Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.

After the death of her mother, Emily Hauk and her husband leave San Francisco for a fresh start on a Nebraska farm—but their new home has a dark past. A missing girl, a mysterious death, and a string of tragedies tied to the property begin to unravel Emily’s sense of safety.

While the story had a very slow start and took a while to grab my attention, the suspense built nicely toward the end. Creepy details and unsettling moments definitely made the final stretch worth the wait.

Unfortunately, I am DNFing this book. This is 90% fluff and about 10% actual plot. There are entire chapters that are pointless. If this had been about 150 pages shorter, it probably would have been a quality read. I will not leave a negative review on goodreads, as this book is not released yet.

3.5 stars (the half does matter!)

I love a good thriller and this was a decent one. The story of finding yourself in someplace new is relatable. The thrill of mysterious lights and music, voices and ghosts, it keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting to know more. This book was all that BUT it felt a little slow in the middle, lasted little too long and the ending was just that, an ending. It wasn’t a huge surprise and just felt meh.

The cover screamed "This is a thriller worth reading!" It was not lying! Not only did I truly enjoy the storyline I was stoked to find it is set right here in Nebraska. Having a book store in Hastings, I could completely see the entire landscape and understand the small community culture. The patriarchal undertones in agriculture are taken to horrific extremes and it is a thrilling ride (or run in this case) down the Nebraska gravel roads.

This one was not my favourite. I found the characters to be bland. I didn’t feel much suspense being built as it felt like the same thing over and over. It felt like the main character was just having a panic attack over and over and that was the plot.

Emily and her husband decide to moving from San Francisco to a farm in Nebraska, but is the farm hiding a terrible secret? Or waiting for the right person to reveal the darkness that is lurking on the property? This is a haunting mystery that slowly unfolds. At times so frustrating in how the men deal with the women in their lives and the steps they take while ignoring what is happening. Although the reveal was not at all shocking, I enjoyed the story and how it was written with each small piece falling into place. Thank you NetGalley and poisoned Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC!

Eerily captivating and kept me guessing as to what was really going on. I love a good mystery and anything along those lines. This starts out like it's going one way but takes a turn in another direction.

I love haunted house books, but this story was waaaay too slow paced. Nothing happened for basically the first 75%. I was bored. Yes, the last 25% was really good, but 25% does not make a great book unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! What kept me turning the pages with this one was the mystery—it really held my interest throughout. That said, the pacing was quite slow, and by the time I reached the ending, it didn’t come as much of a surprise. It was a quick read for me, mostly driven by my curiosity to see how things would unfold, though I can see how others might find the slower pace a bit challenging.

The Farm House is a spooky thriller about Emily, who moves with her husband to a remote farmhouse in Nebraska after her mother’s death. What starts as a hopeful new beginning soon turns unsettling as strange occurrences plague their new home. As Emily digs into the farm's dark past, she uncovers terrifying secrets that connect her to a long-forgotten tragedy.

What I really enjoyed about this book was how focused Emily was on helping other women, especially when no one else took their stories seriously. Her determination and compassion made her easy to connect with, and I found myself really rooting for her. I also loved the ending—it was satisfying and brought everything together in a perfect way. The male characters were often frustrating, coming across as dismissive or overly controlling, and while I understand this was intentional, it did make the story frustrating to read at times. Emily also made some questionable decisions—like not using her phone to capture the strange things happening—which made me want to shout at the page. Overall, I’d recommend The Farm House to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers or ghost stories with a twist.

Thank you to the publisher for the arc through NetGalley! All opinions are my own honest opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I really enjoyed the set-up for this book. The creepy farm setting, with the violent undertones and all of the suspicious activity that the main character kept coming across was great. Emily was a compelling character with a solid backstory, and she very much carried the story well. While I was frustrated by the 'woman appears to be crazy and her husband refuses to believe her', one thing that must be said is that the protagonist didn't come across as hysterical, which was certainly a blessing.

The relationship that Emily had with Josh was also a bit weird. There was that polarisation of absolute love and adoration vs absolute disbelief and harshness, and I was left a bit disappointed by the resolution to their story. I thought that the ending was a little bit bizarre as well - without spoiling anything, it just felt like there was a bit of a quick wrap-up to a rather enduring story.

I think this read is well worth it for those seeking out a slow burn gothic horror, but there were definitely a few parts of the story that could have been improved on for that extra kick. It would have also been really interesting to see a bit more of an understanding and active fight from Josh, particularly when it came to scenes like the chicken coop and the barn. I understand what the author was trying to do, I just feel like it was a bit of a case of having seen the story a few too many times before.

The intrigue of this book for me was that I live in Nebraska and grew up on a farm there. So I loved all the very familiar descriptions of the scenery. I knew the town names, the interstate, Runza. This book was too long for the things that happened in it. It felt drawn out and I found myself skimming over a lot of the worrying the FMC did as it was just repetitive. The ending felt abrupt and I wish there was a more shocking twist. I did enjoy wondering if the FMC was losing it or not.

Emily and her husband buy a farmhouse and move to rural Nebraska. Emily discovers that a girl who lived there previously had disappeared. Not long after moving in, Emily begins to see and hear things, but of course no one believes her.

This is a good one for those dabbling in horror because it wasn't too gruesome or horrifying. The heart of the story is a ghost story.

Personally, I am a little over the "husband doesn't believe wife and thinks she is hysterical" trope. This one pretty much entirely centered on Emily seeing, hearing and finding things and her husband telling her she needs more sleep. Even when she finds a tooth and he can't refute that something is going on, the husband still takes sleeping pills at night, so she can't wake him up when weird things are happening.

The book moved quite slowly, and didn't seem to really pick up at any point. It just plodded along through bizarre things happening every so often, and the husband essentially ruffling her hair and saying, "oh you."

I thought the book was fine overall, and probably a decent one for those who like light horror.

I enjoyed this one, but I have to say it was a little too slow-burn for my taste. We follow Emily and her husband, Josh, as they move from San Francisco to Nebraska following the death of Emily's mother. The move is supposed to be their fresh start and a drastic change for both. They've purchased a charming farmhouse and plan to enjoy their newfound space and the quiet country lifestyle. Unfortunately for Emily and Josh, the farmhouse comes with a creepy, dilapidated old barn and some dark secrets.

Once Emily and Josh are moved in, it starts to become apparent, to Emily at least, that their quaint new home might not be so wonderful after all, and the author keeps us guessing if Emily is really experiencing supernatural occurrences or if her fresh grief is clouding her mind and judgment. As these occurrences continue and increase in intensity and frequency, Emily starts questioning everything she knows and begins a quest to find out about her new home's past with shocking results.

The author sustains an eerie feeling throughout the novel, but the meat of the story takes some time to get to. I felt that for the first 60% of the story, I was mostly just reading about Emily's daily runs and her increasingly fraught relationship with Josh, who doesn't believe anything is amiss in their home. However, the book really picked up at about the 70% mark, and from there, I couldn't put it down. I also truly enjoyed how the author explores grief and the ways in which women are disbelieved and gaslit by men, even the ones who claim to love them. That and the author's clean, crisp writing style elevated this from a three to four-star read for me, and I can't wait to see what Ms. Conradt has in store for us next. Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Chelsea Conradt for the arc.

Oh my goodness 😳 This book was right up my alley! It kept me guessing the entire time. Emily was put through so much emotionally and her husband not believing her...ugh...that hurt my heart. I am just glad Emily and Alice got the happy endings they deserved. Poor Blanche, I can't get over that 😢.

⭐️: 2.5

I’m so bummed that this fell flat for me, as I was excited for this book to come out and even more excited when I was able to get an arc. The synopsis of it sounded sooo intriguing, but it just wasn’t it for me. I really did like our FMC, Emily. She was a very realistic character for me, I feel like a lot of what she did and thought is something I would have done lol Her husband irritated me to no endddddd. She was hearing things, seeing things and showing him things that were appearing on their farm and he was the typical “you just need some sleep babe” husband🤦🏻‍♀️ I really did like the supernatural aspect of the story, but that it. It was a little repetitive, I really thought maybe there was going to be some kind of twist that would have made the slow paced story worth it, but sadly no. But you know, for this being a debut novel for the author, it wasn’t that bad. I will be keeping an eye out for future books because she does have a way with storytelling.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the Arc.

This started very good as I loved the secluded farm aspect. As the story went on it started getting a little slow paced and repetitive for me. The ending fell a bit flat to me but I wanted to know what was going on the whole time. I think if you enjoy slow burn thrillers this one would be a good choice for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC copy.

After Emily and her husband Josh moved from California to Nebraska into a farmhouse after her mothers passing eerie things start to happen. Emily notices the Barn out back is changing distance from the farmhouse daily , she hears screaming in the night and seeing things. Is she going crazy? Is it the grief of her mothering passing affecting her more than she thought? Or is it the lack of sleep she gets at night because no one seems to believe the things she’s experiencing. What horrible things happened on this farm?

This was a very slow progressing book, it did start to pick up around 70% mark but I felt like this book had so much potential with a creepy farmhouse but the slow pace just didn’t do it for me. It did have very eerie points and jump scares.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC
Publication Jun 17, 2025

Now, here's a real mystery: how can an author as clearly talented at Chelsea Conradt write such a bummer of a "thriller"? I love the way Conradt writes -- her sentence structure is gorgeous and unique -- but the story she has chosen to tell here doesn't fit that high skill level.

Normally, I can hang with thrillers forever -- I am the kind of person who loves to skip to the end of a book, read it, and go back to watch it all unfold -- but I simply couldn't care to do that with this one. I didn't care how it ended, but worse yet, I didn't care how it got there.

Okay, this one creeped me out in the best way. It’s got that perfect mix of rural isolation, slow-building dread, and “am I losing my mind or is this really happening?” vibes. Emily and her husband Josh move to a farm in Nebraska hoping for peace and a new start—but of course, things go sideways fast.

From the beginning, there’s this unsettling feeling hanging over everything. Emily starts noticing strange things—a barn that doesn’t seem to stay put, music that shouldn’t be playing, screams in the night. And Josh keeps brushing it off, which just makes it worse. That whole “husband thinks wife is overreacting” trope can be annoying, but here it actually works because it adds to the claustrophobic, no-one-believes-you tension.

The history of the farm is seriously messed up, and the more Emily digs, the more you start to realize this land has seen things. I loved how the horror elements were more eerie than gory—it leans into atmosphere and mystery rather than jump scares.

It did get a little repetitive in the middle—Emily sees something weird, Josh dismisses it, rinse and repeat—but the ending picks up and delivers. If you’re into haunted farmhouse stories with slow-burn suspense and that feeling of being watched when you’re alone? This one will definitely get under your skin. Just… maybe don’t move to Nebraska.