The Woods Are Waiting

By: Katherine Greene

Narrated by: Angie Hickman

Cheyenne Ashby knows the dark and disturbing history of her hometown of Blue Cliff, Virginia, all too well. It’s why she left. Growing up deep within the woods with her eccentric mother, Constance, she was raised on the unusual customs and generational superstitions linked to the local legend of an evil entity that haunts the forest.

Five years ago, the bodies of three children were found in the woods. It was a man—not a mythical beast—named Jasper Clinton who was convicted of these heinous crimes. For five years the town breathed just a bit easier with a real-life monster behind bars. But when another child goes missing, Cheyenne and Natalie are determined to discover the truth and uncover the town’s dangerous secrets rooted in its terrifying past.

The two women must confront the reality of the superstitions they always believed in and their town’s complicated connection with who—or what—lives in the woods. In the tradition of Lisa Jewell and Ruth Ware, Katherine Greene’s debut thriller is a dark descent into the sinister traditions and customs of a small town in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

©2023 Katherine Greene (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

Quite basic

Nothing was necessarily wrong with this (except for the final sentence), but neither was anything special.

Good Start But Slow Paced and Easily Guessable Plot

Whole chapters were just additional info that wasn’t helpful. The final escalation felt like one long ramble.

You’ve already got 2 protagonists; why not add more point of views? This could have been much better organized if additional characters were fleshed out more. Give viewpoints from Jared, Jack and Constance. It would have helped to build suspense and helped give more meaning to how events like this could happen in modern times.

Entertaining, engaging but not demanding

I like Katherine Greens style. The dual narration offers another way to get to know characters through multiple perspectives which can be fun. I liked the premise of the story, the idea of small town superstition and biases playing out. I once lived in a small town and even though some of the cliches of small towns exist here, they work in favor of the story.

There were a few things that I did struggle with. The portrayal of the mother was sometimes a little much. There were a couple holes in the plot that just didn’t come together for me. I figured out pretty early on what was really going on which didn’t bother me, the story was creative.

Loved this story!

Twisty and atmospheric, and the narrator was fabulous! I loved the thread of folklore that ran through the story, and that ending was great!

good character building, fun twists

sometimes I found the narration to be a little grating, mostly just because of the accent, but otherwise very good book