Really good until the end. The end was meh. So so.

Twists and turns, keeps you on the edge of your seat! Hard to put down!!

The Shadows is an excellently written novel about the gruesome murder of a child in a small town and how stories evolve over time to become local folklore and urban legends. The book is a fantastic read. It feels like a combination of Tana French and Gillian Flynn, but with a wholesome quality you get from one of the POVs being that of a child. The characters were well developed and multidimensional, but I also found myself constantly wondering who I could trust. I am someone who is always trying to see all the angles and figure out the ending before it is revealed, but this book threw me multiple times. I'm not sure the ending was the most interesting choice, but I understand what the author was saying by the choices he made. The novel is fascinating and once you start reading, you won't be able to stop.

Thank you to Bookish First & Celadon Books for my review copy. This book had a very strong start and I couldn't put the book down but it did stall in the middle. I'm happy I pushed through because the book got really good and the twist took me by surprise. The WHOLE book I was thinking one thing and then the author went and pulled the rug from under my feet!!!!! I still can't stop thinking about that twist. Well done. This was a well written story and for the most part the pacing was good. I enjoyed this book way better than The Whisper Man and highly recommend reading this book.