A really strong thriller. It's well written if a bit slow for my liking. It's very character based and there is a lot of description put in to vividly set the scenes, the downside of that being it feels a bit waffley without very much actually happening. I do prefer volks with a bit more things happening to progress the plot but I can see how it'd appeal to those who do appreciate having the minor details to everything. Some good twists and turns and a really good plot!

This is actually book number 2 in the Detective Rita Myers series. Unfortunately this book was just too slow for me. I got bored easily and found myself putting the book down and losing interest.

A great story with so many twists and turns, I did suspect I knew "who done it" however there were enough curveballs to still make it a great ending!

Thank you Hera, Netgalley and Terri Parlato for the eArc of What waits in the Woods.

Having read All The Dark Places by Terri Parlato, I was delighted when I got accepted for this arc, As with her other book, I really enjoy Terri's writing style as she seems to set the seen almost immediately and lets the plot roll out from there. I would say that this is a medium paced thriller, which keeps you engaged throughout. Terri puts a lot of effort into keeping the plot balanced with the character building, with some nice twists. Throughly enjoyed and greatly recommended!

4.25 stars for Storygraph. Rounded to 4 stars for Amazon, Netgalley and Goodreads.

I devoured this gem at rapid speed. Such an entertaining book, simply brilliant on audio too. There was a lot of suspense as we followed Esme, a former ballerina who returns to her hometown to find her best friend has been murdered. This was a real page turner that had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

The first book that i have read from this author and it won't be my last. Kara has come back to live with her brother and dad after she left her husband. Her dad is dying, drinking himself to death after blaming himself gpr the car crash years ago which killed her mum. When a former best friend is found murdured near their house everyone is a suspect. The truth comes out in the end but not as you think it will.
I rea;;y enjoyed this book.

I loved the audiobook and was excited to read the book as well, it is a great thriller overall and definitely one that kept me hooked throughout.

Atmospheric..
Carefully woven threads, a small town, a murder. With a tension fuelled narrative and an atmospheric sense of menace, the reader is drawn into this small town where an unexpected and unexplained murder has dire consequences. A melange of police procedural and suspense with a pacy and nicely crafted plot and solid character development.

This was not for me at all. I couldn't gel with the book or any of that characters sorry. No reflection on the Author

Thank you for the opportunity to review

DNF @31%

It was really hard to read this book. I couldn’t connect with the characters and the story was just to long with too much unnecessary details. I also didn’t know this was the second book of a series. Maybe I’ll read the first one and will come back to this one later.

Thank you Netgalley and Hera for this arc.

This is one of those, Never saw it coming books. The setting is a rural town in MA, not to far from Boston. (They don’t say nd it’s made up) the narrative is split between one of the people in a friend group that reunites and the lead officer investigating the murder of one of the friends. The author does. Great job of making you think several of the suspects are guilty. Nd really up until the end you just don’t know. There is a good twist with that and it makes for a great aha moment. I like this book, it was different than so many of the cookie cutter novels out there.

Esme Foster returns to her hometown after a break up and to be with her family. But the day she arrives, the body of one of her old school friends is found dead in the woods behind their home. Detective Rita Myers is investigating the crime and as she delves deeper into the case, the more secrets she unravels. 
This novel was so clever, with the various characters and their backstories and the way the author weaves them all together into this intriguing mystery. It had my flying through the pages and I could not possibly have guessed that ending. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Hera for this gifted review copy.

I actually didn't read the first one, and didn't even realise it was a sequel until I was around half way through, so it works out perfectly as a stand alone regardless.

It's not much of a thriller particularly, goes through a lot of police function which is a little less interesting but the psychological development- that's where it's fun. But I did have a hard time getting into it as I didn't feel a draw to the characters, maybe because it swapped between the two narratives whilst introducing a bunch of people.

I would 100% pick this up at an airport or train station before a long journey.

Terri Parlato's second mystery thriller, What Waits in the Woods (2023) sees Esmé Foster returning to her hometown of Graybridge after eleven years. Injury has curtailed Esmé’s ballerina career and she moves in with her gravely ailing father. The murder of Esmé’s old school friend in the woods behind her home triggers memories of her mother’s death and a mystery with no forensics or apparent motive. Told in alternate chapters by Esmé and Rita, and the police detective trying to solve the case. As memories arise, Esmé family and past collide, complicating the investigation and building to a tense finale reveal. A mixture of police procedural and psychological family dynamic thriller, this tale is an enjoyable four star read rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.