When a book is dubbed as "perfect for fans of C.J. Tudor and Alex North", you can definitely count me in. And everything about this book drew me in - the beautiful cover, the striking font, the intriguing title, and the chilling synopsis.

And the prologue delivered everything I was hoping for! And then a climactic scene near the end delivered everything I was hoping for, too. There were parts that I absolutely loved dotted throughout. But it definitely took me on a bit of a hit-and-miss journey overall, as the rest of the book didn't quite hit on the same level of dark and macabre.

There were just too many distractions for me. I didn't care much for Ashley's family or her relationship with the podcaster. Had there been more focus on Ashley's past, had she taken it upon herself to discover the truth and dig deeper into the murders going on, I would have been much more engaged. But instead, other aspects took over her story, and they just weren't as interesting.

The book also really reminded me of a popular release with a similar plot (which I loved), so I constantly felt like it was trying to take influence from that, especially with the podcaster side of things. But had it gone down its own path with more focus and impact on what was actually going on in this town, I would have absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, I feel like this part of the plot took too much of a backseat with everything else going on.

Still, I can definitely see its potential, and I know this will be a great book for many readers! There was certainly enough that I enjoyed about it for me to recommend it; I'm just always eager for books like this to be absolutely brimming with darkness rather than just flirting with it.

I do love a dark and twisty read, with elements of the supernatural. And 'The Hungry Dark' fits perfectly into this category.
Ashley acts as a medium, telling her audiences that she can speak with their deceased lived ones. Her brother and father work behind the scenes to convince her audiences of her integrity. However, the reader quickly learns that all of the sessions are actually a setup and her family are using Ashley's 'gifts' to make a living. It's difficult at this point to feel any liking for her father or brother but we learn that Ashley is uncomfortable with their way of living and that she is seeing the 'Heedful Ones'. So she does have some sort of 'gift'. These 'Heedful Ones' are shadowy figures that appear when danger is imminent and Ashley is fearful of their re-appearance.
Through a series of flashbacks, we learn about the event, some years earlier at Red Rigg House, when a tragic accident occurred.
In the present day, Ashley's brother offers her services as a medium to the police, to help find a missing child after a series of disappearances across the Lake District. With the unexpected assistance of the Heedful Ones, Ashley is able to assist in the investigation and soon finds herself, as the main suspect.
As Ashley struggles to prove her innocence, the Heedful Ones come increasingly closer and more often. The chills also come more frequently and I enjoyed the mix of mystery and paranormal.

A dark and disturbing story but a compelling read. At first, the events, which had such a crushing effect upon our protagonist are just alluded to, but it is finally revealed to the reader what horror was let loose the night her life changed her forever.

The story is very cleverly cloaked by the writer such that it’s almost impossible to decide who is or isn’t an ally to Ashley. Will she survive, either mentally or physically, on her first visit back to the Hall since that dreadful night in her youth? The story is filled with dark and foreboding episodes for Ashley to contend with. Will she discover the story behind all those missing children?

This is such a compelling read and I loved the ending. It comes to a real crescendo. Anyone that reads this book, will not be disappointed.

This is an interesting premise about a scam psychic who then gets visions of real murders and I was very much looking forward to reading it.
However, I’m afraid, for me, it didn’t deliver. Instead I found it slow and meandering and I honestly struggled to finish it.

I’m saying it’s a 2* OK read as there are elements I enjoyed; the interaction between the lead character, Ashley and her brother and the spooky descriptions of the landscape. I’m just disappointed it wasn’t a tighter, more interesting read and overall, the family dynamics didn’t gel.

I’m grateful to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, Fiction Marketing for the opportunity to preview.

As a child, Ashley Whitelam was haunted by ghostly figures no one else could see. Silent and watchful, these Heedful Ones followed her wherever she went. She hasn’t seen them for eighteen years, not since that fateful night at Red Rigg House.

But now they’re back, and they’re trying to tell her something.

Children start to disappear across the Lake District and Ashley becomes involved in the investigation, eager for free publicity to promote her work as a psychic. She never expected the collaboration to bear fruit, but when she discovers the body of one of the missing children, everything changes.

The police are convinced that she’s involved with the killings, and the press are hounding her for answers. Desperate to clear her name, she works with true crime podcaster, Freddie Miller, to investigate. As they look deeper into the disappearances, Ashley must dig into the demons of her past, before the nightmare in the present comes for her, too.

Jen Williams is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. The Hungry Dark is gripping, bone chilling and packed full of twists. It is a must read!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an interesting and twisty thriller with a dark, supernatural underbelly set in the atmospheric and ancient landscape of the Lake District. While I never fully warmed to the FMC - a scam artist psychic who did actually see 'ghosts' - I still really enjoyed the fast pace of the book, the overall plot and the mystery that unravelled. I'm a huge fan of a murder mystery thriller so this ticked all the right boxes, and the paranormal aspects were introduced seamlessly throughout.

I recommend this to anyone who fancies an easy thriller read with plenty of twists and turns, plus the added layer of paranormal goings on.

What do you call fictional true crime? That's the first hurdle in trying to describe this book. It is a fictional story, one that definitely counts as occult, one that borders on horror too really. Ghostly figures, psychic readings, even a witchy woman in the woods... but also a story with a true crime podcaster investigating murders. It's a great modern twist on story rooted in folklore and history. The more I read the more I appreciated the careful blend that was being presented. Not just in the genre either - it's a dark story of murdered children that manages to inject just a little lightness at the right moment and stop it feeling too heavy. Which I know sounds odd, but it works. Little rays of light poking through the dark storm clouds to remind you that it's not all misery. And I say that as someone who typically raves about inky black bleakness too. It's a book with a lot of very careful balance throughout, and so rich for it.

Ashely is a great character. We see the mystery both build and unravel in front of her. She is sympathetic and likeable. Her story is powerful too. The character is impressive, and deep enough that I barely noticed how little the other characters truly bring. They have far less substance, not just in the sense of being supporting roles, but in the far more valuable sense of giving Ashley room to carry the story. And much like her life, she really does carry everything. As much as the rest bring to the story it feels as if multiple choices could've still worked, but Ashley felt just right. A slight change to her would've had a massive, and I suspect very negative, impact on my enjoyment.

Of course, Ashley shines because the plot suits her so well. We discover the past the haunts her. We see her confronting her trauma and grow. She doesn't just play her part in uncovering the mystery, she uncovers herself - finding a place for herself in the world. All part of that careful blend that makes this such an engaging read. A rewarding one too. I love a good mystery, but you don't get much personal growth or deeper meaning, they're often more entertainment. Horror stories even more so. The characters are there to drive the plot, but here it feels more as if those plots exist to support a deeper story in the growth of Ashley. The Heedful Ones manage a superb level of spookiness for those who want the occult front and centre. The murders offer an enjoyably complex mystery that had more turns than a gnarly tree battered by the Lake District winters for those who want the thriller aspect. And while both have enough presence to shine in their fields, neither drowns the other, and neither stifle the story of Ashley.

It's an enjoyable read, one with some lovely subtle touches that allow it to deliver something really quite clever. You can binge it for fun, you can savour it for something deeper. There's a lot fo many people here, and it never feels compromised by that.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an eArc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is my second book by Jen Williams and I must say this will definitely not be a last!
I enjoyed the fast paced chapters and the little breadcrumbs (no pun intended) left for us throughout this story. Just the right amount of tease so you'll say okay, I will read one more chapter then end up reading the entire book.

Much like Games For Dead Girls, The Hungry Dark also deals with a protagonist with some sort of family issues. Ashley has a controlling father and a mother who seem to be present in her life at a somewhat surface level. It provides for great drama and an interesting family dynamic I feel many readers could relate to.

I enjoyed the con-artist aspect of Ashley and especially so that she did in fact have certain insights into the spirit world, which at occasion put her into trouble. I have even wondered if maybe we were dealing with an unreliable narrator here and Ashley was in fact mad - this sort of questioning my own sense of character is something I specifically enjoy and I wish it was explored as a potential avenue.

I think the greatest strength of this novel is the murder mystery element of it: the leaving the dolls, the EAT UP ASHLEY were spooky and well placed. The novel flowed really well and it picked up after Ashley and Freddie had began working together. There is a little bit of romance side plot, but not at all distracting and it was great to see the characters be actually focused on solving the murders instead of getting it on every ten minutes (*eyeroll* then a golden star for The Hungry Dark for not being horrible - I mean who can stomach romance while we are investigating child murders? That's right, no one. Props to the author for keeping focus) With that said, I'm all for routing for the main couple, however it is worth mentioning here that I really liked Aidan, Ashley's brother who had been there as a supportive older brother. It was refreshing to see a healthier portrayal of a brother and sister relationship.

Overall, I think the pacing and the characters are the highlights of this book and it is a fun read (despite the dark topic) that I'd definitely take on a trip.

I was instantly drawn into the book and there were many creepy moments that kept me reading, I really enjoyed it overall.

This was interesting. I struggled with our main character quite a bit however she was certainly interesting and the book kept me gripped. The prologue I thought was especially well done.

I tried getting into this one, but sadly had to DNF at the 40% mark. I am not too keen on reading disturbing books about child murders.

I was promised a “chilling and atmospheric thriller” with “macabre murders” …and thus is exactly what you get. I loved this book. Our main character is Ashley, a psychic who has always seen terrifying - let’s call them ghosts, and has always struggled to fit in at school, a terrifying summer event leaves her relatively famous and forges a career for her and her family.

When she offers to help the police with a murder for a bit of publicity, she didn’t know thr path it was going to lead down.

This was an excellent read, fast paced, frightening and what an ending!

My thanks to Netgalley and The HarperFiction Team for inviting me to read this fabulous book!

The book is unsettling and atmospheric. There were many secrets and mystery in book. Plot twists kept me on the edge. I liked the main character. Ashley had an unsettling past and slowly and gradually it unfolds to readers and somehow the past and present intervenes.

Ashley Whitelam has a gift, she can speak with souls/ people from another realm. She is a psychic. She offered to help the police to find the missing child. But strange things happens and she finds the body of the child in woods though the lake district in small town of Green Beck becomes haunting when one after the other unfortunate incident happens and children abduction and murder becomes everyday thing. But eventually she becomes the suspect, she must clear her name and to do that, she needs to get to the bottom of the mystery. She must face the demons of her past to untangle the present from the past.

Many Thanks to Author, Publisher and Netgalley.

This was a gripping read and I was intrigued by the characters. I will look out for more by this author.

Shadows of a thousand years rise again, unseen…

We’ve all probably been to places that for no apparent reason give us the heebie-jeebies. It could be a house that gives you chills, maybe a hill or a mountain, they’re just bad places where bad things happen. Red Rigg Fell in the Lake District is one example with legends, unexplained occurrences, and a strong sense of evil. Ashley Whitelam experiences just such when in 2004 she stays at Red Rigg House with other disadvantaged children, courtesy of the wealthy Lyndon – Smith family. In the present day, she’s a psychic known as the Spirit Oracle, conducting sham seances
with the “ assistance” of her brother, Aidan. He wants her to branch out by offering her assistance to the local police force currently stumped by the” Gingerbread House” murders. Eight children have been gruesomely murdered over a span of six years and currently there’s a young boy who has been missing for the last two weeks. Each child prior to death has been fed a sugary treat hence the Grimm dark fairytale label. The police decide they have nothing to lose by accepting Ashley‘s offer and she makes a shocking discovery. However, are these latest victims the tip of the iceberg?

I really want to enjoy everything this book has to offer because the premise is great and it has fantastic potential. There are a number of aspects that I think are very good and are well done. First of all, the Lake District setting is superb, it’s an area of outstanding natural beauty which provides a stark contrast to the darkness lurking on the fells. This is a very effective element and the visual descriptions are good. There are some creepy moments and some exceptionally good spooky images, especially provided by the “Heedful
Ones”. I enjoy too, the witchcraft, superstition, the legends, ancient gods, boggards and faeries which are a fascinating backdrop to the storytelling. You can understand how this landscape can lead to legends and superstitions.

However, there’s just too much going on in the slow burner plot, and I’d much prefer one or two aspects to be well developed, but instead we get:
1. Ashley, the psychic
2. Her mysterious traumatic past and premonitions.
3. The Gingerbread House murders.
4. A romance with a Podcaster and his podcasts.
5. Ashley’s dysfunctional family dynamics which at times, don’t feel very authentic.
The one detracts from the other, it gets confusing, disjointed and lacks a cohesive whole. I am underwhelmed by the ending too, which, considering the lengthy buildup, feels rushed.

Overall, there are many good elements in this novel, but it could’ve been way better.

With thanks to NetGalley, and especially to Harper Collins, HarperFiction for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

A good solid novel, with creepy supernatural undertones that I really enjoyed.
Sometimes Ms Whitelam annoyed me as she allowed herself to be bullied consistently toy by her family but overall she was a decent character.
The story was steady paced with a refreshing but eerie setting and I liked the supernatural presence throughout.
I’d read more by this author!

Thank you to Jen Williams and HarperCollins UK for inviting me to read an ARC of The Hungry Dark.

This book has an amazingly spooky and eerie vibe which is set up right from the first chapter. Jen Williams writes in such a way that gets under your skin. I made the mistake of reading this late at night and may have left a light on for the rest of the night!

I really enjoyed Ashley as a main character. She's caught between trying to deal with the horrors of what happened to her as a child, being able to see things no one ends can, and being manipulated by her family into being their sole breadwinner. My heart went out for her and I was rooting for her to somehow have a happy ending at the end of the book, even with all the fresh horrors she has to go through.

The pacing of the story was good and I felt like we were given enough background on all of the main characters. I did manage to work out the ending in advance but the story was set up so perfectly that I didn't mind.

Overall, if you're in the mood for something creepy with a lot of interesting character development then this will be the book for you.

Thank you to the author, publishers Harper Collins and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

When Ashley volunteers to use her psychic abilities to help in the search for a missing boy she doesn’t expect it to work. About 90 per cent of what she does is a scam anyway. But, when the apparitions she saw as a child return she is pulled into a mystery of missing children that goes back decades.

An enjoyable fast-paced thriller. The main character of Ashley is well-developed and easy to cheer for. Her one-dimensional bullying father less so.

Despite the apparitions Ashley sees during most of this book, and despite the title, this feels less like a horror story or ghost story, and more just a straight detective story. In fact I think the story would have been strengthened by cutting the horror plotline completely and focussing more on the uncovering of the murder mystery. Either that or building up the horror elements so they stood up more strongly.

It was still an enjoyable read. I just feel like it could have been more.

An atmospheric story of a remote landscape and the people who live and visit there. Children have been going missing for years, their bodies (if found) are mutilated. Ashley, a psychic, visited Red Rigg House as a teenager, somehow escaping a terrible fire that killed her teacher and all her classmates. Now she is back at Red Rigg for the Moon Festival, determined to face her fears…
I love how the characters are developed, the way in which they have grown and changed over the years, as Ashley reflects on what happened before and the 'current' Gingerbread House murders. Ashley is a complicated character, cowing to her brother and father who domineer her life and take control of her psychic talents and run her business, feeling guilty for surviving the fire, lying to the bereaved and terrified whenever she sees the 'Heedless Ones', dark sinister shadows that seem attracted to death and can only be seen by her.

This is not my usual genre, but I always read a book when offered the chance of an ARC. I found the beginning quite intriguing when a woman, who is really a scam psychic, is revealed to have real powers. She also sees mysterious threatening creatures whom she names the heedless ones., and her grandmother had some psychic tendencies.. Her father and her brother seem to control her and her "career", which bothered me as I could not see why a thirty-odd-years old woman didn't' want to break free of this. There is a tragedy in her background which haunts her, and a case of missing children which she is trying to investigate with an American podcaster. I really enjoyed this up until the last part, when it turned into a run of-the-mill thriller/killer. I would have preferred a gentler ending. I enjoyed the setting in the Lake District.