Perfect book for lovers of thrillers and gothic fiction. This book follows along Mina, who is a newly graduated child psychologist as she tries to unravel witchy and dark occurrences that are happening around Alice. It’s a modern day witch hunt with mob mentality and a thin line between what’s real and what’s fiction. If you like Diavola, The House Across The Lake, or Haunting of Hill House, this book is for you.

Something in the Walls is a unique witchy story about a newly certified child psychologist who is attempting to help a 13yr old girl who claims to be haunted by a witch.

For me, it was all about the suffocating atmosphere and the creepy vibes. Also, the audiobook narrator did a great job creating a deep sense of wft is actually happening here? I will say that the ending felt rushed? thrown together? muddled? I can’t explain it but it threw me way off because it really was going pretty damn good. Overall it’s a 3.5 rounded up to 4 ⭐️ It’s my first time reading Daisy Pierce but not my last:)

First I would like to thank Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of this novel.

I switched between reading and listening to this book. And I enjoyed both versions. The narrator was great and the audiobook was well done.

I was really looking forward to this book and the beginning really held my interest. I loved the folklore behind the book and I wish the book has stayed more on that theme. I felt the second half the book just started to feel like I different book.

I loved the relationship between Mina and Alice. It was sweet they way they connected with each other but the rest of the book felt very disjointed and just had so many unanswered questions. I also just felt like the entire second half I was yelling at the main character and wondering why she was making the decisions…it’s like watching a horror movie and wondering why the characters are going back into the house when we all know it’s a terrible ideas.

Overall, I rated the book 3/5 stars.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.
What a strange and original story!
Creepy and eerie. There were times I had to glance up to make sure I was still alone!
The narration was excellent!

It started out strong and had my attention and my intrigue. Then, in the middle it drug. The end seems like it was an entirely different story than what I had started.
I think the narrator did a great job and really brought emotion into the story.
Thank you #NetGalley for the honor of receiving this ARC

Mina almost has it all - she’s engaged to be married and has a promising new career as a child psychologist - but years later, she’s still changing the ghost of her 14y/o brother who died. When she goes to a meeting of others who are also grieving, she meets Sam who lost his young child. He also believes there’s more out there when it comes to lost loved ones and convinces Mina to join him on one of his most peculiar cases: a 13y/o girl Alice who claims she’s haunted by a witch. With a town history rooted in witchcraft and accusations, Mina may be in more trouble than ever while investigating Alice.
Ana Clements was great at narrating this story. Unfortunately many parts in the plot left me confused or lacking interest. Otherwise it was a great read!
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book had an intriguing description —a creepy house, an unsettling atmosphere, and a main character questioning her own sanity. However, while the book sets up some eerie moments, it never quite delivers on its potential. The pacing felt uneven, with long stretches where not much happened, and the twists were a bit predictable. The main character’s decisions sometimes felt frustratingly irrational, making it hard to stay fully engaged. It’s not a bad read if you’re looking for a quick, spooky story, but it doesn’t do much to stand out in the psychological thriller genre.

**Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ELC. All opinions are my own.**

I struggled a little bit with this one, if I'm honest. The pacing was off for me, and I found myself struggling to want to go back to it, even as an audiobook, which is usually a much quicker read for me. While there was nothing wrong with the narrator, I didn't love her for this particular tone of book. It didn't seem to match what was supposed to be a more tense affair. Personally, I felt like a lot of the plot wasn't clicking for me. I kept thinking "why aren't we doing independent research instead of just talking to the same three people over and over again?" It just didn't grab me the way I hope for in a thriller/horror scenario. I'd also seen the plot twist coming from a mile away and that also had me un-immersed for a long time.

What I did enjoy was the relationship building between Alice and Mina. That felt real and natural, the way I'd expect a child psychologist to interact with a child. I appreciated Fern and her entire character. I would have loved to spend more time in her world.

I say all of this to say that this book is absolutely for *someone.* There are good bones here, it's got a lot of the telltale signs of books that I would (and have) recommended to patrons at work ten times over. It's just not entirely for me, and that's okay.

This book did not end how I thought it would - in a good way. As the book was going, I would think I knew what was truly going on and then a turn would happen and then realized it was something else, which I really enjoyed. This was perfectly creepy and suspenseful and I would definitely recommend it. I also think the narrator for this was really good.

Considering that Horror is not one of my favorite genres, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this one. Mina is engaged to a guy named Oscar. She's a child psychologist who one day meets journalist Sam. He broaches the subject with her about helping him find the truth about a young girl named Alice who is potentially possessed. He doesn't know if it's genuine or an act or if she is mentally ill. While she is a bit excited for the opportunity, Oscar really isn't supportive.

There are so many characters who are involved in the town who know Alice and her parents, Lisa and Paul. Other townspeople who all seem to know each other are Stevie, Tamsin, Billy, Fern, Bert, Vicky, Mary and Simon. It is quite a cast of characters but I never was confused by that. I loved little Stevie, was concerned for Alice, and felt bad for Lisa, Sam and Mina. Both Mina and Sam were dealing with the death of loved ones as well as guilt for their deaths. I never figured out why Oscar was included because he just didn't seem to be a necessary inclusion.

Mina wanted desperately to get to the bottom of why Alice was seeing a witch, hearing noises, and other strange happenings. But there were some stumbling blocks. In fact, many.

Parts of the book had quite an affect on me psychologically, I guess. Or maybe it was just emotionally. lol I was freaked out by noises that both Alice and Mina heard. And (since I had the audiobook) I was so scared by the words that were whispered! That's all I'm going to say. The narrator was very convincing that the whispers were coming from a witch or a ghost or something paranormal. It really drew me in for sure.

The only aspect of the book that prevented me from a 5-star read was that some parts at the end seemed over the top to me and were unbelievable. Otherwise, I loved it.

I had to DNF this one because I found the plot a bit too slow for my taste. Maybe it was just the audiobook format that didn’t work for me. I did enjoy the narrator's voice—it was very calm and soothing—but it wasn’t enough to keep me going. I think I’ll try reading the book itself instead and see if that works better for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC!

Mina is a newly engaged child psychologist who is asked by Sam, who she met in a local grief group after losing her brother, to assess Alice, a teenager in a small village who is accused of being possessed by a witch. Mina, struggling to feel connected to her current life- including her fiance Oscar, agrees and hops on a train.
The village of Banathel is creepy and superstitious and full of characters. There is an imposed curfew due to the heat, lore about special stones on your doors that ward out evil spirits, and
Mina and Sam dig into the town's history, and it's never quite certain whether they want to confirm or disprove that Alice is indeed possessed. Her family could be creating this for the monetary gain, her sister might be pining for attention, the neighbor could be up to some dark things, anything was on the table. The ending catches you a bit by surprise!
I would have likely rated this higher if there were more backstory on the town and its lore instead of Mina and her fiancé. I felt like some of that was missing and it was so interesting!
The narrator for the audiobook was captivating and nuanced in a way that kept the book moving forward, I truly think listening to this via audio is the way to go if you have the option. It flowed easily from one chapter to another without feeling jumbled.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review

4⭐️

Mina is a newly graduated child phycologist looking for work when she meets Sam who’s a journalist and has an interesting proposition for her. He is working in a story involving 13 year old Alice who claims to be haunted by a witch and wants Mina to collaborate her story.

This book really had me in a chokehold, I simply couldn’t stop listening! With that being said there were things I didn’t care for which is why I ended up giving it a 4. I would recommend this if you enjoy thriller books that involve creepy kids 😂

This was an arc sent to me by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

A woman drowning in the grief of losing her young brother is thrust into a supernatural haunting that changes her forever.
This story twists and turns around central themes of loss, trust, poverty, power, societal pressures, and the battle of good vs evil. The imagery was completely and utterly tangible, leaving the hair on my spine standing up and checking every dark corner for movement. The narrator did an amazing job of capturing each character's emotions and niche.
Highly recommend for anyone who loves a good haunting story.

Ooh, this was so creepy! A really good blend of horror and psychological thriller. I loved the atmosphere (especially with the heat wave) and the isolated feel of the town. And I loved Mina’s strength in continuing to fight for answers. I do wish there had been a bit more clarity at the end in terms of who did what, but overall this was a really great read! And I loved the audiobook too!

"She watches me through the cracks in the bricks"

In a remote village called Banathel, there is a long history of witchcraft and superstition. They believe in evil, and it attaches itself to young women in the town and they have a specific way of dealing with it. Thirteen-year-old Alice Webber claims that a witch is haunting her, and the story comes across to journalist Sam Hunter. He wants to interview the family for a detailed story about the town's phenomenon and this young girl.

When Sam meets Mina at a local bereavement group to deal with the death of her brother, he proposes that she go with him to see Alice as she is a new child psychologist who needs experience in her field. Mina wants a proper job in her field of study, but it's difficult if no one wants to hire someone due to their lack of work history in psychology.

Together, Sam and Mina stay with Alice's family to study her to find out the best way to treat her ailment because surely, she isn't possessed by a witch. Things are not all as they seem. Alice's condition worsens as time goes on rather than better and Mina is sure she can figure out how to end her condition, but something keeps stopping her. Mina feels eyes on her everywhere, always watching. She gets feelings to avoid places and things, and something just isn't right. Whether it has to do with witchcraft, however, she is not convinced no matter the odd feelings she continues to have. Someone is trying to tell her, but she can't seem to get answers. Alice's parents are frustrated, and Mina desperately wants to find the truth. The truth however doesn't want Mina to know.

This is a slow-paced quirky story that certainly has the creepy factor laced throughout. I appreciate a mystery horror/thriller book that actually does feel scary and makes the hair on your arms rise. I can't seem to find any that brings that chill I want to have when reading a book in that genre lately.

I listened to the Audio ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Expertly narrated and truly terrifying. This listen kept me on the edge of my seat. A creepy story about a recently graduated child psychologist who travels to a small town to help a young girl who is thought to be possessed by a witch. Folklore and horror stud this read, and the first 2/3 of the book were intense. The ending was not what I expected! Looking forward to reading more from Daisy Pearce.

How to categorize this book? Supernatural mystery? Psychological thriller? The answer is yes. The story is largely set in Cornwall in the 1980s in a sleepy little village still caught up in superstition from times long gone. An adolescent psychologist just out of her studies and a journalist both grappling with trauma from losing a loved one, come into town to investigate and document the haunting of a 13-year-old girl named Alice. Set from the perspective of the adolescent psychologist, Mina, we are taken into the dynamics of Alice’s complicated family life, and introduced to a variety of secondary characters from around the small town. Alice is supposedly being haunted by a witch, but Mina, ever the skeptic is determined to prove that this is not a haunting but a psychological reaction to a traumatic event. However, she herself is not quite convinced. The town and its residents have secrets of their own, and everyone seems to be under some sort of spell - perhaps a madness induced by the heat wave plaguing the country at the time. As tensions rise and seemingly paranormal occurrences get more frequent and stronger within Alice’s home, the cracks began to show in both Sam, the journalist, and Mina. This is the type of book that once you start it, you don’t stop thinking about it. The story draws you in and there’s almost immediate action. The pace is perfect with the tone of the story. It’s not too slow. It’s not speeding through things. The book itself is exceptionally well crafted and well written. I can tell that the author really took her time to do some investigative work. The narrator for the audiobook, which is what I listened to was a great match with the story. The accent and her voice inflection during certain parts of the book really made me feel like I was listening to a firsthand account of something that had happened to someone. I woke up thinking about this book a few mornings in a row. And in fact, I finished it in just a few short days. I couldn’t stop talking about it to my husband. There are breadcrumbs, dropped throughout the story to lead you to what the ending will be, but they’re small enough that it’s not obvious in any way. I won’t say that I was completely shocked by the ending. It wasn’t a major twist, but I was overall really pleased with the flow of the story and how we got to the end. This is a book I would recommend to anyone who likes thrillers, mysteries, or paranormal books. This is not one to skip. My thanks to the author, MacMillan audiobooks, NetGalley, and Minotaur books for the incredible opportunity to listen to the ARC of this audiobook! #netgalley #somethinginthewalls

Part ghost story, part haunted house, partly witchy. This British mystery sounded interesting but just wasn't for me. I couldn't really get into it. I did like the narrator and thought the story had potential but somehow felt like it missed the mark. I was able to listen to the end but was left ultimately underwhelmed. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I received this audio as an ARC. To me this wasn’t really a horror but more of a mystery. Mina had very little experience in her profession. She meets someone in her group sessions that offers her a client to take on but little did Mina know what she was getting herself into with Alice. Having to deal with witchcraft & weird people Mina tries to find out exactly what’s going on in this town.