This book was pretty good but it was kind of poorly written. I know it was supposed to be written for a 1960s time period but some of the things mentioned felt unnecessary. The beginning of this book really dragged & everything mentioned was very much predictable. The surprises really didn't come until the very end. It made it hard to power through 70% of the book. It was also hard to follow because there were soooo many characters & they all didn't feel necessary to the story. 

I was filled with the same paranoia and vindication that Joan was.

⚠️ CW: violence, racism, sexism, classism, kidnapping, rape, incest and brief mentions of cancer and parental death ⚠️ If you liked The Stepford Wives and enjoy dark and thrilling storylines then this one is for you! In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she’s eager to settle down. Lilydale’s motto - “Come Home Forever” - couldn’t be more inviting. And yet something is off in the picture-perfect village. The friendliness borders on intrusive. Joan can’t shake the feeling that every move she makes is being tracked. An archaic organization still seems to hold the town in thrall. So does the sinister secret of a little boy who vanished decades ago. And unless Joan is imagining things, a frighteningly familiar figure from her past is on watch in the shadows. Her fiancé tells her she’s being paranoid. He might be right. Then again, she might have moved to the deadliest small town on earth. This book was so good, and makes you feel uncomfortable from the very beginning as if at any second everything will fall apart and just when you think you've figured it out it hits you with another mind blowing twist. It's difficult to review without giving spoilers but it's one of those reads that really gets in your head. Overall, I highly recommend this book.

Started off slow, but once it hooked me I couldn’t let go. A truly creepy and scary small town story.

 R E V I E W 

Bloodline by Jess Lourey 

 S U M M A R Y 

After being passed over for promotion, being mugged and injured, and a surprise pregnancy, Joan Harkin thinks it's an easy decision to follow her fiance Dec back to his small hometown to create a life together. It immediately becomes apparent, however, that Lilydale's perfect facade covers something more sinister than Joan could ever have guessed. 

 W A R N I N G S 

Kidnapping, murder, incest, cult vibes 

 C H A R A C T E R S 

I have mixed feelings about the characters in this. I feel like they by and large require a certain amount of suspension of belief in order to enjoy fully. I can do this but I know a lot of people have issues, and even I raised my eyebrows a bit at a few things that happened. Joan is mostly a good character, but I really disliked the trope of pregnancy making her wonder if she's going crazy. I feel like it's a very overused trope and yeah. 

 P L O T 

Again a bit with suspension of belief, but this was more fun than the character part. I love a good sinister plot with broad reaching implications. It ended up giving me major cultish vibes, which I did not expect! Especially since I read two cult type thrillers earlier this month. 

 N A R R A T I O N 

Whitney Dykhouse did a really good job, especially with squeezing emotion into her voice. 

 O V E R A L L 

A good, suspenseful thriller that I couldn't really have predicted. Definitely not predictable on thr whole, and I recommend if you don't mind suspending your belief. 

I kept thinking on this review for a while. But here it is. This one was underwhelming and I found it problematic.

Most of the plot was used to create shock value, but besides the plot holes and the naive journalist MC this had so many problems. For example - overused untrustworthy narrator. Eventually it is all forced into "mental health" issue. And I hate that. Besides trying to be patronizing due to the times, do we really need to use that trope?

I also found the use of racial slurs unnecessary for the plot or character growth. It was useless, besides pointing out the times in which the book is set. 

Here are some TW as well (might get spoilery, so beware):  Incest, kidnapping, mental abuse, racial slurs, mention of suicide, mental health. If I'm missing any, my bad.

Overall I found it a fast read, a page turner. But the horror of this book came not from the creepy town, and the following eyes, but from the bad plot and just overall vibe of this story.