This was my first Jennifer McMahon read, and it definitely won't be the last. WOW does she write a can't-put-it-down type of thriller!

West Hall, Vermont is a small town with a spooky history. Going back over 100 years, the town has been victim to many strange disappearances and brutal killings. Ruthie lives in the most notorious house in town with her mother and little sister. The brutal murder of Sara Harrison Shea in 1908 has been sensationalized, after Sara's diary was published. In those pages, Sara shared her upbringing with her single father and the "aunt" that brought her up to learn the forest and magic that could come along with it, as well as the dangerous possibility of "sleepers", people brought back briefly from the dead. When Ruthie's mother disappears, she and her young sister start looking for clues as to where she could have gone. Finding a gun, some wallets, and a camera bag that definitely doesn't belong, Ruthie starts to question if she even knew her mother at all. When her investigating brings some new people into her life, Ruthie quickly learns that there may have been truth to the rumours flying around town about the woods behind her house, even though they are highly unbelievable..

Told in dual timelines, between present day and the lead-up to Sara's death in 1908, this book gives you all the creepy vibes. What Sara did in 1908 set the precedent for the events that Ruthie and her sister endure in present day, and it gives the reader something to fear, even though Ruthie doesn't figure out what's happening until the end of the book. The "sleepers" that Sara describes make the story more of a haunting, and makes you question the sanity of some of the characters. The way the characters all came together in the end was really interesting, although it did end on a bit of a low note for me, compared to the rest of the book. I definitely recommend picking it up, and I'll be looking to read more from this author!

4.5