Mina gets sucked into a chilling situation of trying to figure out what is wrong with Alice, a teenage girl who has thought to be able to talk to the dead. All the clues Mina thinks that the allegations may be true. But then she starts to find clues. Agains what everyone is telling her Mina continues to search. And in searching Mina finds her self in a life treating situation. But before she gets caught she tells her findings to the only person she can trust.

The year is 1989, and Mina is a newly graduated child psychologist that is offered a job by a reporter that would provide her with experience in a field where many want experts. She finds herself in the town of Banathel, a remote village with a history of superstition and witchcraft. She is there to evaluate Alice Webber, a thirteen-year-old girl that claims to be haunted by a witch. As Mina spends more time in the town and with the Webber family she is witness to many inexplicable occurrences. Due to the towns' superstition, Mina is in a race to figure out what is causing Alice's condition before the residents take the situation into their own hands.

I felt like the story started off a little slow, and I wasn't truly invested in the characters. However, I couldn't put down the book for approximately the last 25% of the book, and I did find the ending satisfying. There were a few instances in the book where I had to remind myself that the story was taking place in 1989 and not present day because I was really judging the some of the characters decisions/actions.

If you enjoy a little paranormal, mystery, and thriller I recommend you pick up the book.

I listened to the audiobook while also reading along. Ana Clements does an excellent job with the narration.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press & Macmillan Audio for the eARC and audiobook. All opinions are my own.

An eerie and atmospheric psychological thriller that blends grief, superstition, and the supernatural. Mina, a young psychologist, takes on the puzzling case of Alice, a girl claiming to be haunted, in a remote village steeped in dark traditions. As Mina digs deeper, the town’s secrets—and her own—begin to unravel. While the premise is intriguing and the slow-burning tension builds well, the story occasionally loses momentum, and some twists feel predictable. Still, the unsettling atmosphere and creeping dread make for a compelling, if not entirely surprising, read.

I received Something in the Walls an audio Arc from Netgalley. Superstitions, traditions, and the old fear of witches among us come together in this novel. Mina, a child psychologist and Sam, a newspaper reporter travel to a smaller town in England to try to help Alice who is being haunted by a witch.

I was anticipating "Something in the Walls" by Daisy Pearce. I received my digital copy right before the release date. While I couldn't dive into the audiobook due to prior commitments, I dedicated an overnight shift to immersing myself in its pages. As someone who rarely ventures into the horror genre, I was intrigued by the overwhelmingly positive ARC reviews and a personal recommendation, leading me to give this book a chance. At first, I was hooked. The suspense was there. The creepy atmosphere was spot on. But and this is a big but, somewhere around the quarter mark, I just…lost interest. It's not that it wasn't scary anymore, because it was. It was like I felt as if I was missing a piece of the puzzle. Like I wasn't getting something everyone else was. I kept reading, hoping it would click, but it never really did. It's frustrating because I really wanted to love this book. I wanted to get what everyone else was seeing. Maybe it's just me, maybe horror isn't my thing, or perhaps this story just didn't connect.
Look, I'm not giving up on Daisy Pearce. I'm willing to try another one of her books in the future. I'm hoping it's just this story that didn't quite land for me. But as for "Something in the Walls," it's a 2.5 out of 5 for me.
I want to give a big thanks to Daisy Pearce, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the ARC. As always, my opinions are my own.

Thank you to Daisy Pearce, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for this Audio ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was not a fan. I did not like the narrator.

Great book! It had all the fears of growing up. Make a choice. Turn the page or close the book. Enter the darkness if you wish!

This is a very creepy and at times goosebumps producing book. I thoroughly enjoyed the sense of peril. I mainly appreciated the confusion and the violence that surrounds the question as to Alice is a witch or an innocent while frightful things are happening around her which is at the core of this book.
The story begins with Mina, a newly graduated child psychologist, who spends most of her time preparing for her marriage to Oscar who seems not to be the man of her dreams. My first hint that more is going on with Mina is when she lies to Oscar about going to see a wedding planner. She meets Sam, who's young daughter died, at a grief support meeting. Mina is grieving the loss of her brother five years previously. Sam and Mina become friends and Sam proposes that Mina help him with a newspaper story he is writing about a thirteen year old girl named Alice who is being accused of witchcraft. The town is very small and since it has a history with witchcraft, the townspeople all seem to have opinions about Alice. Fear, hatred and dread amongst them. Mina desperately wants to help Alice clear her reputation as a witch and killer and gain experience in her field at the same time.
The story feels claustrophobic to me even though there are no bounds within the town. The inclusion of an historic heat wave kept my nerves on edge. It was described so well I could feel the sun beating down mercilessly day after long, steamy day. There was a short slowdown in the middle of the book but it picked up rapidly as unknown creatures or people move around behind the walls of the house. The fear Mina felt as she heard scrabbling steps, scratching and unclear voices was almost my undoing as I slammed the off button more than once. To make things worse, people gathered outside Alice's family home every night as the heat kept them away most of the days and the tension of what these people might do was unnerving.
This book was eerie, frightening and anxiety producing but well worth the read. I listened to the audio book given to me graciously by Negalley for my honest review. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a horror book with a great mystery and shocking ending. I wish the ending had been a bit more detailed but it was shocking and unexpected.

I want to thank Macmillan for providing the audiobook copy of this title through NetGalley for an early review. I also preordered the Minotaur Books hardcover edition and had the pleasure of experiencing the novel through assisted reading (listening to the audiobook while following along with the printed book). With that said, let’s dive into my thoughts.
First and foremost: I loved this book! OMG, it was such an incredible read!
I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. Was it horror? Was it a mystery? Was it both? Kind of.
"Something in the Walls" follows Mina, a young psychologist fresh out of college. Through a friend she meets in a grief support group, Mina is presented with a unique professional opportunity to gain experience in her field.
Her friend, Sam, is a reporter intrigued by the case of a young girl who claims to be possessed by a witch. Sam wants Mina to observe the girl's behavior from a clinical standpoint and assess what’s really happening so he can write a note about it for the newspaper.
Mina and Sam then travel to the location and, of course, things don’t go as planned. The two of them soon get drawn into a small town steeped in old traditions and beliefs that challenge their own sanity. And the main question remains: What is really going on with this girl who claims to speak to the death and being possessed by a witch who talks to her through the cracks of the walls?
This book blends both paranormal and psychological horror, blurring the line between the two in a way that leaves you questioning what is magical and what is real. It’s great because this sense of doubt is also planted in the reader, not just in the protagonist, and will keep you wondering until the very last page. The story repeatedly tests our logical thinking and perceptions.
And the ending... just wow. I won’t spoil it, but it’s definitely my kind of ending: about 80% closed, with just enough left open to leave you pondering long after you’ve finished the book.
I look forward to checking out more works by this author soon!
If you enjoy small-town horror stories and witchcraft tales, “Something in the walls” is perfect for you!
TW: There are implications of physical and sexual violence, though they are never explicitly described.

I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery full of strange happenings and even stranger characters. I went into this story thinking it was one genre and finding out it was another. This made me love it even more because it took me by suprise in that way. I stayed invested throughout the plot, as it kept digging deeper into the mystery of what was happening to a young girl in a small, rural town, distant from modern day. I thought the author developed the characters well and really used their personalties well to make the story move along. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, as I was gifted a copy and all opinions and review are my own.

"It turns out she wasn't 'mad' she was just poor."

"We choose how much power we give people over us."

"Desperation makes you inventive."

Dynamic author Daisy Pearce has created a twisty thriller that makes your skin feel creepy crawly all over in her unsettling mass hysteria horror novel, Something In The Woods.

Mina still needs more experience for her child psychology degree and agrees to help journalist Sam investigate 13 year old Alice; whose family and town believe she is either a witch or mad. She seems to know private things both past and future. She hears and sees things that others say are not possible.

As they stay with this family, that is overwhelmed with bills and tension from a town treating Alice as something evil or begging for her to help them talk to their dead relatives, they let their own secrets influence their findings.

Mina and Sam met in a grief program. She's dealing with her brother's death and Sam with his young daughter's passing. Both have secrets over their losses, and, what if, just possibly, Alice is the real deal.

Adding to the ominous atmosphere is voice actress Ana Clements with her staunch English accent and her slow burn cadence building to terrifying fear as truths, centuries old, come to light, and the words, "It's not the dead we should be afraid of, it's the living," have never been more true.

The build up to the reveal is nail biting and the ending was something, maybe not something in the walls, but definitely something shockingly twisty.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Audio via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you you to NetGalley for the advanced audiobook.

This book was creepy and and kept me on the edge of my seat. As for the audiobook, I didn’t care for the narrator.

A 13 year old being haunted by a witch! I was pulled quickly into this at the beginning, the elements of possession and horror. It was a unique blend between a psychological thriller and complete fear!

It did fall a little lackluster towards the end for me, but overall it was an interesting and atmospheric read!

The audio was very well done. The narrator did a great job at adding to the ambiance of the story and really bringing out the horror elements!

Horse is not really my genre, but this book was suspenseful and creepy in the best ways. The book covers gorgeous. The characters are vibrant.

I love mystery/thriller books, but if you add a little horror into the mix then you have a book that is going to hook me and never let go. That is exactly what you get with this book. There were a couple slow moments around the middle of the book, but it picked back up at the end.

The audiobook was just the right amount of creepy to keep my attention. What I loved most about this book was Mina's journey to determine her wants.
Then, when we meet Alice, things get even more interesting.

Thanks to the publisher for the ALC and Arc!

TW/CW: GRIEVING, DEATH OF SIBLING, MOURNING, DEATH OF CHILD, DRINKING, SMOKING, CHEATING, BULLYING, PEER PRESSURE, GRAPHIC ANIMAL DEATH, DEATH BY SUICIDE, SEXUAL ASSAULT

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Newly minted child psychologist Mina has little experience. In a field where the first people called are experts, she’s been unable to get her feet wet. Instead she aimlessly spends her days stuck in the stifling heat wave sweeping across Britain and anxiously contemplates her upcoming marriage to careful, precise researcher Oscar. The only reprieve from her small, close world is attending the local bereavement group to mourn her brother’s death from years ago.

Then she meets journalist Sam Hunter at the grief group one day, and he has a proposition for her: Thirteen-year-old Alice Webber claims a witch is haunting her. Living with her family in the remote village of Banathel, Alice finds her symptoms are getting increasingly disturbing. Taking this job will give Mina some experience and much-needed money; Sam will get the scoop of a lifetime; and Alice will get better—Mina is sure of it.

But instead of improving, Alice’s behavior becomes inexplicable and intense. The town of Banathel has a deep history of superstition and witchcraft. They believe there is evil in the world. They believe there are ways of…dealing with it. And they don’t expect outsiders to understand.
Release Date: February 25th, 2025
Genre: Horror
Pages: 291
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Love the books cover - beautiful
2. 80s vibes
3. Writing style is lovely
4. The twists of the book

What I Didn't Like:
1. Unrealistic situations that made little sense to the plot at times

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}

"Sometimes the deceit is so weightless, you barely think of it"

Did Oscar cheat on her with Lucy...? I hope we get to find out what happened. If he did or didn't.

Ahhhhhh Oscar is cheating....!

I knew the moment that it was mentioned that the girls were staying at Burts

Sam acting like he knows what is going on and taking Burts side. How did Sam become this unhinged?

Yesssssssssss Burt was the one who was taking advantage of the girls. I'm sure he is the one that killed his wife so he could send away Mina.

What's the point of Burt locking her in a room when she has the photos of the girls being molested. There is zero way he can convince people something differently than what is in the photos.

Did she just say she put a pillow on her brothers face?

Go in for a ghost story, think it's a witch story, and find out it's just a pervert abusing underage teens.

Burt convinces people that Mina is the witch but what is he going to do when Alice acts weird again? Is he going to say the witch jumped back to Alice?

Yeah who the hell would even marry Oscar? He meets Mina at the hospital and tells her then that he can't marry her. Ridiculous.

Final Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book a lot. It had the whole psychological aspect of is Alice even haunted or are they doing it for the money. It kept you on the edge of your seat wondering what was real.

We then get this whole switch to Witchcraft. I could see this being a movie and I'd be here for it!

IG | Blog

Thanks to Netgalley, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The first half of this book had me fully intrigued. It’s based in 1989 Britain during a horrid heatwave. Our main character, Mina, meets Sam at a bereavement group. She is still mourning the loss of her brother in childhood, he is mourning the loss of his young daughter. Sam is also a journalist, and when he learns Mina is a child psychologist, asks her to come with him to a small town to try and help a teen girl claiming to be possessed by a witch. Mina and Sam are both desperate and depressed, the small town is claustrophobic and almost manic, and the heatwave is so oppressive that it crawls off the page.
The true creepy factor is Alice. She is a true 80’s possessed kid, complete with a total change in appearance, different voice, knowledge about Mina and Sam it’s impossible for her to know, suspicious deaths of her enemies, and a penchant for having wasps surround her. And the 95% of the time she’s not possessed? Absolutely normal, sweet, shy 13-year old girl.
Unfortunately, the second half of this book disappointed me. It felt like Pearce took two different plot lines and just mashed them together without pausing to create any resolution. I was invested in the Webber family’s fraught dynamic, the ever-invasive townspeople, and Mina and Sam’s slow decline out of reality. I was not invested in the sharp left turn the plot took from hauntingly creepy to chillingly realistic.
Overall, this was definitely a horror thriller. The whole book had me on the edge of my seat, terrified of what was happening. The only issue was that my fear transitioned to “What’s going to happen next?” to “Why is this happening next?” If you’re looking for something that blends a few different horror tropes like possession and witch hunting, this may be a better fit for you than it was for me!
Thanks to Netgalley, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for the free advanced book and audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Something in the Walls has a little bit of everything. There's folklore, a touch of the paranormal, mystery and suspense, with some witchiness thrown in, and it all works so well together. This is a really strong debut, and, although I've seen it classified in some places as horror, it's more of a horror lite, perfect for those that like to dip their toes into scary but maybe not go all in. What honestly made this book for me though was the ending, which is certainly the darkest part of the book. It brought everything full circle, and I loved it. I also will not be poking around in anyone's dark basement for a while.

Received a free audio copy from NetGalley

This was an insane book. Did NOT see that ending coming at all!

4.5 out of 5 stars!