The Rawlins siblings are summoned back to their familial home when their elderly, mute-by-choice mother has died, and while awaiting her funeral, they stumble on a fresh grave that leads to decades old graves. They’re left reeling over what happened on their property while they were children, and struggling to figure out who killed all these people—and why.

What Remains of Teague House by Stacy Johns takes the narrative in turns, alternating between the adult children and a PI in the present, as well as their parents and aunt in the past. The family are third person perspective and Maddie, the PI, is first person, like an outsider trying to peek into a place she doesn’t belong. The youngest (adult) child is Robby, a -y name that mirrors the actual child present in the story named Denny. He’s the baby of their clan, and he’s treated similar to Denny, shielded and viewed as immature even though he’s an adult man.

The plot itself is interesting, and I was eager to find out how the present day murder connected to the past. As it progressed, I found myself growing a little impatient, wanting to hurry up and get to the conclusion. The way the death matched up with those of the past made sense, but wasn’t exactly satisfactory. I don’t want to get into spoilers, so I’ll try to be vague, but I’m not sure the impetus of the murders was set up sufficiently soon enough in the text, which led to the ending feeling a bit abrupt and sudden.

The characters thrown at the reader in the beginning can be super overwhelming, but the author does a good job of fleshing them out and making them distinct enough that they feel real. The writing style is nice, too; the descriptions are so clear.

All in all, I’d give it 3.5. I suppose I will round up. I’d recommend this for people who want a story involving a family with secrets in a modern day setting.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A captivating mashup of a murder mystery and family drama, What Remains of Teague House quickly had me under its thrall. With a dysfunctional family and plenty of long-buried secrets, the echoes of the past reverberated throughout this original story. After all, it started off with quite the bang and smoothly unfurled layers of foreboding thanks to the dual timelines and multiple POVs. And let me tell you, that setting? It was simply divine. Between the ominous woods and a house sprinkled with hidey-holes in its walls, it came brilliantly to life before my very eyes.

Just as the setting was a hole in one, so too were the characters. Thanks to a number of flaws, each of the family members felt true-to-life as they dealt with their grief in their own individual ways. In the same breath, they all had my hackles raised as I looked at them with utter suspicion. Well-developed and fully-fleshed out, they felt as real as could be just like the setting. Alongside an atmosphere rife with eerie, dark tension, this family’s past was peeled like an onion as betrayals and deceit oozed out of the walls. All told, it delivered in spades—for the most part, that is.

You see, there were sadly a few weak spots for me. My biggest hang up was how I guessed the big, giant twist almost right from the start. Sure to be a jaw-dropper for most readers, for this thriller lover I jumped the gun early. I also found myself having a tough time keeping track of whose history was whose as the number and depth of backgrounds grew with each page. That being said, the last handful of chapters left me with a Cheshire Cat-esque grin taking over my face. Clever, well-plotted, and oh so suspenseful, I was pulled into this slow burn murder mystery despite its few flaws.

All said and done, this debut novel managed to transport me onto the grounds of Teague House in no time at all. With complex group dynamics and a fine web of secrets, I was head over heels as I felt like a fly on the wall. Do I wish that the finale had been explored in more detail? Well, yes. Despite this, however, the epilogue won me over 100%. Delivering a right hook just when I thought it was all over, Ms. Johns showed off her masterful skill. So if you’re looking for a riveting whodunnit full of dead bodies, enigmatic mysteries, and well-hidden lies, you’ve found it right here. Rating of 4 stars.

Thank you to Stacy Johns, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for my complimentary digital and physical copies. All opinions are my own.

Families nd secrets... They are like bread and butter, yet somehow the buried always comes back. Be it in the first generation or the next. What Remains of Teague House, is a powerful story of family and lies. It's part family drama, part mystery, part what limits do you go to for your loved ones. I really enjoyed this story and found it to one heck of a ride!

I loved this book! Even after I am done reading it I keep thinking back to how well done some parts of the book were!

The rawlins siblings mother has passed away, so it’s time for them to go home. Aunt Phil has been taking care of their mom since their dad passed away years ago. So she was waiting for them to come home. Once the siblings arrive home, secrets start to come out, and bodies start to appear. From there, things only start to get deeper and deeper

This was a quick read! Had me wanting more after each chapter. The suspense is pretty constant making the reader wonder what’s going on.

What Remains of Teague House by Stacy Johns is a suspenseful mystery novel. Siblings Jon, Sandra, and Robby reunite at their Oregon childhood home after their mother Val's death, only to uncover multiple graves in the woods, including one freshly disturbed. As they confront dark family secrets and question their father's past, private detective Maddie Reed joins the investigation. Told through multiple perspectives and timelines, the novel explores family dynamics, buried secrets, and the chilling history of Teague House.
I enjoyed this one! My main gripe with it is that there were too many POVs and they began to bleed together, which made me confused and I often mixed up each character's story. The POVs were of the three siblings, the detective Maddie, and the Rawlins' aunt Phil. The book also had some chapters that flashed back to when Phil and Val were younger, which were important to the story, but just added another layer of confusion for me.
As a whole, I enjoyed this one, and I think anyone who loves a spooky mystery with family secrets and deception will love this book!

Told through multiple perspectives, this book is a tangled web of family dysfunction, long-buried secrets and suspenseful moments that occasionally hit hard. The shifting viewpoints are intriguing but, at times, the sheer number of characters makes it tricky to keep track of who’s who.

The build-up is solid but when the final reveals arrive, they feel a bit too neat. The ending is somewhat disappointing - the work up to the climax felt good but it fell flat. I kept feeling like I was waiting for something to actually happen and when it did, it felt rushed and a little too convenient.

With that being said, I liked the atmosphere of the creepy house/woods and the tension left me wanting to keep on reading until the last page.

Thank you Netgalley & Poisoned Pen Press for an eARC❤️

Picture this: three messed-up siblings return to their creepy childhood home after their mom dies, only to find out there are *literal bodies* buried in the backyard. And not just old ones—someone’s been digging fresh graves. Cue the chills.
Teague House isn’t just a setting; it’s practically a character itself, all peeling wallpaper and whispered secrets. You can *feel* the weight of the family’s past pressing down on every page.
The siblings are a disaster in the best way possible. Jonah’s the troubled youngest with a rap sheet, Vivian’s having *major* memory issues (are those flashbacks real or is she losing it?), and Elias? Oh, he’s *way* too calm about all this—definitely hiding something. And don’t even get me started on their aunt, who bolts right after the funeral like the house is on fire. *Suspicious.*
Then there’s Detective Maddie Reed, who’s got her own reasons for being obsessed with this case. Her chapters add this extra layer of tension because you start wondering—is she hunting the killer, or is the killer hunting *her*?
I thought I had it all figured out a few times, but nope. This book kept yanking the rug out from under me.😩
If you love mysteries where the family drama is just as terrifying as the murders, where every character is unreliable, and where the house itself feels alive with secrets, *run* to read this.🤩
I would recommend to anyone who likes their thrillers with a side of existential dread. Now excuse me while I go double-check my own backyard. 😳

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.