3.5/5 stars!

THE GIRL WHO HID IN THE TREES is a creepy novella that left me with a serious case of the willies!

In no-where town USA there is a forest-McConnell's Forest. Years ago, Jason lost his older brother, (as well as his brother's gang of friends), in that forest, and the mystery has never been solved. Now that Jason and HIS group of friends are grown, they're tired of hearing the rumors and stories, and they set out in the forest to find the truth. Will they discover what happened? More importantly, will they survive? You'll have to read this to find out!

On Saturday, sitting beside my sleeping mom in the nursing home, something rare happened. I found myself with nothing to read! I can think of only a few things more horrific for me. (Having my eyeball poked out with a fork, for instance.) I found this story on my Kindle app and have been meaning to read it for some time, so I did.

I immediately found myself drawn in to Jason's life and what it must be like to be "the boy whose brother was murdered in McConnell's Forest." A stigma of sorts was attached to Jason, (as does happen in small towns), but it eventually wore off as Jason got older. I loved the relationship he had with Vanessa and I thought that portion was well written. Once he and his girlfriend shared the fact that they both had had "experiences" in the forest, the fun begins.

I thought at that point, everything came racing at me much more quickly than it had in the first half (or so), of the book. I wouldn't have minded a little time spent with the entire group of friends, so that I could get to know them a wee bit better, thereby making what happened to them even more horrific. (Also, I thought it was pushing the envelope that the parents would allow the kids to do what they did so... easily, but I can't get into much more without spoilers.)

Overall though, I thought this tale fun, and about what you'd expect it to be from reading the synopsis. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Recommended!

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Review in progress ( )