozy right?

The art is amazing which can make or break a graphic novel. The story is cute, stabby and a little unexpected. I wish it was longer, not that it was missing anything I was just really enjoying it and didn’t want it to end. Trying to not share any spoilers, but if you think you maybe interested based on the cover and the blurb then trust me you want to read it. I will happily be picking up additional books from the author.

This is an adult graphic novel (due to well murder, lots of murder) please keep that in mind, but I would say it would also be fine for most teens.

Disclaimer: I requested this book from Net Galley and received an advance review copy for free. I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

I know that I say I'm soft all the time (I am). But I also love a good mystery, scary & disturbing art, and listening to true crime podcasts. So, when I saw Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath I knew I had to read it. I knew it was going to be dark and bloody, but I was still caught off guard by the gore. There's just something about the art style that made everything extra disturbing. I checked the locks so many times after reading this graphic novel. It was so good in the worst ways, but that's just what I expect from horror-mystery books.

As I said I knew before reading, based on the description and cover, that this was going to be a blood bath. However, I didn't expect the art to be so disarming. It added so much to those feelings of unease I got while reading this graphic novel. It is just extra unsettling to see cute anthropomorphic animals being murdered by equally cute and fluffy murderers. There are a few murder scenes in this book. But that first one was all on page and so meticulously gory. It caught me so off guard. Which is why I think the art style is perfect for this story. I've read gory comics before I've become desensitized to fictional human gore. It's everywhere in all types of media. But cute anthropomorphic animal gore is new (to me) and the murders were brutal. I've never seen anything like it before and because of that this graphic novel got to me. It got under my skin and made me uncomfortable and scared. But I had to keep reading.

I needed to know what was going to happen next. I was invested in the mystery. Could "small-town serial killer Samantha Strong" (taken from the description) find her rival? And if she did what would she do? And what about the rest of the people in town? I became so attached to the characters, especially the side characters. Specifically Bertie the turtle (not just because turtles are my favorite animal). There was just something endearing about the way he chose to eat that chew-pop. He didn't have to eat it like that. It was so silly and it brought a bit of humor and sweetness to this very dark graphic novel. I needed to know if he was going to be okay. I was also so invested in Samantha's story.

Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees put me in the strange position where I was rooting for a murderer. I wanted Samantha to win despite her being a serial killer. The way her rival was behaving at the near the end of the book was unhinged. Watching the semi-subtle scheming/ planning of the rival was horrifying. What was going to happen next? What would the rival do? And I know from the readers side the rival wasn't being subtle at all. But the mentality of small towns is just different. I grew up in a small town and the amount of stuff people just let slide is alarming. So, I don't even think the people truly registered that something was off. And I think Patrick Horvath did an amazing job of capturing that a bit of that mentality.

Lastly I want to say a few thing. One, I'm still uncomfortable. Two, that duck will haunt me. Three, I can't wait to see what Patrick Horvath does next. Three I can't believe this was a debut graphic novel, it was damn good.

This book is exactly what it seems like it will be. Cute cozy vibes mixed with graphic gore and murder.
I did feel the pacing of the book was off. Some areas were too slow, others too fast. But when the pacing was good, it worked really well. There were a couple twists that were cool and spun the story in a different direction. I just wish the world and characters were given more depth and/or backstory. The main story was a bit bland and predictable.
The art was solid. The painted panels and character/world designs really fit the part. So when the more grisly scenes came up, they really stuck out and were impactful.
I’d love to read more if this becomes a series. But as a one off, it left something’s to be desired.

Thank you to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for this ARC!

Busy, Busy Town meets Dexter. I’m not a huge graphic novel fan, but the idea of cutie anthropomorphic animals getting murdery in a small town seemed fun, and it was. The art is great and tinged with a bit of morbid humor. Be warned they didn’t skimp on the blood and violence, these adorable critters get nasty. I did think the story and dialogue were a little too slim. I would LOVE to see this turned into a cartoon series.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a review. :)

So many things to say about this one! To begin, the art style stole my heart in 3 seconds flat. Taking such a cute design (calico critters esque) and turn that on its head is so creative! I can’t wait to see where this series goes as everything about it had me on the edge of my seat! Just amazing stuff really!

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees is a story about a (avoiding the spoiler here) serial killer bear called Samantha.
Sam resides in a small town (Woodbrook) with other anthropomorphic characters. It is your usual small town - you know, good citizens, good residents, good people taking care of each other, going about their business.
Someone or something is killing the Woodbrook folk.
What will Sam do?
I was eyeing this book up and finally requested it. I was truly joyful to have this opportunity - it is hard to come across curious graphic novels and have the chance to review an ARC.
The cover is awesome. The colour palette, the perspective and the art stand out.
Here is a breakdown of my opinions;

Pros

The setting of a small town of anthropomorphic animals and real animals living in the woods (though I wonder why this was. I”ll keep my two guesses to myself, and let other readers enjoy their guesses)

The gruesome details, body gore - this is done well, it is fresh and nuanced (at the risk of making me sound like a psycho). The art style allows you to keep a distance from the gore but also not too distant that you lose your interest in the story.

The introspective and insightful prose was weaved into the dialogue and prose very well.
Plot 3/5 - I wish this had been longer, more detailed and layered. Will this be a stand alone graphic novel or the first of a series? It feels a tad incomplete. The beginning was gripping, then the twist was truly interesting. But the ending felt rushed and a bit unsatisfactory. A couple of the subplots did not fully pay off.

Characterisation 3.5/5 - due to graphic novel’s visual features, it is impossible to separate the character designs and illustrations from this aspect when rating the book. Including Sam, the protagonist, several characters have immense potential and are well-designed. Back to my point about the plot, the core and unique traits of the characters could have been explored more.


Themes, mood, prose: All of these are their own categories but these work well together in this novel and the dialogue is good. 4.5/5
(I watched a few episodes of Dexter and never got gripped. It was the opposite here - the tone was right)

Pacing: 3.5/5 good, then momentarily slow, good again, too soon to wrap up

Art: 4/5 This was almost a 5/5 for me - the character designs/profiles in the end of the book are perfect. When it comes to the actual story, I understand that the action and the scope require a different approach. I normally go for a clean style as in the character designs. Though, to be fair, the print book might look perfect and what I am saying is highly subjective. I generally liked the colour palettes and the expressiveness of the characters. Only looked for a bit more detail and ironically, cleaner lines (I am not an expert in design and drawing-related aspects, please bear this in mind)

I found this fresh as the nuances and subtleties make a story unique. I am sure this will be well-liked, and deserves to be widely acclaimed.
If a few aspects were slightly different and more detailed, this would have certainly been a read in the higher rating range for me too.
3.5 stars, overall.

First, the illustrations seemed like old-fashioned children book illustrations, with pale and soft color scheme and animal characters. But don't let them fool you, because the story within was dark and grim🙂 oh my god. Not exactly a pleasant read for me, but okay.

Oof, this one definitely creeped me out. I knew it would be dark, but the illustrations of the murders were more grisly than I anticipated. I think I was expecting a higher contrast between the cuteness of a town of animals and the serial killer plot, but it was more so about small town familiarity. It was interesting how the identity of a carnivore played a part in the story. Beneath the Trees was a surprisingly quick read, and ultimately it felt a little rushed at the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this arc. Sadly it was not the comic for me.

I saw the first issue on Hoopla and was super interested in how this would play out, especially with the clear layout of Samantha's life and the world building that I didn't hesitate to request the rest of the story. However, the more I read, the less I cared about the twists and reveals. While I can look back at the first half and see all the build-up towards the ending, it still felt lacking. I had liked how almost everything went wrong gradually and then all at once, but the resolution went too fast as well. Mostly just a pacing issue for me and it wasn't something I could ignore.

“Live, laugh, shed blood”
4☆|5

Don't murder the locals. It's rude and it disturbs the peace. Therefore, it is Sam's — serial killer in a small town — first rule. But one day, a resident of her lovely town is murdered… This town is not big enough for two psychopaths, she needs to find — and stop — them.

What a fun graphic novel! I don't know what I expected when I picked up this book, but it certainly wasn’t to be that amused from this reading. This book qualifies as horror — there are multiple graphic gore elements — but mostly as mystery. And it was really fun to read! I loved trying to guess who could be the murderer or even the next victim.

This book is short, around 150 pages, and yet it is more than enough to get attached to characters, especially the side characters that end up being murdered. And even for the main characters, I really like them, their motivations and stories! To that, you can add a really well-crafted story, which makes it hard to put the book down.

And all that can be found amongst a charming art style, which gave nearly cosy vibes to that murderous story. The murders were bloody and gruesome but next to that, we had a pretty and soft art style with really well-used colours. The fact that all the characters were animals was also a nice point, and the artist drew them very well.

The only negative point that I can point out is the fact that the end happened a bit quickly, but it wasn’t enough to take away the satisfaction provoked by the reading of this graphic novel and it is easily comprehensible considering the length of the book. All in all, it was truly a unique reading and I do recommend it a lot!

Thank you to Netgalley and IDW Publishing for sending me this arc, all opinions expressed are my own <3

TW: blood ; murder ; dismemberment ; gun violence

READ THE WHOLE SERIES! The storyline is fantastic and has a great twist :) I absolutely loved this! What a fun way to tell a thriller story. The author took Calico critters and turned them into psychopaths and I am so here for it. The artwork was so lovely. It was gory but not over the top. I loved seeing the thoughts going through Samantha's mind along with what other townspeople were saying. Also, Cherry got her karma. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-copy of this graphic novel!

I really liked the artwork in this graphic novel. The cutesy artstyle really offsets the dark story. I enjoyed the story and particularly liked the choice for the protagonist. While I didn't mind the ending, it did feel a bit rushed. I think this was a great debut.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
What a "cute" book! The illustrations are really good and the storyline is dark but hilarious.
The reader must have a somewhat morbid sense of humor to enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

To whoever said that this is reminiscent of Dexter.....you are totally right! Loved the plot twist, and even though everything was pretty gory, I still highly enjoyed this comic! It's definitely demented but also super fun at the same time. I would watch more of Sam's escapades anytime, if they chose to extend her story!

This book can be eerily disturbing, but I couldn't take my eyes off the page. This was a very interesting read. From the beginning we know who the main serial killer is, she uses killing as a way to cope with all the stresses in her life. However this story quickly turns into a murder mystery as a new serial killer comes to town. Samantha is now determined to find out who her new rival is before the cops can discover her secret.

What if we take an adorable, Zootopia-like town full of animals, add serial killer gore at the level of Saw, & add a layer of Twin Peaks weirdness? Plus a twisty mystery, solid writing, & a beautiful, almost dreamy art style?

The result is Patrick Horvath’s Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, truly the most unique comic I have read in quite some time. The vibes are cozy, cute, mysterious, & very gruesome & you’re quickly pulled into the story of brown bear Samantha Strong & the horrors impacting the small town she calls home.

I had picked up this comic when it first started & eagerly refreshed my library app for the next issue, so I was grateful to receive an arc of the complete volume of this story, which comes out in September. Did I request the arc partially because I didn’t want to wait to find out what happens? Maybe! But then that’s just a testament to how much I enjoyed this story. I gobbled this up in one sitting & it ended in a way that felt complete. You don’t turn the last page feeling unsatisfied or teetering on a cliffhanger, which is honestly refreshing for me as someone who forgets a comic exists if I have to wait for the next issue. This is a great one & done (but I wouldn’t be upset if the world Beneath the Trees expands a bit).

Thank you to NetGalley & IDW Publishing for providing a digital advanced copy for review. And for giving me my favorite new phrase, “Live, Laugh, Shed Blood.” All thoughts & opinions expressed are my own.

Imagine a bucolic little town, populated by adorable anthropromorphic characters living thier best lives. Then add an adorable bear to run the hardware store who also happens to be a serial killer. Sam knows not to kill where she lives but then someone else does and she needs to learn who before the lacluster sheriff and townsfold learn her secret. Loved this!

As a fan of CSI and "murder" centred movies, I was looking forward to reading this seemingly cute graphic novel about a serial killer being at risk of being exposed because of someone else's crime.
Did I fall in love with the story? No, but it was fun. I wish the mystery of the small-town killer had been more drawn out but it was still enjoyable.