Three adult siblings return to their childhood home to plan their mother's funeral. When human remains are discovered in the woods on their property, they are forced to confront family secrets... including the possibility that one or both of their parents might be responsible.

I was hooked by this mystery with a focus on family dynamics. I particularly liked the theme of missing and surrogate mothers that ran through the book: Aunt Phil as a mother figure to the adult children; daughter Sandy supporting her widowed brother, Jon, and nephew; problem-child Robby attempting to reconcile with his wife following his adultery. I also found the focus on family relationships refreshing: it was nice to see a book that treated platonic relationships as equal to (even more important than) romantic ones.

If I had to pick a criticism, it would be that I found the decision to have one character's chapters in first person, while the others were all in third person a little jarring. Other than that, I enjoyed the wide range of perspective characters; there was a lot to keep track of as information was revealed to some characters and not others, and I thought Johns handled this masterfully.

Thank you to Stacy Johns and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in return for an honest review.

What Remains Of The Teague House was a slow burn for me but it in a perfect way. Excellent character development and a story that ties up perfectly in the end. The layers and twists kept my mind racing for answers. If you are into dark family secrets this book is for you. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Stacy Johns and Poisoned Pen Press for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest feedback.

The three adult Rawlins siblings are reunited at the family home, Teague House, when their mother, Val, dies. Val had been mute and in poor health for decades, ever since their father had committed suicide. One brother, Robby, still lives in a cabin on the property, but the other two siblings, Jon and Sandra, live several hours away. Jon has recently lost his wife to cancer and has been living with Sandra who is helping to care for his son Denny. While their mother's death wasn't unexpected, it still was a shock for Robby to find her. Since Jon and Sandra haven't been at the property for a long time, they decide to go out exploring some of the familiar areas. In a clearing they call "the pet cemetery" they stumble over what looks like a hand sticking out of the ground. When police are called, they discover not only a recently deceased woman, but five skeletons belonging to much older victims. As the police try to sort out what might have happened, private detective Maddie Reed hears about the bodies being found. She has been desperately trying to find out what happened to her foster sister who disappeared in the area nearly 30 years ago. She becomes convinced that one of the older bodies might belong Davina, so she travels to the area and begins to research the family and look for answers as to what might have caused Davina to possibly end up a victim. When it turns out that Robby was having an affair with the recently deceased woman found on their property, Sandra and Jon begin to wonder if murder might run in their family.

I enjoyed the mystery and how various chapters were told from different characters' points of view. After the "big reveal" I'm still a bit unclear as to who all the victims were and how they came to meet their demises (although the killer is revealed, it was all a bit fuzzy). The house and all its nooks and crannies and hidden compartments scattered around everywhere also seemed a bit unnecessary. It seemed as if most of the book was taken up with everyone searching the house for clues!

I was totally hooked from the start with this one, but I have to admit, the beginning almost lost me. 😬 It felt a little slow at first, but once things started happening—hello, major plot twist—I couldn't stop reading! 🔪 The whole mystery surrounding the Rawlins family's dark secrets, and like, their buried past (literally) was SO intense. I loved how it kept me guessing the whole time—just when I thought I had it figured out, BAM, new twist!

The characters are, like, super complex, which made everything way more interesting. You know, there's that totally dysfunctional sibling dynamic, and then a private detective who's got her own mystery to solve. It's like, family drama, murder, and secrets all mixed together in the juiciest way. 🕵️‍♀️

I gave it four stars because, while the ending was kinda random and felt a little too rushed, the overall suspense and thrills were totally worth it. Definitely recommend this if you like twists, turns, and a little family drama with your murder mystery!

Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion! 😘📚

Some secrets are buried more than six feet deep.

What I love about a good mystery book is its magical ability to hold your attention permanently and allow you to gain complete control of all thoughts and feelings until the book is complete and you get the answers you seek. What Remains of Teague House is a perfect example of that.
What appears to be a simple story of siblings coming together to bury their recently deceased mother quickly unravels into a tale of murder, deceit, secrets and learning that sometimes people just aren't what they seem, and the memories we hold as children can be easily manipulated.
I really enjoyed this story. I read it in less than 24 hours, and I love how humbled I was to think I knew how it was going to end and be so completely wrong.
What to expect:
Murder Mystery
Haunted childhood memories
Parental Su*cide
Hidden Secrets
Infidelity
Family Dynamics
Multiple POV

Thank you so much to Poisoned Pen Press, Source Books and Stacy Johns for my EARC Copy

This one wasn’t my favorite to be honest. It was hard to get through, with a very short anti climactic ending. The thrill we all want from reading a mystery thriller was lacking, and some of the ending was predictable. I feel the premise of the book is promising but ultimately didn’t deliver in the end. There was too much filler and not enough intrigue within the characters themselves, not enough depth to really connect, felt very surface level. On a positive, I enjoyed the multiple POV’s, dual time lines and short chapters. I feel the author has potential, but didn’t quite hit the mark with this one. I gave it a 2/5⭐️⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy!

What Remains of Teague House is a sinister mystery wrapped within layers of secrets harbored by the members of the dysfunctional Rawlins family!! Good book! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, and a few crazy twists and turns. The story was interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

When Val Rawlins dies, her children come home to plan her funeral. Val’s sister Phil, and the youngest sibling Robby have taken care of Val. Or have they? Robby cannot seem to get out of his own way. While their aunt Phil wants to leave as soon as possible. But why?
Val’s two other children, Sandra and Jon need some air and take a walk in the woods. The siblings are horrified to find a body. When the police uncover more bones, someone in this family has been hiding their true nature. But who?
This mystery was told from multiple perspectives and in the now and many years ago. It took me a few chapters to get the characters straight, but once I did, I kept my trusted notepad close, writing my thoughts about who might be responsible. This was just another reason I am glad I am an only child. So many potential suspects and motives, and none of my guesses were correct.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This read was right up my alley and I loved every minute. The storyline was incredibly well done and kept me guessing until the very end. The characters were well drawn and mysterious. The multiple POVs made this story jump off the page and kept reading all night. Highly recommend

This had that element that I was hoping for in this type of book, it uses the mystery element that I was hoping for and glad it was so well written. The characters had that overall feel that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall feel of this. Stacy Johns has a strong writing style and was glad I got to read this.

This was a twisty turny mystery!

I think the setting of the story, in wet, gloomy Oregon was quite fitting for such a gloomy book. The house, full of hidden cubbies and buried secrets, also juxtaposed a family full of hidden lies and dark history.

My favorite part of the story line was Maddie and Davina. The Phil/ Val/ Russ intrigue also kept me guessing.

This did not go the way I thought it would, and I'm glad to say that it was not predictable. I did feel like there were some questions left unanswered, but overall I enjoyed the book.

Thanks to Net Galley for the book to review.

What Remains of Teague House is a fun and twisty murder mystery! I really enjoyed the multiple POV, as well as the family dynamics; and I was not able to figure out the mystery. This story feels like a fresh take on the classic mystery story, and I would recommend it to readers who enjoy murder mysteries, thrillers, and stories focused around family relationships.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the arc!

“What remains of Teague house” is a dual timeline / multiple POV murder mystery that follows the lives of the Rawlins family.

The Rawlins siblings return to the childhood home when news of their mother’s passing reaches them via their aunt.

Their mother is a strange case.. she’s chosen to be mute since her husband / their father committed suicide many years previous.

While back at their old home they discover a recently buried body on their land. This leads to more bodies being discovered that have been there for many years.

Is the recent murder tied to the old murders? How is it they are in the same location?

This one was a mixed bag for me. Some of the characters I found interesting.. the aunt seemed like an odd ball although seemingly harmless. The sister was probably the sibling I liked the most, who seemed like the nicest of the bunch. One brother was a hopeless cause who couldn’t keep from having multiple affairs and ended up in trouble because of it. Although his character was pretty much a waste of space I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him and want a redemption arc.

The beginning of the book almost put me off, I was tempted to DNF but decided to continue. From there on things got more interesting when the bodies where discovered and the family was under investigation.

The ending for me just seemed a bit too random. I found that explanations where left to the very end of the book without much hints clues or Easter eggs to go off throughout the rest of the book, making it feel a little clumsy and disjointed.

I have mixed feelings. It was somewhat of an entertaining read but definitely didn’t hit the mark for me and left me feeling a little unsatisfied by the ending. Giving this one a mid wirh 3⭐️

Thank you to Stacy Johns. And Poisened Pen Press for the EARC!

Publish date April 8th 2025

A great read. I loved all of the characters, and the story was perfectly woven. I was not sure where it was going.