This was a gripping thriller with all the right eerie elements: creepy neighbours, hallucinations, and an investigation full of twists and suspense. The atmosphere was wonderfully unsettling, strange and laced with paranoia.

There is definitely a lot happening at the same time in the story, and while the writing felt a bit off at first, it became less noticeable as the story unfolded.

I must admit, I somehow missed the paranormal aspect when picking this up, expecting a straightforward thriller. But the creepy atmosphere was spot on, and the supernatural elements made it all the more unsettling and intriguing.

I really enjoyed discovering this author ! And a big thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC of this book. Can’t believe I’m just getting around to reading it. It was so good, kept me so intrigued and interested in what was going to happen. Definitely going to be reading more from this author soon!

{Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC}
this was genuinely so good, i was hooked from the first page. there was a lot going on throughout the whole book but not in a way that was overwhelming or confusing, it felt like a never ending roller coaster. i do think the “twist” was super predictable but i liked how the end wrapped up the loose ends. all in all, a super quick, spooky, fun read!

The Wild Things by London Clarke
Kendall Casey is a true crime author who has moved to the Blue Ridge mountains to write a book about Eliana Conway. Eliana is a young girl who vanished from the area. While trying to settle in, she meets her neighbors in The Cove. The neighborhood is a mixture of characters. Some likeable and some not so much. Kendall’s best friend, Sam Walsh, from college also lives there.
Kendall is on deadline, but she struggles to stay focused. She starts thinking something isn’t right in the neighborhood. Although the neighbors seem friendly, she notices an underlying current of friction. The Robinette’s seemed to be the cool neighbors who always have the parties. The Guff’s are the neighbors to avoid. They complain about everything.
Kendall begins to feel uncomfortable in her home after she frequently sees a young girl outside in her night clothes, barefooted in December. No one else mentions seeing the girl and Kendall suspects she’s seen a ghost but who is she? At first, she thought it was Eliana.
The story had a little Stepford Wives vibes for me and I noticed a few logic flaws in the story. When Kendall suspects the Robinette’s (The Wild Things) of being up to something evil, Kendall continues to consume the Eau de Lune drinks they gave her. She continued even after she became sick. It took her too long to catch that it might be something to avoid.
I think this story had the potential of being much better and I was disappointed. I liked the premise of her writing the story about Eliana but there was very little of that in the book. Instead, the author focused on the neighborhood. It would have been more believable for me if Eliana had been a prisoner and Kendall discovered that while researching and saved her. I think the story would have been better by eliminating Holly and making that victim Eliana.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I would be willing to read another either new or backlist sometime, but I rated this one lower because it didn’t work for me.

True crime writer Kendall Casey moves to a seemingly peaceful neighbourhood in North Carolina to write about a girl who went missing in the area thirteen years ago. While living in her new home, things get weird and her neighbours turn out to be more ominous than anyone could have thought.

I don’t really know how I actually feel about this book. I didn’t hate it, but I also didn’t love it. The writing style was very easy to consume, and the premise of the story definitely kept me reading. I do think it was a bit all over the place and I sometimes lost focus.

Okay, so The Wild Things by London Clarke is a wild ride (pun fully intended). There’s a lot to unpack here, and while some of it really worked for me, other parts felt like the book couldn’t decide which kind of horror story it wanted to be.

First off, the character work is fantastic. I was especially drawn to the relationship between Sam and Kendall - it’s layered, tense, and genuinely compelling. Their dynamic grounds the story when everything else starts to spiral, and I found myself wishing the book had spent more time deepening that connection instead of throwing in another subplot.

And speaking of subplots, there is just too much happening. We’ve got Kendall’s investigation into a disappearance, the Wild Things controlling the neighborhood, cult-like pyramid schemes, mysterious deaths, mind control, human experiments, kidnapping, slavery, witchcraft, and—oh yeah—a serial killer. It’s a lot. Any one of these elements could have carried the story on its own, but piling them all together made it hard to stay fully invested.

That’s not to say there isn’t potential, because the neighborhood drama setup was brilliant. Clarke nails the eerie, suburban paranoia, and I genuinely think if the story had leaned harder into that tension, it would have been so much stronger. Imagine if we’d stayed with the creeping sense that something’s wrong in this seemingly perfect community, rather than veering into ten other genres. There’s real power in that slow-burn suspense, and I wanted more of it.

Another sticking point for me was the resolution of Eliana’s storyline. Without spoiling too much, it felt rushed and tacked on at the very end, almost like an afterthought. With everything else going on (magic, murder, mind control, oh my!), her arc got lost in the shuffle. It’s frustrating because there’s so much potential for a deeper, more satisfying payoff, but instead, it just …

Bottom line? There’s a great, creepy story buried under all the extra layers. If the book had picked one main horror thread and dug into it fully—especially the unsettling neighborhood drama—it would have been much stronger. As it stands, The Wild Things is an ambitious but overcrowded supernatural thriller with standout character work but a bit too much going on.

Creepy and compelling, but sometimes too wild for its own good.

This book was unlike anything I've ever read! I truly didn’t know what was going to be right around the corner. I loved the story through the perspective of Kendall. She was a strong confident main character and a very reliable narrator. The whole story was so bananas! The entire time I didn’t know if what was happening was human intervention or paranormal intervention it truly messed with my head! Which was so fun! I really didn’t know the whole story until the very end when London Clarke wrapped it all up so nicely and explained everything! I don’t want to go into too much detail because I don’t want to give too much away but trust me if you love small town murder mysteries or paranormal mysteries you’ll absolutely love this! What a great read!

You never know what's going on behind closed doors...

The Wild Things by London Clark

"Sometimes you have to make severe sacrifices to follow your true calling."

Thank you, Netgalley and Carfax Abbey Publishing, for this ARC! There was no point where I really had a grasp on what the hell was happening or where it was going and that is just what I like from my horror/thriller reads.

"Like I said, there's an elixir for everything."

The Wild Things centers on Kendall, a true crime author, who moves to a mountain town as a part of investigating a young girl's disappearance case from a decade prior. Lucky for her, her college bestie and hottie of the neighborhood, Sam, just so happens to be her neighbor. He isn't the only one though -since she lives next door to the most popular people in the neighborhood, Flip and Blair. Everyone loves them so much. They have the best parties, get along with (almost) everyone, and they seem to always get their way. These neighbors give off a massive cult-y vibe, they like to peddle these really weird but also really good vitamin drinks and there is one couple that seems to avoid them like the plague. They call them The Wild Things for a reason. Then... Kendall starts seeing a girl wandering the neighborhood at night in a dirty nightgown. Apparition, hallucination or real? To be fair, she is already paranoid after someone she was investigating tried to hurt her. As it always seems to, shit seemingly starts hitting the fan. Are The Wild Things truly bad or is it just Kendall's alerted mind conjuring up problems that aren't there?

"I know I'm being watched from inside too. The oppressive feeling of surveillance slinks like a snake over my skin."

As I stated before, I never truly had a grasp on this story--but like, in a really good way. The twists and turns kept me on my literal and metaphorical toes the whole time. Every single time I had the thought of understanding or a prediction, Ms. Clarke would throw a twist that made me rethink my whole process. London Clarke is able to blend normal elements of thriller with horror and paranormal aspects for this fully rounded story. There were times where I thought I was crazy and where I fully considered that I could be the bad neighbor (hopefully nothing bad happens to me like some people) and others that made me thankful I don't see the men in the trees. Even the romance plot was something new and refreshing. These people will need a lot of extensive therapy though, just to be fair.

"I know you're there. We can smell you... We've been waiting for you. Come. Join us."

Little did I know... but this is the third installment of a series. So I will just have to jump on in on the rest of Neighborhood Nightmares 1-2 and maybe the Legacy of Darkness series.

I didn't realize this was part of a series. Good characters and goosld story. Looking forward to other books in the series

I got hooked early on and it didn’t let up. It had suspense, mystery, angst, and so many emotions throughout. I couldn’t put it down. I absolutely loved the cover of the book. It really was what drew me to the book in the first place. After I started to read the book I was hooked and pleased with the book. This is an easy read, with a compelling story and suspense.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley.

"The Wild Things" by London Clarke is a captivating and unsettling read that will appeal to fans of dark, atmospheric fiction. This book is a masterclass in building tension and unease, with a slow-burning narrative that will keep you on the edge of your seat.


The story follows a group of characters as they navigate a world that's both familiar and strange. Clarke's prose is evocative and immersive, conjuring images of a decaying, Gothic landscape that's both beautiful and terrifying.

Another fantastic popcorn horror/thriller from my personal queen! It has been a minute since I read her work, but I was so glad to have picked this up.

As usual with Clarke, this plot is absolutely wild in the very best of ways. I’ve learned to not even try and figure out the end and for good reason. It’s never what you expect it to be, and the twists always get me because they’re so good. I ended up really loving the character development with both the primary and secondary characters. They felt exceedingly more real than past characters I have read of Clarke’s and I love to see the grow up! The setting is more modern that I’m used to with her stories but again it all worked out in the end and I found myself really enjoying this new vibe of hers. I will be sure to keep reading this series and be expecting the craziest of twists!

London Clarke’s The Wild Things is a chilling blend of psychological suspense and supernatural horror that keeps readers on edge from start to finish. Set against the eerie backdrop of the North Carolina mountains, the novel follows true crime writer Kendall Casey as she becomes entangled in the unsettling secrets of The Cove — a seemingly idyllic neighborhood with a sinister undercurrent.

Kendall is a compelling protagonist, her investigative instincts driving her deeper into the community’s tangled web of feuds, deception, and eerie occurrences. The arrival of her estranged sister adds another layer of tension, especially as the charismatic Robinettes draw her sister into their enigmatic inner circle. Clarke masterfully builds suspense, using the novel’s creeping supernatural elements to mirror the mounting dread Kendall experiences. The nightmarish visions and ghostly encounters are vividly rendered, making readers question what’s real and what’s a manifestation of Kendall’s own anxieties.

What truly sets The Wild Things apart is its exploration of human nature. The Robinettes’ polished facade masks something far more insidious, while the outcast Guffs are burdened by the weight of neighborhood scorn. As Kendall digs deeper, Clarke deftly examines themes of perception, manipulation, and the dark truths people are willing to ignore to maintain the illusion of harmony.

With its moody, atmospheric setting and relentless tension, The Wild Things is a gripping read for fans of psychological thrillers with a supernatural twist. Clarke’s sharp prose and masterful pacing ensure that each revelation is more unsettling than the last. For those who crave a story that lingers long after the final page, this haunting tale of buried secrets and creeping dread delivers in every way.

The Wild Things has a thinly veiled darkness lurking and it is prevalent from the outset. I was jumpy from the start right from Kendall's journey to her new home. The story is twisty and spooky and follows Kendall as she seeks to research her latest true crime novel about a missing girl and along the way unites with her old friend Sam as they take a rollercoaster ride through local mystery and secrets. Great story that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Appropriate title because this was a wild ride! I got hooked early on and it didn’t let up. It had suspense, mystery, angst, and so many emotions throughout. I couldn’t put it down and loved every lost minute of sleep! If you like creepy and twisty and surprising….. grab this one!

The Wild Things by London Clarke will take you on a roller coaster of a ride... I had no idea this was part of a series until I started reading it, however you can definitely read this as a stand alone like I did. I went into this book thinking it was going to be a ghost story, which it was, however you get much much more. Paranormal activity, multiple murder mysteries, a little girl who vanished and a true crime writer who may be losing her sanity. oh and there is of course, a love story.

I will say that I did not really get into this story until about 40% in. Once I hit that, I literally could not put the book down. Did I stay up until 1AM to finish it? Yes, yes I did. there is a lot of back story about the neighborhood and a lot of talk about it. I thought I was going to read about a true crime writer who is investigating a girl who vanished so I was confused why there was so much about this neighborhood and not the missing girl. The farther you get into the story, the more the story starts to add up and dots connect.

I rated this a 4 stars, mostly because there was a lot of fluff about the neighbors that I could have gone with out.

I was granted an arc of the book. It had all the elements I love in a book. True crime, horror, friendship. Kendall Casey moves to a small town to research her latest true crime book. The Cove seems like a picture perfect neighborhood, but it's hiding dark secrets. Kendall and her best friend Sam start unravelling the dark mysteries that swirl around hee neighbors. The story is wonderfully told and the book pulls you in.

Thank you Netgalley for this book.

3.5 stars for me

This book is a little out of my normal zone. While I had picked this up expecting just a solid thriller, but didn’t expect to get completely sucked in the way I did. I couldn't stop once I started.
London has an effortless way of writing that feels like she’s just pulling you along for a wild ride, before you know, you are deep inside her creation, an eerie, unsettling world.

The story follows Kendall Casey, a true crime writer who moves to The Cove, a writers community, to work on a book about a cold case involving a missing girl. The neighborhood seems charming at first, but there’s an undercurrent with the unsettling neighbors, who throw wild parties, live like they have no cares in the world, but something about them just does not seem to add up.
Kendall's sister, Holly, shows up and gets tangled up with them, leaving a stark realization that she might be in way over her head.

What makes this book so gripping isn’t just the mystery which is fantastic but also the atmosphere. The creeping, ever-present tension that builds and builds, making even small moments feel charged with unease. At times, it almost feels like horror, especially in scenes with no explanation, just pure, lingering creepiness.

The characters in this book are just as compelling. Kendall and Sam’s friendship is so real and heartwarming, and as the story unfolds, their bond is tested in ways that had me rooting for them to make it through. And then there’s the rest of the neighborhood, with an assortment of so many eccentric, strange, and sometimes downright disturbing people that you just need to understand. Every one of them added layers to the story, making it impossible to look away.

By the time everything started unraveling, I was hooked. Drugs? Mind control? The paranormal? many a time with no idea what was coming next. The deeper Kendall digs, the more twisted and terrifying everything became.

I loved every bit of the story. It’s unsettling, gripping, and impossible to put down. The ending left me feeling both satisfied and a little sad to say goodbye to these characters, which is always the mark of a great read.
If you love thrillers with an eerie, almost supernatural edge, this one is a must-read.
Recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my Advanced Copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I really enjoyed this book more than I thought I would as I haven't read the other books. Instead, I found it to be fast paced, gripping, and just enough clues to guess where it going but not enough to figure out how you are getting there. While there was a supernatural component, there was a very large human element as well. This was my first book by this author and I hope, not my last.

4.5 stars

Kendall Casey has always been drawn to true crime, which is why she became a true crime writer; she's usually picking up and moving to wherever the next story is. This time she's relocated herself to The Cove, while working on a book about the cold case of a disappearing girl from the area. The Cove is a rather quaint neighbourhood with some less-than-quaint neighbours. Everyone seems to have their secrets, but isn't that always the case? Kendall's next door neighbours, the Robinettes, are the life of the block, throwing parties and living with seemingly wild abandon. But something doesn't sit well with Kendall about these "wild things" and as time passes, life in The Cove gets stranger and and a whole lot scarier. What is really going on inside the Robinette's house? And when Kendall's estranged sister Holly comes to town, how does she get so involved with the Robinettes that Kendall can't seem to get her back?

This book is in turns thrilling, spine-tingling, and just plain unsettling. I find Clarke's works to typically be well-written, conversational and easy to follow. This story was no exception, and as the plot clips along in between the cold case Kendall's working on, and what's happening around her neighbourhood, it soon becomes undeniable that things are coming to a head and that everything is related. Drugs? Mind control? Ghost encounters and the paranormal? What exactly is going on in The Cove and can it be possibly be stopped? You're just going to have to pick up a copy and find out for yourself!

Thanks to NetGalley, author London Clarke, and BooksGoSocial for giving me access to a free digital ARC of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own and are provided here voluntarily.