Nowhere by Allison Gunn

 

My thoughts

It has been a minute since I read a horror story. This one is definitely on the horror side. It kept me on the edge in quite a few places and in tears in a few. And oh boy that ending. The ending was perfect. 

Great job by this author on her debut novel. Very well written and told. It certainly wasn't what I expected. Though at this point I'm not sure what I did expect. It said it was in the horror genre. It was and more. 

When the Kennan's moved to the very small town of Dahlmouth they had high hopes. Happy times and relaxing days was what they had hoped for. But when a horrific accident changes their lives nothing will ever be ok again. 

Rachel Kennan is the police chief. She works way to hard and has put her family on hold in many ways. It seems she hates her husband now. He was driving the vehicle that crashed and caused their young son to perish. He has been drinking. She could not seem to move past the feelings she had. She never talked about the accident or their son. She loved their three children but after losing one she just wasn't there for the other two, both girls, like she should have been. It was her way of coping.

Finn Kennan had been a writer. He takes care of the children while his wife works. Though he hasn't written a thing since the accident. He hates the town and seems like he thinks he's way better than the people who live there. And they know it. They've read things he has written about them. They do not like him very much either.

The Kennan's have two daughters Charlie and Lucy. One is thirteen and the other only six. When things get bad in the town these two are at the heart of it all. What happens to the children is beyond belief. At least from the Sheriff. Chief Kennan tries to tell him what she thinks but he will not listen or help. Children are going missing. What is happening in this small town. Who is responsible for this.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It had a lot going on but was so easy to follow. Well written and descriptions that take you right to the heart of what is happening. I felt so many things reading this book. I had high hopes for Rachel and Finn. I actually rooted for them to make it. It was a breath holding experience for sure.

Thank you #NetGalley, #AtriaBooks, for this ARC.

Five big stars.

About

Mare of Easttown meets The Outsider in this spine-tingling and twisty debut about a series of disappearances in a small, fundamentalist town and what one broken family must do to remain together as dark forces close in.

After losing her young son in an accident, Rachel Kennan throws herself into her career as police chief of a small Virginia town to avoid focusing on her grief. Meanwhile, her husband, Finn, a washed-up writer whose alcoholism led to the devastating tragedy that changed everything, struggles to redeem himself before his family completely falls apart. Their two daughters are the only things keeping Rachel and Finn together, but the girls have demons of their own.

At the same time, a disturbing crime rocks their tightknit, religious community, sending Rachel chasing leads in a place that does not take kindly to outsiders. When an ominous force in the forest starts calling to the children, fear spawns hate among the townspeople, placing the Kennan family directly in the line of fire. Left with no choice but to rely on each other, Rachel and Finn must come together to face threats inside and out.

A haunting family saga and a disquieting horror debut, Nowhere draws from Appalachian folklore to caution us that true terror is what we bury in our own hearts.