Nowhere delivers on its promise of Appalachian folk horror with a chilling forest setting and a growing sense of dread that builds in the second half. The story follows Rachel and Finn, a grieving couple navigating tragedy, guilt, and the strange events unfolding in their small, tight-knit town. The way the folklore seeped into the atmosphere—especially through the children—was compelling and kept me curious until the end.

That said, I struggled to connect with the characters emotionally. Rachel’s actions often left me frustrated, and while her grief was palpable, I had a hard time rooting for her. Finn’s chapters felt more grounded, though flawed in their own way. Still, the unsettling moments and creepy forest scenes were well done and gave the story a unique edge.

Overall, this had strong themes, a haunting setting, and moments that worked really well—but character development held it back for me. I’d recommend it to readers who love a slow-build folk horror with layered atmosphere and don’t mind complex (and often unlikeable) characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.25 stars! I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was absolutely incredible debut novel and is perfect for fans of The Night Parade by Ronald Malfi! While it felt a bit rushed at times and could have used more of the perspective of the kids, I still think it was an enjoyable read!

Nowhere by Allison Gunn is a creepy, atmospheric, supernatural horror novel debut that you don't want to miss!!

Rachel Kennan is the chief of police in a tiny town of Virginia called Dahlmouth. Rachel is struggling with the tragic loss of her son Aiden in a one car accident in which Finn her husband was driving. Rachel and Finn's two daughters are struggling as well. Charlie is a teenager, acting out and trying to find her place in the world, and Lucy is a little girl that has already been through too much. Then when a hiker is found eviscerated in the woods, Rachel starts to suspect that something is very wrong in her town. When all the children start to disappear into the woods Rachel must find out exactly what type of evil is lurking beyond the trees.

This was such a a creepy, gory, and spine tingling story!! I am so surprised that this is Gunn's debut novel! I absolutely love folklore horror/supernatural thrillers and Nowhere was the perfect blend of multiple genres. The relationship between Rachel and Finn was so dysfunctional but I liked the vulnerability of Finn especially. His guilt and grief was palpable. The writing was so full of description and imagery and it was easy to put myself right in to the action. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more from Allison Gunn!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Allison Gunn, and Atria Books for this ARC. Release date is March 25 2025.

The topics of a fundamentalist community and Appalachian folklore attracted be to Nowhere, yet from the start I felt it wasn't for me. I would be okay with proof that Rachel is a superior police officer, for example, but the author doesn't need to tell readers from the start that the men in the department are incompetent. I don't always like characters in books I read, but these characters did not hold my attention.

That said, clearly some readers enjoyed the book, and it was just not my type.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an Advance Reader egalley. I look forward to future books from Atria since I have enjoyed those I have read in the past.

Nowhere by Allison Gunn is a creepy and atmospheric supernatural horror novel. It is well-written, with immersive descriptions and easy-to-follow dialogue. Something in the woods wants the children—in fact, it wants them all. 
Police chief Rachel Kennan lost her son to a tragic accident involving her husband, and her family never really recovered. Everyone has secrets, and what lurks in the woods will exploit them. 
Nowhere is a gritty and raw exploration of what happens when what is hidden in darkness comes to light, and the facades begin to crumble. Using Appalachian folklore as the vehicle, the novel reveals how the town of Dahlmouth, Virginia, is exposed and torn apart from within, beginning with the children.
This is an entertaining read, although not a happy one. Deep, psychological, supernatural, and disturbing, it is engaging and suspenseful, making for a quick read. I couldn't put it down. I will definitely read more by this author, whose skillful blend of psychological tension and supernatural horror kept me captivated throughout. I appreciate the authors notes as well. They add another layer of understanding to the metaphor.
Trigger warnings should be noted: death of a child, religious oppression, homophobia, smoking, alcoholism, drug use, domestic violence, gruesome scenes, etc.
#queer #horror #supernatural #police #writer #religiousoppression #homophobia #childdeath #murder #sapphicsubplot #notaromance

Rachel Kennan is the chief of police in the small town of Dahlmouth, Virigina. Her personal life is in shambles, as she is still recovering from the loss of her son after her husband crashed his car with him in it. Her daughters are acting out, and her husband, Finn, is still living in their house even after discovering she’s been unfaithful. When a man is found in the nearby forest eviscerated, Rachel knows something strange is happening. Then local children start to go missing, and suddenly things are unravelling quicker than she can keep track of.

This is one of my fave horror reads I have gotten to in a while! It reminded me of Stephen King a bit, with a dash of modernity. The realness of the complex relationship between Finn and Rachel was so vulnerable. The dysfunction of the Kennan family meshed well with the horror elements as Rachel had to navigate her personal relationships at the same time as dealing with what was going on in Dahlmouth. The writing was so descriptive and full of imagery, and it never felt cheesy to me which I struggle with sometimes in horror novels. I will definitely read another by this author! Thanks to @atriabooks and @netgalley for my review copy.

That was an amazing creepy, family saga thriller.

Loved the investigating thriller of this one. I was hooked from the start.

Nowhere has the hallmarks of an effective horror tale, creepy children, dark forests, small town, and folklore. The characters lean more caricature than archetype, and some of the phonetic dialogue is slow to get through (and too stereotypical to feel authentic). Still, Nowhere was hard to put down and achieved a satisfying conclusion, which is all I can ask for from a thriller.

Creepy and atmospheric. Anything with scary children is going to be spine-tingling and Nowhere is no exception. Chief Rachel Kennan is called to a crime scene near where she tragically lost her son, Aiden a year ago. This starts a series of events that the small-minded people of Dahlmouth, VA will not survive. (Interestingly, the author placed this Dahlmouth near Roanoke, where a colony of people had disappeared a few centuries ago.) Anyway, no happy ending here and honestly, all characters were really unlikable so I really didn't mind the tragic completion of this novel.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this digital e-arc.*

Nowhere was creepy and atmospheric! The synopsis of Mare of Eastown meets The Outsider lured me in. I was eager to find out what happened to the hiker in the woods and what would happen to make everyone disappear.
I loved the supernatural and horror elements of the story. It was bone chilling and I could just imagine it would make a great movie that would be creepy. However, I disliked the characters. I’m okay with not liking characters, but these people were the absolute worst.. to the point where I kind of felt like I was rooting for the evil to envelope Rachel and Finn instead of them figuring it out and beating it. I wished the story had given them a little more redeeming qualities, even if they stayed flawed and terrible. The townspeople also seemed awful, so all around there was not much to root for.
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

First, the cover of this book makes you want to pick it up and see exactly what is going on. Then, you open the book and meet a cast of characters competing to see who can make the largest negative impression. Allison Gunn's debut includes lots of atmospheric disturbances. There is no team, either in the Keenan family, or the Dalmouth PD. The discord stirs the horror until we see there is SOMETHING that is keeping the town on edge and the people scared. Emotions and tempers seem to blow up quickly, keeping the tension high. All in all, you'd have to say Gunn's debut is a definite winner.

This was one of the scariest and most unnerving books I’ve ever read! It left me feeling genuinely scared. It’s so messed up and sad. But highly recommend if you want a book that will freak you out!!

I ended up having to DNF Nowhere at 62% because of some issues with the pacing and writing style. While I do think Allison Gunn accomplished writing a very spooky, devastating book, the characters were quite one-dimensional and predictable. I found Rachel to be unlikable overall, and her issues with her husband to be spread thin over the narrative in a way that was unsatisfying to read after a while. I am really into Appalachian lore at the moment, and I live in Maryland so I'm always looking for books in this area—although this part of Virginia would actually be kind of far from me lol—but it just never clicked for me.

I think if you are a reader who is really into a slowburn horror that has mystery and suspense to balance out the scary, this would be a good read for you. As a debut, this is solid and I will give this author another try in the future!

Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

I ended up having to DNF this book. I keep trying to push through because I loved the description but after being almost halfway I just have to call it quits. The writing just seems all over the place and it never captured my attention. The characters are the worst part. I absolutely hate them all. They are miserable and such stereotypes. I also have no concept of the town. Where is everything? What's the layout? What's the vibe? Other than the main characters hate it all and hate everyone in it. Like move? There's a million places to get a promotion to chief than a town you despise. Did I enjoy the creepy parts? Absolutely but I was too infuriated with the characters to care any further.

I think that this author really showed promise. I didn't dislike this, don't get me wrong, but it did take me a little bit to get into because of the narrative style. The story overall was pretty compelling, though--there was a good blend of atmosphere and plot. I did think that the pacing was a bit too slow for my tastes, which combined with the writing style made it hard to really connect with the book. I definitely want to see more from this author, though, because I can imagine Gunn giving us some pretty phenomenal stories!

For a debut, this was a fairly solid start by Allison Gunn. The author really showed a lot of future promise with this crime procedural, horror, mystery blended genre book. The writing style though took a bit to get used on this one and I never did quite connect fully with the book. However, I did power thru and found the overall story a solid mix of creepy and thrilling.

This story definitely is a genre blender. Not only does it feel like a crime police drama it also has this folklore style horror mix. I really appreciated that this book was not one dimensional. There are also was this other layer of grief that the main character and husband is going thru. This was a great way to add more to the overall character development and added depth to the characters.

The pacing was a bit slow, so this book may not be for all readers. However, I do think it'll find its audience and I think this author really showed great promise moving forward for other books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this advanced ready copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

This book was amazing! I can’t believe this is her Debut book! This book was creepy and atmospheric. This book had my heart pounding and made me nail bite until the final page! What an incredible work of art!

Thank you Netgalley & Atria Books for an eARC ♥️

I still remember the chill that ran down my spine when I stumbled upon a haunting post on social media about Appalachian folklore. It warned of the importance of shutting windows and curtains at night, lest evil spirits take it as an invitation to enter. The thought sent shivers down my spine, and I've been fascinated by the eerie allure of Appalachia ever since.
That's why, when I discovered "Nowhere", a horror novel set in the depths of Appalachian Virginia, I knew I had to immerse myself in its dark, foreboding world.
The story follows Rachel Kennan, a police chief haunted by the ghosts of her past, as she delves into the mysteries of a small, tight-knit community. Her husband, Finn, a writer consumed by his own demons, is trapped in a living nightmare of guilt and regret.
As they navigate the treacherous landscape of their own grief, a series of disturbing crimes shatters the tranquility of their town. Rachel's quest for justice becomes an obsession, leading her down a twisted path of secrets and lies.
Their two daughters, fragile and vulnerable, become the focal point of a malevolent force that's stirring in the forest. As the darkness closes in, the Kennan family finds themselves trapped in a desperate fight for survival.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

Hey, you, do you want to be terrified? Does paranormal scare the daylights out of you? This is for you.

There’s something evil living in the woods and it’s taking the children of Dahlmouth with them.
…
Since moving to Dahlmouth three years ago, the police department and the community folk treat the chief with no respect. Rachel constantly reminds the officers to refer to her as Chief Rachel. They’ve been outcasted because they weren’t born and raised in Dahlmouth. Since they moved there bad things started to happen. Because they didn’t go to church the people believed them to be sinners.
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Nowhere draws from Appalachian folklore where supernatural phenomenon presides in a fundamentalist pastor community in the rural South.
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It’s taking me a hot minute to settle into Allison’s writing voice. Since this is her debut novel I need to acquire her writing style and try to align it with my reading style. The connection between reader and writer has not been smooth. I’m pushing forward with purpose because I believe in this story. Folklore isn’t my usual reading interest, but I’m curious where Allison plans to take this supernatural phenomenon.
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Nowhere is about a supernatural entity that claims children in the woods. There were gory moments and eerie moments. The story itself was so so. This was compared with Mare of Easttown which was the reason I requested this book. The thought of reading something similar was appealing. Sadly, I found no similarities between them. While Rachel’s character as a police chief was interesting I found the way the community spoke to her was disrespectful. Her relationship with Finn was also disrespectful. In fact, the relationships in this book were off putting. I don’t try to connect with characters in a story, yet I enjoy a story more when they have redeemable qualities. The way these characters called Rachel Chief seemed like a slap in the face. They were being condescending about her job title and role in this town. I understand it’s a small community based upon religious beliefs and having outsiders was a concern for them, but this seem more than that.
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This is a visually stimulating story which would be better received by viewing the content rather than reading it. This story wasn’t intended for me, but I’m certain other readers will find entertainment in its storyline. The ending was dissatisfying. It reminded me of movies that are trending with this same type of content and resolution.