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.

The Wild Things by London Clarke truly took me by surprise with how completely sucked into it I was. I sat down with this thriller and suddenly I was more than halfway through it because I just did not want to stop.

What initially drew me in was the premise of a woman, Kendall, who writes true crime novels and moves to the Cove to begin researching and writing her latest book, with the added bonus of bringing her close to her best friend Sam. The characters were super interesting themselves, with distinct backgrounds and personalities that made you want to learn more about them. The relationship between Sam and Kendall is so loving and pure, and gets tested to the limits throughout the course of the novel in ways they never would have expected, and left me anxious for them, and rooting for them to maintain the sweet bond they clearly had and which made me love the two of them so much.

The interesting characters don’t end here though. There are so many eccentric characters in Kendall’s new neighborhood that made it so hard to turn away from them, from the outrageously wild to the deeply mysterious and slightly insidious. Characters like Brian and Flip, Georgia and Tate, and many besides had me deeply invested in getting answers, and unable to turn away from the train wreck that they were at times in equal measure.

The Wild Things also managed to hold this air of creepy, spooky intensity to it. At times it was almost like a horror with how it managed to masterfully to induce chills and anxiety with just the tension and uncertainty of what Kendall was facing. It was so well written and this vibe was one of the highlights of the novel for me because it was so exceptionally done. As an example there are trees Kendall comes across with Sam on a hike that have shoes nailed to them, and no other context beyond this creepy sight and that atmosphere was just so tangible it didn’t need anything more to truly get that horror across on page.

As everything starts to unravel and more information becomes clear, the book gets even more impossible to stop reading and I truly enjoyed it from start to finish. I felt deeply invested in what was happening, in getting the answers, and even just in the relationships of the characters which I wanted to see pull through and stay strong. It was such a great book and I was a little taken aback by the end with how great and being a little sad to be finished with it. It’s a definite recommend!

DNF at 20% in… literally nothing has happened??

The premise of the book sounded more than promising. I was excited for elements of the supernatural, true crime, and crazy neighbors. You’d think with that much going in, there wouldn’t be time to have chapters where nothing happened to forward the plot…

Eerie, unsettling, mysterious, atmospheric. I gobbled this up and couldn't put it down. Each new clue had my hackles up yo figure out what was going on.

Fast page turner, loved the twists in this book! Would definitely recommend this, I would have liked to know more about the experiments they mentioned. The characters were also so interesting.

The only thing worse than an HOA is an HOA filled with some godawful people. Kendall figures this out for herself after purchasing a home in the seemingly idyllic neighborhood The Cove, the location of her next true crime book about a young girl that went missing over a decade prior. Between her writer's block, increasingly weird interactions with her neighbors, supernatural hauntings, and the return of her wayward sister, Kendall begins to unravel the bizarre web that has entangled The Cove.

I thought this was very interesting and extremely unsettling. I like how you start getting hints that something isn't quite right even if you can't put your finger on exactly why that is. Cool cast of characters.

First I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

This book is a true page-turner that expertly keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. The mystery at the heart of the story is both captivating and layered. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, but it never feels overly complex or convoluted. Each clue reveals just enough to propel the plot forward, maintaining a steady sense of suspense. Despite a neighborhood of characters, I never felt lost or overwhelmed. However, certain relationships feel a bit lacking in emotional connection. There are moments where key relationships, particularly those that should carry more weight in the narrative, didn't quite land it. Overall, this book is a thrilling ride that keeps you guessing without leaving you confused or disoriented.

A twisty turn-y thriller full of questions and suspense.
Who are Kendall's neighbors, and how well does anyone on her street know one another.

A fun and quick read that will keep you guessing page after page.

The Wild Things is an engaging story that did keep me interested in discovering the outcome of what was happening with the key antagonists. There were a few central plot points that hooked you in.

I felt, although story was interesting and there was a good deal of tension throughout, the genre felt a little confused. It didn't feel boldy a horror, or crime, or sci-fi and I felt this diluted the narrative thread a little as it seemed to jump moods from chapter to chapter. Also it never resolved hungry hat - felt it needed to streamline its plot a bit so it could confidently develop the narrative rather than focus on multiple areas in less depth.

However, it's worth a read and is a page turner. If you liked Gone Girl etc you'll enjoy this. Would have rated 3.5 but won't let me do half stars!

I really enjoyed this book and it kept me engaged and wanting to read more to find out what happens. I appretiate how it was different from many other books I have read and enjoyed the true crime and paranormal aspects of the plot. It had so much going on but it wasn’t hard to follow. I felt in a few places things could have made more sense but nothing extreme in terms of plot holes. The romance aspect was fun. If you like mystery/true crime and paranormal themes you would definitely enjoy this. I feel like I was invested in finding out what was happening and it kept me turning pages and was easily digestible.