In the Woods They Wait by Carrie Lee South (2026)
This 'something-awful-in-the-woods' thriller takes a good amount of pages (and two separate timelines) to reach its nightmarish finale, but when it finally does......a properly gruesome good time is guaranteed for all.
Readers should keep in mind that use of 'unnatural' in the book's description.......so we're not talking about a big old bear here, or even Bigfoot. We're dealing with all-out monstrous horror, something apt to give you the willies for nights to come.
Audrey Figg's career as an Ozark National Park ranger had its haunting, tragic origin in her adolescence. Back then, annoyed with her 13 year old brother Benny as they went hiking through the park trails, Audrey teased and frightened the boy until he lost his way......and then disappeared forever despite exhaustive searches. Telling no one about what led Benny into who knows what fate, for fifteen years Audrey's lived with the deepest guilt and shame, It's this tormenting burden on her mind that led her to stay in the Ozarks, devoting her life to never stop looking for Benny and keep other park visitors safe.......... hence her job as the Park's most skilled Ranger who knows those forests and trails all too well.
And now another child, a young girl named Ivy has gone missing in the park. As Audrey and her boss Scott organize another massive search, all the terrible memories of Benny's disappearance come flooding back to her. And in Scott's brief sudden expressions of absolute terror, Audrey begins to suspect he knows more than he's ever let on about what Benny and ivy might have encountered. on those remote trails.......and what those cairns, those strange piles of stones left along the way really mean.
Now that was more than enough to get my heart racing to stay with this book until its final terrors come out in full force. Yes, it makes for a slow burn and there's a point where the chapters flashing back to Benny's story only serve to make you want to get them over with and move on to the good scary stuff. But I do appreciate the time author Carrie Lee South takes to deepen the bonds Audrey has made with her two allies in the search for Ivy, her lifelong friend Corbin (and maybe something more) and her quirky knowledgeable new trainee Porter.
There's a mixture of hair raising thrills and heartbreak as the book barrels toward Audrey's grandly horrific showdown with whatever's out there and I wouldn't have missed it for anything. And neither should anyone else who can never resist this kind of a shiver-worthy read.
Readers should keep in mind that use of 'unnatural' in the book's description.......so we're not talking about a big old bear here, or even Bigfoot. We're dealing with all-out monstrous horror, something apt to give you the willies for nights to come.
Audrey Figg's career as an Ozark National Park ranger had its haunting, tragic origin in her adolescence. Back then, annoyed with her 13 year old brother Benny as they went hiking through the park trails, Audrey teased and frightened the boy until he lost his way......and then disappeared forever despite exhaustive searches. Telling no one about what led Benny into who knows what fate, for fifteen years Audrey's lived with the deepest guilt and shame, It's this tormenting burden on her mind that led her to stay in the Ozarks, devoting her life to never stop looking for Benny and keep other park visitors safe.......... hence her job as the Park's most skilled Ranger who knows those forests and trails all too well.
And now another child, a young girl named Ivy has gone missing in the park. As Audrey and her boss Scott organize another massive search, all the terrible memories of Benny's disappearance come flooding back to her. And in Scott's brief sudden expressions of absolute terror, Audrey begins to suspect he knows more than he's ever let on about what Benny and ivy might have encountered. on those remote trails.......and what those cairns, those strange piles of stones left along the way really mean.
Now that was more than enough to get my heart racing to stay with this book until its final terrors come out in full force. Yes, it makes for a slow burn and there's a point where the chapters flashing back to Benny's story only serve to make you want to get them over with and move on to the good scary stuff. But I do appreciate the time author Carrie Lee South takes to deepen the bonds Audrey has made with her two allies in the search for Ivy, her lifelong friend Corbin (and maybe something more) and her quirky knowledgeable new trainee Porter.
There's a mixture of hair raising thrills and heartbreak as the book barrels toward Audrey's grandly horrific showdown with whatever's out there and I wouldn't have missed it for anything. And neither should anyone else who can never resist this kind of a shiver-worthy read.
4 stars (****).
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