Then she meets journalist Sam Hunter at the grief group one day, and he has a proposition for her: Thirteen-year-old Alice Webber claims a witch is haunting her. Living with her family in the remote village of Banathel, Alice finds her symptoms are getting increasingly disturbing. Taking this job will give Mina some experience and much-needed money; Sam will get the scoop of a lifetime; and Alice will get better—Mina is sure of it.
But instead of improving, Alice’s behavior becomes inexplicable and intense. The town of Banathel has a deep history of superstition and witchcraft. They believe there is evil in the world. They believe there are ways of…dealing with it. And they don’t expect outsiders to understand."
Mina is a brand new child psychologist and is ready to get started in her field. She finally gets a promising lead when journalist Sam Hunter enlists her help with a young girl named Alice Webber who claims she is being haunted by a witch. Mina wants experience in her field and Sam really wants a sensational story, so the two take a trip to Banathel, a town with a dark history relating to witchcraft, where things end up taking much more sinister turns the more they investigate.
The town of Banathel is a bit of a character in its own right. It’s an odd place with an atmosphere of eeriness that matches the townspeople’s history with witchcraft. While Mina is in Banathel, it has a curfew in place due to a heatwave, which I felt really added to the uneasy feelings and almost isolation of a sort. I really appreciated how Pearce incorporated these elements, as I felt they really contributed to setting the tone for all of the supernatural elements that take center stage of the story. There’s a nice sense of dread that pops up at various moments in the story, and I thought all of this together did create a more classic supernatural horror element.
Something in the Walls has a very promising premise and start, and I was pretty hooked from the start. Who doesn’t love a good horror that focuses on a creepy kid who may or may not be possessed? However, as the story progressed, I really felt as thought the pacing struggled to maintain a sense of consistency and I found myself losing interest at various points as the plot dragged on a bit. There were some areas that felt a bit disjointed, as well, and also a bit of repetitiveness with regard to Mina’s experiences there.
While I was initially quite intrigued with Mina’s character, I found myself feeling almost a bit annoyed with her as the story progressed. As a child psychologist, Mina plays a very important role in getting to know and assessing Alice, and I think there were times when she did a really good job with this. However, there were some times when I felt her behavior ended up feeling a bit off and unprofessional--which I do understand could be fitting given some of the things that were happening--and it did end up throwing me off a bit throughout the book.
Despite a promising premise and a well-executed setting, my biggest issue with this book was simply that I’m finding it a bit forgettable, unfortunately. It’s been a couple weeks now since I finished the book and my initial draft of my review, and I’m finding that I’ve already forgotten so many of the details of what happened and that I just don’t have that many strong feelings about it either way. I’m sure many people will be a great fit for this book and really love all of the great aspects of it, but sadly I don’t think it was the book for me. However, if you really enjoy some supernatural horror and think it sounds like an interesting plot, then I’d encourage you to check it out because I do still think it’s a solid book with a lot of promise.
*I received a copy of Something in the Walls in exchange for an honest review. This has no affect on my opinions.*
I almost requested this but now I'm sort of glad I didn't. I do love the idea and it sounds like the atmosphere is really good though.
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