I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

A young woman struggling with the loss of her brother in a heinous crime returns to the place he lost his life, a haunted attraction in their small town, in hopes of discovering what exactly happened to her brother. However she isn’t the only one, as thriller seekers hoping to keep the place open arrive, as does the mystery killer who caused the chaos in the first place, in author Noelle Ihli’s “The Thicket”.

The Synopsis

Would you recognize a real scream on Halloween?

That’s the question haunting Norah Lewis.

She can’t shake the guilt that’s stalked her since the night her brother was murdered. She heard —and ignored—his last screams. Just like everyone else at the Thicket, a haunted attraction in tiny Declo, Idaho.

But as Halloween approaches, Norah’s personal tragedy is overshadowed by a media circus. Parents’ groups and PTAs lobby for a shutdown while thrill seekers far and wide clamor for a chance to visit the notorious haunted attraction.

Many of Norah’s classmates eagerly plan a visit. And, reluctantly, so does Norah, who is driven to retrace her brother’s last steps.

But the man in the grainy security footage whose masked face is plastered across the news hasn’t chosen the Thicket at random.

And, like Norah, he’s planning a return visit. 

The Review

What a truly amazing and inviting horror read! Horror fans everywhere will love this intricately detailed and plotted thriller. The author does a great job of painting an image of the narrative in the reader’s mind, delving into our modern world’s obsession and love of all things terrifying and macabre. As a fan of haunts myself and with friends who run a haunted attraction, I could relate to the life and atmosphere of these attractions clearly. 

It was the atmosphere and characters that really drew me into this narrative. The author managed to capture the unique mindsets of teenagers who have trouble thinking past their own needs or desires, while the chilling mind of the killer and what created his need to kill were both fascinating and haunting. Nora will break your heart, as she evolves over time from a former moody teenager who is faced with regret and pain at her brother’s loss, to a horror heroine facing her brother’s killer head-on. 

The Verdict

A memorable, engaging, and chilling horror/thriller, author Noelle Ihli’s “The Thicket” is a massively entertaining novel of 2021, and a great first novel in the author’s fictional writing career. One of my top choices for the horror novel of 2021, this novel will stay with you long after you have read it, and the author perfectly captures the tone and feeling of tension that both the haunt and the killer bring into this narrative. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

Noelle’s two great passions are murder and horses (separately, never together).

Noelle is a boy-mom to Luke and Max, and a cat-mom to Michelle. When she’s willing to wear pants (which is less often than she aspires to wear them), she can be found in mom jeans. Her husband Nate is the best person she knows.