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.

3.5 stars. Full 0f family drama and mystery. This one is a slow burn and is more character driven rather than plot driven. While there is some mystery and suspense, there isn't tons of tension or build up. The story alternates between POVs of the siblings and becomes somewhat repetitive. The ending was quite unexpected with some excitement, but didn't make up for the slow build up. While I know many will enjoy this book, it wasn't for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I DNFd this book at about 25%. I was not able to get into the book unfortunately. I did not find the characters to be dynamic and the change in POV was rather confusing.

What Remains of Teague House tells the story of three siblings ohn, Sandy and Rob who return to their home after their mother passes away and discover more than they bargained for, a body has been found on their property and soon more are also found.

Each of the siblings try to understand the identities of the bodies and who could have committed such terrible crimes. All they can come up with is that someone has a very dark secret of which they do not with to be discovered. We then meet Maddie who is one of the victim’s foster sister and I really struggled to find the reasoning as to why this character was introduced into the storyline as I did not feel she added much to the storyline.

The book is told from multiple perspectives of the characters but I found it hard to connect with any of them. The book was slow to commence and even by the half way point it was still dragging, I felt quite in the dark myself regarding the whole plot and if some more background information had been provided I think the book would have glowed much better.

The ending felt like it had been hurried and I did not find it to be at all satisfying as I did not feel it did not resolve the plot of the book. Unfortunately this book was just not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy of the book, all opinions expressed are my own.

The premise of What Remains of Teague House intrigued me, but was left disappointed. Honestly though, that ending? Beyond rushed and made absolutely no sense. So random.

I was so excited for this book. The title, the cover art, the description. It sounded amazing. Unfortunately I'm still so lost on who every is and what's going because it keeps losing my attention. I love a multiple POV but sometimes it's just too much to make it entertaining. I ended up DNF-ing because of this.

The synopsis grabbed me by the throat but the novel itself left me wanting. As a rabid thriller lover, the multiple characters became too many to care to separate out and my attention wasn't riveted. My mind kept wandering, unfortunately.

On the plus side, the atmosphere is beautifully chilling and the writing very easy to get lost in. Though it wasn't a fit for me, it will be exactly what others crave.

Ehhh. This one did remind me a lot of THE FAMILY PLOT. The writing was suspenseful, but overall everything felt tropey.

This book kept me on my toes and left me guessing until the very end.
I didn't know what was coming next or who to trust. Totally left me feeling blindsided.

I'll be the first to admit that this book had a tough time hooking me from the get-go. The beginning was slow, and with so many characters introduced at once, it was hard to connect with any of them on a deeper level. But once the plot picked up steam, I found myself becoming invested in the story.

The turning point came when the bodies were discovered, and the family's secrets began to unravel. Only then did the book became a page-turner and I became invested in seeing how the mystery would unfold.

If I'm being honest, the ending felt a bit rushed. I would have loved more subtle hints and clues throughout the book to make the reveal feel more earned. It felt like all the explanations were saved for the very end, which made the conclusion feel a bit disjointed due to lack of foreshadowing.

Despite some missteps, I still found this book to be an entertaining read. While it didn't quite hit the mark for me because with the book description, I thought I would be getting a more fast-paced, action-packed read. Still, I appreciate the author's attempt to craft a complex, layered story. With a bit more attention to pacing and character development, I think this book could have been truly unforgettable. As it stands, it's still a 3 star read.

Wanted to like this one but there was not enough happening to keep me invested. Nothing really went on for a good 75-80% of the book. Even thereafter, there were few big moments and it was very underwhelming and not satisfying at all. Very slow pacing and an extremely predictable plot.

I wanted to enjoy this story, however I felt like the pacing became a battle to stay focused and interested in the characters. I don’t think we have enough intrigue or backstory from the characters to truly sympathize with them enough to formulate the halting twist I was hoping for. Decent read but I felt as though it fell flat.

I went into What Remains of Teague House expecting something different. A murder mystery, yes, but something darker. Now, there is a murder mystery, but more than anything, this book reads as a commentary on family dynamics with a sprinkle of dead-bodies-buried-in-the-woods added for some flavor. If that is what I was expecting, I do think I'd have enjoyed this more, so keep that in mind before you jump in.

That being said, Stacy Johns did an excellent job with writing her characters. The reader gets an amazing sense of who these people are ((for better or worse)) and their individual POVs mix so well while still allowing each character to remain distinct. I most enjoyed Maddie's story and Aunt Phil's chapters, but I also really liked that the siblings were shown as flawed people with lives and stuggles outside of the grief and turmoil happening in the wake of their mother's death. ((I'd read a whole spin-off series based around Maddie, or Aunt Phil's travels, for that matter!))

As far as plot, there is a lot happening in this book. Maybe a little too much because some connections feel flimsy, and parts of the storyline feel disjointed. Things seem to be building and progressing fine, then a certain point hit, and I was stuck with a bewildered: "Okay... this is what we're doing?" But even through that, the writing keeps you invested in the mystery at hand, and maybe that's the most important thing.

I think this will be ideal for fans of murder mystery lite and challenging family dynamics. Also, if you love your settings to be atmospheric and feel like they have a life of their own, this book hits the mark.

((While the viewpoints shared are my own, I want to thank NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Stacy Johns for this complimentary copy.))

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a complimentary early release copy of What Remains Of Teague House by Stacy Johns.

What Remains of Teague House is an interesting but slow story, it is told through various perspectives which I enjoyed. There are quite a few characters in this story and I sometimes found it hard to keep track of relationships but otherwise it was okay. The thrilling bits did feel thrilling but I just thought they could have used a bit more of punch/gory feel to them. Some of the reveals felt rather underwhelming and when stuff eventually gets revealed I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to see how things had played out from other people despite us getting so many perspectives. The ending of the story was a bit disappointing, the work up to that moment felt good and I liked how it was playing out but then it fell flat for me.

Overall the writing is nice and descriptive, while I wasn’t too pleased with some of story elements What Remains Of Teague House was still an entertaining read with interesting characters.

Oh how I wanted to love this book more than I did! Instead it ended up being just an okay read! 🫠

From the start, each chapter introduced a new set of characters which left me trying to figure out how they were all connected and caused a bit of confusion at first. Pace started out slow until the bodies are found and then it picked up! 👏

One specific character and her storyline could have been completely left out as she really didn’t add anything to the story. The ending felt rushed and the whodunnit was predictable. 😒

As I said, it was an okay read and I would still recommend others checking it out! Not every book is for every person! 🤓

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

TW: suicide

I love books about big houses full of mysteries, and I love family dramas. This delivered on those fronts, I loved the premise and setting for this book.

There was a lot of promise in the beginning of the novel - I was really intrigued by the mystery and how it was unfolding - but as time went on I felt like I was waiting for more to happen. There were too many POV characters and not enough focus on the ones that really mattered. The way things were resolved was clever, but it felt rushed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

this book unfortunately fell very flat. there wasn’t much that went on the entire book, which isn’t great for a mystery/thriller. there was finally a dusting of build up about 80% in but even then it was too late and caused the ending to be unsatisfying. there were hardly any big wow moments or events to keep things interesting and moving, and what did happen was so confusing or small it didn’t help the story at all. i also feel like we didn’t get enough backstory on some of the characters, especially ones mentioned more towards the end of the book. it felt like the characters in the story knew things about everyone and what was happening and kept it to themselves, leaving the reader to try to piece it together with nothing but crumbs. the ending of the book gave me whiplash because for one, everything was thrown out at a rapid pace and so far out of left field i wasn’t sure how we got there. and two, basically nothing from the rest of the story added up to us getting to that conclusion. overall, just very disappointed in the story’s execution.

Good read but the ending seemed rushed. The character development was incomplete. Good twist though.

3.5 Family drama, human remains found in a pet cemetery, and murder 🙌

I just finished the arc for “What Remains of Teague House” thanks to #NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press. All thoughts are my own.

The atmosphere was spot on…moody, eerie, and full of tension. The crime mystery at the heart of the book kept me engaged, especially with the discovery of human remains (a clever nod to the title) in the woods behind Teague House. The family drama was another strong point, with every single member feeling suspicious in their own way. I love when a book gives me a tangled web of characters to question, and this one delivered on that front. The multiple POVs also worked well in adding layers to the story, letting us see different perspectives on the mystery.

Now, onto the parts that didn’t quite work for me. I usually don’t mind a big cast, but this one introduced too many character backstories too quickly. Instead of easing into who these people were, it felt like I was getting bombarded with details about them before I even had a chance to care. That made the beginning feel overwhelming. Another issue was that the book seemed to stretch a few simple plot points over and over. The first 20% set up some intriguing developments, but then those same elements just kept getting repeated instead of the story progressing in a meaningful way. By the halfway point, I found myself getting a little exhausted.

The story had a lot of potential with its eerie setting, mystery, and shady family dynamics. If you love slow-burning crime fiction with an atmospheric feel, you might really enjoy it. But if you need a story that keeps evolving instead of circling the same points, this one might test your patience.