Ten years ago, a mysterious and tragic hunting accident deep in the Adirondack Mountains left a boy buried in a storied piece of land known as Coombs' Gulch and four friends with a terrible secret. Now, Jonathan Hollis and brothers Michael and Conner Braddick must return to the place that changed their lives forever in order to keep their secret buried. What they don't realise is that they are walking into a trap - one set decades earlier by a supernatural being who is not confined by time or place: a demon that demands a sacrifice.

‘Boy In The Box’ tells the story of four friends; Jonathan, Michael, Connor and Gene, who lose touch after a tragic accident which happens during a hunting trip they had organised for Jonathan’s stag party. Unable to live with the guilt, for the last ten years their lives have been haunted by the memory of the boy they left behind in the mountains. The stress, anxiety and grief have tainted not only their relationships with each other, but have also made it impossible for them to lead normal lives with their families. Despite all of the pressure to come clean about the events of that fateful night, the decision they made to keep quiet for the benefit of themselves and their families still seems like the right thing to do. But now their secret is at risk of being uncovered and the friends are forced to revisit the awful memories and go back to Coombs' Gulch with devastating consequences.

Boy in the Box is described as a horror / thriller / suspense novel but it was actually much deeper than most horror books I have read. It was an exploration of grief and the ways in which four friends struggle to maintain normal, happy and healthy relationships after the tragic events that took place. The story builds at quite a slow pace but it has a very creepy atmosphere and I really enjoyed the way that the story made me question what was real and what was a manifestation of the grief they were all suffering. Interestingly for me, I actually preferred the exploration into the characters than some of the horror aspects. If you enjoy thrillers that have elements of the occult, or Native American culture and rituals, then this is the perfect choice, and the ending is one that will haunt me and stay in the back of my mind for a long time.

When Gene, Jonathan, Conner and his brother Michael travel up to an isolated cabin in the Adirondack Mountains to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of one of them, the plan is to hunt and spend his last moments of single freedom with his mates and doing manly things without any distractions.

Things don't go exactly as planned and the four of them leave with the kind of secret that burdens the soul and psyche. Killing a child and burying him in the forest isn't really something you can just get over, right? Well, some of them seem to deal with it better than others.

It becomes necessary to return to the forest to remove the clues of their crime, which thrusts the men back into the nightmare that has been following them around for years.

It's a tense horror read that creeps and swirls like a malignant fog.

Fitch lets the more sinister side of this story seep in gradually, as if the demon were playing a game of distraction. Is this a story about a murder, about deviants trying to kidnap children or something more nefarious? The misdirection is actually what makes the story so compelling, because you don't actually put all of the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together until the end.

Talking of the end - it throws up this horrific moral dilemma, which gives the book and the reader this last hefty slap of evil. It's an interesting walk on a very fine line between the instability of minds burdened by guilt, the supernatural and a darkness that exists all around us.

This is a supernatural thriller that will haunt you as you read every last word. Four best friends go on a guys trip away into the woods, a place that will terrify and alter their lives forever. Alcohol gives them the nerve to go into the woods in the dark an act that they will regret for the rest of their lives. A small boy appears in the gunsights and is killed by accident. Horrified the men do some thing they feel is right at the time but an act that will burn away at them over the intervening years. Ten years later three men return to the box and its horrific contents in order to both put the past to rest and to move the box to a safer place. Over the years the layers of guilt and paranoia have wrapped around the men and their lives squeezing out all thoughts of common sense and rationality. Will their return to the scene of the crime lay the boy to rest or will his ghost haunt them forevermore. A chilling, tell around the campfire horror story that will both terrify and keep you hooked till the deadly end.

Old friends end up coming back together after decades and they all have a secret to keep. Years ago a tragic accident happened and has haunted them ever since.

This book was incredibly dark and creepy. It’s nothing I would normally read but it kept me enthralled until the end. The book is totally mostly through Jonathan’s perspective and takes a dive into the conscience and if anything can ever be redeemed. Very dark but would recommend for fans of horror.

Four friends go to the Adirondack mountains on a hunting trip to celebrate the upcoming wedding of one of the friends. During their stay a tragic hunting accident happens, leaving a young boy dead. The four vow to keep it a secret, which puts strain on the friendships. Ten years later three out of the four friends find themselves back at Adirondack mountains trying to put things right.

The story was well written with a few scenes that gave me creepy feelings. I felt some parts were dragged on too long.

Thank you Netgalley, Publisher and Author for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I’d never heard the author before so I had no idea what to expect. The blurb intrigued me and I wanted to know the story so I decided to take part in the tour. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found the concept very original, part thriller and part horror story. The author does a fantastic job of piecing together both narrative strands, the tragic accident ten years ago and its repercussions and the supernatural events that affect the present. I loved the setting, creepy woods in the middle of nowhere, a place where you just know bad shit is going to happen. The book is perfectly paced, not so fast you lose some sense of what’s going on and now so slow you get bored. The characters are all fleshed out and easy to sympathise wise, despite the terrible secret they share. I will definitely read more by the author.

I love a good horror, one that will either keep me awake or dreaming of when I do sleep. The Boy in the Box did exactly that for me! Its been a long time since a book has given me nightmares, but thats what I get for reading this in the wee small hours in the dark!

This is more than horror though, it also is a psychological thriller with the unravelling of our characters mind whilst in the wilderness of Coombs’ Gultch. Jonathan Hollis and brothers Michael and Conner Braddick return to Coomb’s Gultch to bury a secret they have held on to for 10 years even deeper! With the threat of construction happening in the area and their lives on the line following their friend Gene’s funeral they make the journey. What happened all those years ago has impacted all their lives and shrouded them in a darkness if you like, we know it was an accident, they know it was an accident but chose to cover it up rather than deal with the consequences.

The setting of Coombs’ Gultch is eerie and atmospheric, paving way to how fragile the mind really is, it moves at a rather slow pace with the tension and atmosphere building to a crescendo.

I am fan of slow horror so this one is a 5 stars for me!

You feel as if you are being watched. You hear something rustle through the dense undergrowth. You catch a glimpse of a shadow passing behind the trees. Is it all in your mind, or is it something more sinister lurking within the wilderness of the Adirondack Mountains?

This was my first experience reading Marc E. Fitch and I believe this is his debut novel. Up front this was one of my favorite books that I have read from Flame Tree Press so far.

We follow Jonathan Hollis as he and his friends embark upon a hunting trip for Jonathan's bachelor party. Tragedy strikes and the four friends decide to bury a terrible secret in the woods and never speak of it again.

This secret plants a seed within their souls and affects all of the men differently once they return to their everyday lives. Within Jonathan this seed takes root and slowly begins to rot and fester. Tainting his once happy life with regret, grief, guilt and the horrific images from that awful night.

Years later the men return to Coombs Gultch to face their haunting past and dig up their long buried secret before it is unearthed and revealed to the world.

My absolute favorite part of this book was the setting that was a character unto itself. This ancient, primordial forest with towering trees that blocked out the last rays of hope. Our characters are off the grid, utterly alone out in the uninhabited wilds. There is something eerie about these woods which leaves the men unnerved and unsettled.

As the story progresses and the characters spend more time within the forest their minds seem to start to spiral into madness. They are seeing and hearing things that couldn't possibly exist. We have to ask ourselves are their minds truly fracturing or is there a darker, more ancient evil at work here?

Boy in the Box is a bleak tale of how one moment in time, one decision, one action can have a ripple effect and instantly alter the course of the rest of your life. Creepy and foreboding. This story will leave you with a lingering sense of dread and no desire to venture out into the woods anytime soon. Who knows what may be lurking within the shadows just out of sight?

I can’t say this one was such a surprise. It reminded me a lot of a movie I watched not too long ago about this very thing. However, the idea of feeling like you truly know someone until you can’t is the very definition of scary. Put in a situation someone you thought you knew could do the opposite of what you thought which begs you to question whether you really knew them or not!

Given that the story itself didn’t feel original it didn’t surprise me as much as I prefer my books to do but I still enjoyed the read!

Jonathan, Gene, Michael and Conner had a boys weekend away, with laughs, drinking and hunting. But, by accident a young boy is shot, panicking and not thinking straight they decide to bury the body in a box in the woods. Who was this boy and why was he alone in the woods?

For 10 years the guilt has eaten at them all, Gene couldn’t take it any more and took his own life. At the funeral, the other three talk as they’ve found out developers are about to start digging. So they return to the woods planning on digging up and re- burying the boy’s body.

But while they are in the woods, things start to get creepy, is something there with them? The tension builds as the men begin to unravel.

This is full of tension and atmosphere, in a dark psychological horror that’s gripping with some real goosebumpy moments. Not one to read at night……Brilliant.

Thank you to The author, the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this for free. This is my honest, unbiased review.

Boy In The Box fills your soul with eerie silence. It infiltrates your senses, pumps through your bloodstream and possesses you with an endless silent scream you cannot escape from. This book came along at precisely the right moment. As a huge horror fiction fan, it was everything I was looking for in such a changed world we seem to be living in. it gave me an escape, it enraptured my heart and I too became lost in the mountains. The only difference between me and the main characters was; I wasn’t sure if ever wanted to leave.

There is nothing quite like picking up a new horror novel and feel its pulse drum a threatening beat. The cover took me hostage and sung a terrifying song – one I couldn’t resist! The book called to me and as soon as that first chapter was under my belt, I was done for. Boy In The Box was the medicine that I required, and I was forever lost in Fitch’s skilful and haunting tales that I have probably ever read.

Closing this book will not give you the warm and fuzzy feeling, this book with all intents and purposes is meant to unseat you. The narrative has you looking over your shoulder at key moments, wiping the sweat from your brow and making sure both the windows and the doors are firmly locked. Rising feeling of nausea – check. Spine stiffened – check. Never wanting to camp ever again – Double check. Not for the weak of heart – a truly terrifying story that examines the long-lasting effects of a black mark upon a person’s psyche.

Boy In The Box is oozing fear and emotional pain. Fitch has weaved an inexplicable narrative of claustrophobic dread. This formula is an immediate recipe for success and I just couldn’t stop reading. Nothing was going to pull me away and the pages and chapters just melded into one. It became more addictive when things started to get out of control and I was in for a hell of a ride.

The funeral of long-term friend, brings Johnathon, Connor and Michael back together once more. They haven’t really had any contact in ten long years. They all have wives/children and their lives are just different. That and the minute detail that they never were going to be the same after a hunting accident ten years ago – the last time they were altogether. Johnathon has never been the same again. Despite his marriage to his wife Mary, despite the birth of his only child, Joshua. Life holds no joy for him anymore. His marriage is held together by the cracks and his best friend is the bottom of a bottle. Future events out with their control lead them to revisit that bleak day ten years ago. The reader discovers what exactly went down and the implications that opening Pandora’s box will undoubtedly have on all parties involved.

Thanks to Anne Cater @Random Things Tours for my spot on the blog tour.

Boy In The Box is shrouded in an inescapable atmosphere that projects the protagonists into their own personal hell. Fitch has created a narrative more addictive than cake. The narrative pushes down a deserted path that can only lead to trouble and is utterly compulsive that you just can’t say no to.

Four friends. A dark, hidden secret. For 10 years, Jonathan and his friends haven't breathed a word about what happened on their hunting trip to the Adirondacks. It was Jonathan's bachelor weekend at a remote cabin...a time to let loose, hunt in the forest, be men, be free one last time..... Things went horribly wrong, haunting them all for years. Then they decide to go back to the cabin in the woods.

Mistake.

Something is waiting for them....

What a creepy story! I loved it! I think everyone has a moment in their lives that they wish they could go back and erase. Most aren't quite as bad as the event that ruins these men's lives. The event they have to hide..... I can't even imagine the horror, the guilt, the worry. It would never go away. Then add in some evil....and a very remote, wild, yet beautiful place....Yikes!

The slow build and suspense are perfect. The characters painfully normal. It just shows that normal people can do abnormal things....make huge mistakes....ruin their lives in the blink of an eye. It makes for a very realistic, very scary story! Perfect read for a chilly, rainy spring day!

This is the first book by Marc Fitch that I've read. I'm definitely going to read more! This story was awesomely dark!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Flame Tree Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Yeah this book gave me the creeps. Definitely not a bedtime story. I was trying to read it with one eye closed. LOL because as much as it creeped me out I had to know what happened. Pick it up but you have been warned. Happy reading!

Haunting, Eerie And Plenty Of Creepy Tension!

A funeral of a lifelong pal brings Jonathan and Connor and his brother together again after a separation of many years due to lifestyle changes but more importantly was an accident that the four of them were involved in and and how they have been haunted by their actions from that tragic moment in their lives. But now the past is calling to them to revisit that time again before the rest of the world discovers what really happened that dire night when four young men went on an innocent bachelor weekend hunting trip and caused their lives to never be the same again.

This was a very dark and haunting story of how a good person's conscience can never let one rest if they choose what may be an evil deed. The story brings in supernatural elements aside from imagination so there is always a threat of the unknown hovering in every chapter. The writing flows effortlessly and I was on this dark ride with these men who I really felt for, especially Jonathan who the book really centers around and has been on steady decline with his entire life since that fateful night. The storytelling and characterization is excellent and eerie and the horror elements are extremely creepy. This is a great read for any horror reader who enjoys suspenseful and atmospheric tales.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be looking for other stories by Mark E. Fitch.

I want to thank the publisher "Flame Tree Press" and Netgalley for this terrific ARC and any opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this book a rating of 4 1/2 Haunting 🌟🌟🌟🌟✴

It could be an age thing as I am still transitioning from YA novels to adult-appropriate novels...but I just could not enjoy as much as I thought I would


Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a free copy of the book in exchange of my honest opinion

It took me a while to really get into this novel. Not because it isn't fantastic, the current world situation sucked up some of my reading motivation. Once I really forced myself to sit down and get into this I absolutely loved it!

I'm always an easy win over when it comes to horror set in the wilderness, and Boy In The Box gives us exactly that.
Three former friends return to the forest to move the body of a child they murdered years before. Buried in the wilderness, all have suffered the guilt and trauma of their decision throughout their lives and now discover a planned redevelopment may uncover their mistake.

I didn't find any of the men particularly likeable, but in this story I didn't think it a necessity.
Told mostly through the perspective of main character Jonathan with additions from his son and friend Michael, we join them on a terrifying journey through the snow, but they aren't alone...

Maybe it was just my current temperament, or maybe the pacing does start out a little slow. Either way the tension ratchets up as the novel takes a surprising supernatural turn.

Perfect for fans of Nevill's The Ritual.

Four friends make a terrible mistake by covering up an accident they caused. This decision impacts them for the rest of their lives. When it happens that evidence of their wrongdoing might come to light, they decide to compound their already stupid decision. I'm really not sure why they made the decisions they do in the book. I will confess I may have missed something, It is a long book and things are well described, but almost to the point of overkill. Good premise- a little flawed in the reasoning - and some of the woods parts were scary. I wanted to like this book more, I just couldn't get past the fact that there was no need for their actions. (Sorry- I'm trying not to give spoilers.)
Thank you for Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read an ARC of this book. I will look for more by this author.

Super cool horror novel in which the "coming of age" trope is applied, not to boys of 13 or 10, but to adult males, lifelong friends and neighbors, who really ought to "know better," but instead are overruled by their Ids, by their cultural expectations, and very possibly by a Supernatural force beyond their comprehension or control.


My only complaint about this very engrossing story is that off and on there is an excess of "Woe is me" and reiteration of the guilt, the pressure, the stress, especially concerning protagonist Jonathan. Yet that was no more than a mild critical note as my intrigue continued unabated.

A friend's suicide and funeral brings back together three men to deal with a tragic event from their past.

This book had a lot of creepy elements and sounds good by description, but gets bogged down in an overwritten novel. Some editing would have benefitted and moved along the story.

The tragic loss of a friend reunites the remaining 3 men who have sat on a tragic secret for the last decade. The moment is coming when their secret will be revealed if they don't retrace their steps from the past. But something sinister is waiting for them.

Boy in the Box has the makings of a great horror story. Missing children that reappear years later, covering up an accidental death, ritualistic cults forest demons. As a book it has potential. But I found it to be overly wordy and repetitive and made it drag. Fitch's descriptions of the forest are detailed and add to the overall feeling of dread, but I think some of the creepier aspects weren't as developed as they could have been. Jonathan was a well developed character and you could see how the years of secrecy affected his mental health and well being.

I thank the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.