I was definitely in the mood for a dark thriller, when Netgalley sent me an email with this audiobook ARC. What Lies in the Woods follows Naomi when she returns to her childhood town where she was the victim of an attempted murder that put a serial killer behind bars.

The tension and dark atmosphere is thick right from the beginning and definitely drew me in with the obvious mysteries lurking in Naomi’s story. However, I didn’t really find Naomi to be a compelling character – she’s super self-destructive and honestly just frustrating sometimes – and I had trouble to connecting to her. Mostly I got annoyed when she kept actually saying out loud “I know I should go to the police BUT…” or “I know I should do the logical thing BUT…”

However, I found the mysteries here to be really satisfying, and there were definitely some twists and turns along the way that I didn’t expect (and some I did). I wish the ending had been a touch more uplifting and less open-ended, but overall I enjoyed the read (and the narration was fantastic) and would recommend to those looking for a dark thriller with few gratifying surprises.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! What Lies in the Woods comes out today!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks for reading!

Picked this audiobook kind of randomly since it was available at the library, so I really didn’t know what to expect going into it. Don’t Look for Me takes the reader step-by-step through Molly Clark’s abduction, and then, simultaneously lets us into the POV of Molly’s 22ish-year-old daughter, Nicole, as she searches for her two weeks after her disappearance and the case has already been deemed a walk-away.

Molly’s abduction is terrifying in its gradualness, planning behind it, and the plausible deniability up until the moment when it’s too late to get away.

Similarly, as Nicole follows the clues (and the false ones) closer to her mother, the impending dread as she gets sucked into the creepy little town, ever nearing danger, is super intense and so well done.

Along the way, Molly and Nicole reflect on what led them to this moment and the parts they played in the breaking of their family.

The climax was a little weird to me, but this dark thriller still manages to leave its characters better off than where we left them, which I always appreciate!

With believable characters, a (mostly) satisfying resolution, and a growing sense of dread that will keep you turning pages, I highly recommend this tense thriller. (And the audiobook is especially good!)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks for reading!