When newly minted child psychologist Mina travels to the isolated town of Banathel in South England to care for a girl who claims to be haunted by a witch, she discovers the town of Banathel has their own ways of dealing with such evil.
Something in the Walls is my favorite horror book of 2025 so far.
It is literary fiction, similar to the likes of Nick Cutter with less body horror. Instead, Daisy Pearce induces dread through a haunting atmosphere and demons we all fight with.
I devoured this book in four days. It isn’t a fast paced horror novel, but the writing is elegant and smooth and makes for easy reading, and Daisy Pearce created an atmosphere and setting I never wanted to leave.
I was shocked to discover the book has earned less than 3.5 stars on Goodreads. I’ve perused some of the 3-star reviews, and there seem to be a lot of issues with Mina as a child psychologist. I can understand some of the complains; I would liked to have seen some formal sessions between Mina and Alice, but Mina is embroiled in her own internal conflicts that get in the way of her ability to act professionally. A major theme of the story is how we let our own desires cloud our judgment and influence our moral compass and ultimately our behavior.
I have also seen some issues with the ending, but I found it totally satisfying. This is Mina’s story, and it was wrapped up nicely.
I would recommend this to fans of Nick Cutter’s literary horror or Paul Tremblay’s Head Full of Ghosts. There is much more to the story than a demonic possession — namely, how we allow ourselves to become possessed by our own demons.
I’ve also heard negative things about the audiobook, so I recommend picking up a hardcopy. Click the button below to buy it through my Amazon affiliate link.
