I wanted to like this book so much- the premise of this book was so intriguing - 3 grown siblings came home after their mother passes away and uncovers bodies buried behind their childhood home. Great, right?
It just fell kind of flat - I kept feeling like i was waiting for something to actually happen.

I enjoyed how the dual timeline was executed in this book. Often it’s not done correctly but in this case it worked very well.

I was hooked in from the first couple chapters and found myself turning the pages quickly. Overall this was a great thriller!

@netgalley and @poisonedpenpress were gracious enough to gift me an advance reader copy of @authorstacyj’s debut novel “What Remains of Teague House” in exchange for my honest review.

This one had all of the elements for a stunning debut: long buried, dark family secrets, bodies in the backyard, and alternating timelines and POVs. However, though the ingredients were all there, the finished product didn’t live up to the expectations I had going in and, ultimately, fell a little flat.

To start, I feel the addition of Maddie’s POV was unnecessary and what it added could have been achieved in another, more impactful way. I also found it difficult to sympathize with and relate to the three Rawlins children despite all they’ve been through and continue to go through as they slowly uncover the truth over the course of the novel.

The ending felt rushed and, though some foreshadowing was there throughout, the big reveal still felt as though it came out of left field and forced me to suspend disbelief, leaving me a little unsatisfied at the end. I would have liked to see more flashbacks and some more interaction between the “big bad” and the Rawlins children to add to the tension and suspense.

All in all, this was a decent debut and I’ll likely pick up whatever Ms. Johns writes next. A solid 3-star read that releases April 8, 2025.

#thrillers #books #bookstagram #bookreview #arcreview #bookgirly #booksbooksbooks #bookworm #bookish #netgalley #poisonedpenpress

Three siblings find themselves at their childhood home after the passing of their mother. Whilst dealing with grief and funeral arrangements, a body is discovered on their land, leading to several more bodies to be uncovered.

What Remains of Teague House is a mystery thriller with dual timelines and multiple POVs. It is fast paced and easy to follow. There were a few times about 50% I felt like I was losing interest, however, the twists and turns kept me going. I was not expecting the ending.

I love a good thriller with family drama, but I felt that some of the characters could have used a bit more to their backstory.

Overall What Remains of Teague House is a great addition for a thriller lover’s shelf.

Thank you to NetGalley and PoisonedPenPress for this advanced copy. My review is honest and thoughts are my own.

The cover of this book is what initially led me to pick it up but the author's storytelling kept me turning pages.

I really enjoyed how the author chose to tell the story through multiple POVs and dual timelines (past & present), it's quickly become one my favorite formats for Thrillers.

This definitely felt like a slower paced Thriller, It wasn't incredibly intense but is still provided a suspenseful Mystery.

Overall I enjoyed it and will definitely check future releases from this author.

Thank you Stacy Johns, Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

The beginning of this book didn't really draw me in the way that it could have. I think because of that the book ultimately fell a bit flat for me, but once you get past the beginning it does pick up a bit. I liked the way this book examined childhood trauma and the complexities of inter-familial dynamics. I liked the way the web of secrets and drama slowly unfolded, and make no mistake this is very much a "slow burn" story. It was a little too slow burn for my tastes, but I do think that people who enjoy digging deeper into the story like that will enjoy this book more than I did. I like horror which explores the house as a character, and this did just that. In terms of the human characters, though, I think that some of them could have had a little more depth or realness, but they weren't too bad.
Overall, I liked this but you do have to push yourself through the beginning and then through to the end (unless a slow burn is right up your alley).

I love stories like this where childhood horrors come to life and sibling have to reunite to figure out what’s happening. Once you get past the beginning, the story gets better.

This is a creepy, suspenseful mystery that delves into the complexities of family dynamics and long-buried secrets. Imagine going back to your childhood home after the death of your mother, and finding bodies buries in the backyard! That's exactly what happens to the Rawlins siblings—Jon, Sandra, and Rob—as they return to their childhood home, Teague House. When multiple graves are discovered on the property, including a freshly disturbed one containing the body of a local woman they knew, the suspense is kicked up a notch and propels the siblings into an investigation that unearths haunting memories and challenges their perceptions of their family's past.​

Johns alternates perspectives between the viewpoints of the siblings, their Aunt Phyllis, and private detective Maddie Reed, who has personal motivations tied to the case. This approach adds depth to the storytelling, allowing readers to explore the intricate web of relationships and secrets from various angles. When you think you believe one character, then something happens to make you change your mind with them, as more and more evidence pops up. Have patience though as this is a slow burn as the suspense builds up over time. The house itself is a character that holds all the families secrets, just waiting to be uncovered. Some of the characters could have been more developed, and the ending felt a bit rushed, but I still overall enjoyed it. This is an amazing debut novel and I really enjoyed reading it!

This book had everything I love in a thriller - people having to be brought back to their creepy home, a weird caretaker, weird deaths - but for somer reason this book fell flat for me.

A fantastic thriller that wormed its way into my brain and left me thinking about “whodunnit” when I was forced to put down the book, that I couldn’t wait to pick up again. This had the potential to be a very predictable story, and I was pleasantly surprised but mostly satisfied with the ending and how all the ends tied up. I really enjoyed the family dynamics of this book, and really rooted for everyone in this. The ending felt just a bit rushed and left me feeling a little bit like *something* was missing, but I had a fabulous time following along as all the puzzle pieces were put together. I thought the pacing was satisfying and never really lulled for me. All in all, I really liked this debut and will be keen to see what’s next from this author!

Multiple timeline, multiple POV is just not my thing. This started creepy and intriguing but I lost interest about half way through.

If you like modern day books that have a gothic vibe to them, this would be for you. Three siblings return to their childhood home after their mother dies. Then bodies are found buried on the land. Who put them there? There’s lots of family secrets along the way. Mixed in is a PI Maddie, looking for her missing friend. Overall it’s an ok book. A bit slow at times that made it hard to get past the middle. There’s chapters from the past mixed in, I found myself wanting even more from the past ones. The conclusion was only mildly satisfying for me, overall it felt tacked on. The writing is solid the plot just didn’t quite gel for me. It’s still not a bad book, good for a read if you like murder mysteries & family drama.

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Read if you like:
* The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
* The Only One Left by Riley Sager

What Remains of Teague House had all the elements of an excellent thriller. Adult children are called home after their mother's death. For a large portion of their life, their Aunt Phil was their mother's caretaker. She came to stay after Russ, their father, committed suicide.

When human bones are found on their property, the three adults must find out who exactly their parents are, and what they may or may not have been.
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Man, I kind of had a plot going on in my head about the killer and how everything happened. The younger days of Phil and Val were not explored enough; the grown children were all immature and annoying. I wanted more information about how the bones came to be buried...(I'm not going to spoil it, but...I need more). Additionally, the 'twist' at the end was okay, but not as shocking as it could've been.

Basically, I wanted this to be a different story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

"For readers of Megan Collins with the taut character study of Angie Kim comes a searing mystery that follows three siblings as they reckon with the darkness hidden within their family after multiple graves are discovered behind their childhood home.

All families are complicated. But not all families have bodies buried in their backyard.

One put there just that week...

When the Rawlins family matriarch unexpectedly passes, all three adult children rush home. What they find is a house bursting with grief, dark memories surfacing around each corner, and multiple bodies buried deep in the woods. The Rawlins want to believe the discovery points to a crime long past.

But one of the graves behind Teague House is fresh, the earth disturbed just that week - and its inhabitant a local woman they all knew.

Is the youngest Rawlins sibling with something to hide somehow involved in her murder? Is his sister experiencing false memories of her late father digging near the graves? And why is the Rawlins aunt in such a rush to leave town after her sister's funeral?

Enter private detective Maddie Reed, who has her own reasons for being curious about the bodies buried behind Teague House. Maddie sets out to unmask a killer. One she may have been hunting all her life."

I mean, this is the number one problem with moving, if you have bodies buried in the backyard you're screwed.

I have so many unorganized thoughts on how I feel about this book. I went for a walk to try and think them through. I had no luck! But here we go.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style. I liked how she crafted the story from a twisty, thriller POV going back and forth between the past and present where we get little breadcrumbs to the story. The time jumping is also what confused me a smidgen, but we pushed through that. (That's fully a me issue, idk what it is about books with multiple time periods that jumble in my brain, but I digress.)

The mystery of what's going with the grave site found in the Rawlins' back woods was very compelling and kept me intrigued the whole way through. I do find the final bit where we get to know what's what was a little fast and felt like it could have taken a few more chapters to get the reader into it (mostly because of how even-paced the rest of the book was), but I did wind up liking where the story went. It just felt like a slightly forced ending because of the rapidness.

The characters were quite a complex bunch. I really only enjoyed Sandra's and Maddie's POVs. They had the most interesting additions to the story, I found. The other characters didn't do much for me, not bad, not amazing. Just there and vibing along the way.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I had a good time reading this one!

I love books that focus on a family where each member has their own secrets. You're trying to figure out if they're simply hiding things from each other because they don't want their family to know, or if it's because they're responsible for the murder.

I will say that it was a pretty slow book, so if you prefer fast paced mysteries/thrillers then you might not like this one. Even though it was on the slower side, I didn't think it was a bad thing. I feel like this book really focused on the characters and their own stories. As the book went on and I had more information I was able to put together my own theories based on everything I knew about them.

I thought it was well written as I never felt bored or like what I was reading wasn't relevant. With that said, as someone who loves to read thrillers, this one wasn't anything mind-blowing. I still had a good time though!

What Remains of Teague House by Stacy Johns is a recommended mystery and dysfunctional family drama.

When the Rawlins family matriarch Val unexpectedly passes, all three adult children, Jon, Sandra, and Rob, rush home. Val’s younger sister, Phil, has been caring for her sister for years and also lives at the house. When Sandra and Jon find a finger sticking out of the freshly disturbed ground at what was a pet cemetery on their land, the police are called. They discover five bodies. The most recent one was Gayle Bethested, a local teacher and mother. The other bodies appear to be older. Are the bodies connected to their father’s suicide years earlier or is something else going on?

The narrative introduces all the siblings and their complicated relationships in short chapters. Jon recently lost his wife and Sandra has been helping him care for his son. Robby's marriage is on shaky ground due to his serial philandering, including an affair with Gayle. The relationship between Val and Phyllis is also developed starting when they were teens in 1972 and follows them into Val's marriage. Added into the mix is private detective Maddie Reed, who believes her missing foster sister may be one of the victims.

They are all grieving the death of their mother but it becomes clear that she really was lost to them long before, even before their fathers death. Adding to the menacing tone of the narrative are the bodies found on the land, questions about who could be responsible, and murky memories from their childhood. There are plenty of dark secrets in the house, including secret hiding spots. And they all have their own secrets they are keeping hidden while trying to untangle who could be responsible for the bodies buried on their land. And why is Aunt Phil so anxious to leave on her cruise soon after the funeral?

The plot is very slow moving and flipping between the multiple points-of-view doesn't work well as the complications increase. At some point, I began to lose patience with the slow reveal of more and more intricate clues, switching between points-of-view, and little to tie everything together, especially when one early clue made it clear who they should be looking for. By the time the final denouement arrived, I just felt relieved a conclusion was reached.
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press & Stacy John's for this read!

This book took a few chapters for me to get into, but once the discoveries were made, I was thoroughly invested and binged the rest of the book in one day.

It's told in multiple POVs and through mixed timelines which kept me guessing and made it more interesting. There are multiple mysteries to get to the bottom of, and while it's not packed full of action, there is a build of suspense which leads to the ending.

I found that I was expecting the ending to pack a little more of a punch, and I wanted a more twisted and sinister ending. While there a twist or two, it seems quite rushed and I do feel that one event wasn't tied up fully.

This book is totally bingeable and perfect for those who want a thriller that's shrouded with mystery and past secrets. Overall I enjoyed this read.

3.5/5

Stacy Johns' debut thriller, "What Remains of Teague House," is an intriguing mix of mystery and family drama. The story revolves around Val Rawlins, an elderly matriarch whose sudden death brings her estranged family back together. As the family reconnects, buried secrets—along with literal human remains—are uncovered in the backyard, setting the stage for a multi-layered mystery that spans decades.

The plot starts off slowly, focusing on the relationships between Val's children—Jon, Sandra, and Rob—and her sister, Aunt Phil. But once a buried finger is found, the suspense builds quickly, leading to a shocking discovery of multiple sets of remains. The story also introduces Maddie Reed, a private investigator whose determination, sharp mind, and perseverance drive much of the investigation. Her chapters, told in the first person, make her the most vivid and relatable character in the novel.

Johns does a good job weaving family dynamics into the mystery. The story shifts between the perspectives of different characters, giving readers glimpses into their lives and emotions. However, some of the family members aren't explored deeply enough compared to Maddie, who stands out as the most fully developed character.

The mystery itself is engaging, with plenty of twists and turns that will keep readers guessing. While the slower pace in the beginning may not appeal to everyone, it lays the groundwork for more dramatic revelations later on. And, while the final solution ties everything together, it may not fully satisfy readers after all the buildup.

Overall, "What Remains of Teague House" is a strong debut and should be an enjoyable read for anyone who likes mysteries focused on dysfunctional family dynamics.

(3.5, rounded up to 4)

What Remains of Teague House kept me pretty hooked throughout trying to determine who we can trust. If you enjoy digging into old family secrets and thriller, this is a good read.