Something in the Walls: Novel Review
Got witches in your village, who you gonna call?
A child psychologist, I guess! This is one of the books I read on my recent vacation, all spoilers are kept below the spoiler line so don’t go past that if you don’t want the ending spoiled!
The Author
Daisy Pearce was born in Cornwall and grew up on a smallholding surrounded by hippies. She read The Hamlyn Book of Horror far too young and has been fascinated with the macabre ever since.
Daisy began writing short stories as a teenager and had her first short story ‘The Black Prince’ published in One Eye Grey magazine. In 2015 ‘The Silence’ won a bursary with The Literary Consultancy and her short story, ‘The Brook Witch’, was performed on stage at the Small Story Cabaret in Lewes.
Daisy’s debut novels ‘The Silence’ and ‘The Missing’ were published by Thomas & Mercer in 2020. Her third novel ‘Something In The Walls’ was published in the US in 2025 and will soon be available in the UK. Daisy currently works in a library and hunts ghosts.
— Daisy Pearce’s website
You can check out more on Pearce’s website, or follow her on Instagram.
The Book
Newly-minted child psychologist Mina has little experience. In a field where the first people called are experts, she’s been unable to get her feet wet. Instead she aimlessly spends her days stuck in the stifling heat wave sweeping across Britain, and anxiously contemplating her upcoming marriage to careful, precise researcher Oscar. The only reprieve from her small, close world is attending the local bereavement group to mourn her brother’s death from years ago. That is, until she meets journalist Sam Hunter at the grief group one day. And he has a proposition for her.
Alice Webber is a thirteen year old girl who claims she’s being haunted by a witch. Living with her family in their crowded home in the remote village of Banathel, Alice’s symptoms are increasingly disturbing, and money is tight. Taking this job will give Mina some experience; 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 increasingly 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.
As Mina races to uncover the truth behind Alice’s condition, the dark cracks of Banathel begin to show. Mina is desperate to understand how deep their sinister traditions go–and how her own past may be the biggest threat of all.
“Unexpected, mesmerizing, and totally original…will keep you guessing until its wild end.” -#1 International Bestselling author Darby Kane
“Harrowing and moving…Pearce has written something magical. There are scenes in this book I’ll never forget.” -Kristi DeMeester, author of Such a Pretty Smile
— Book page on Pearce’s website
Published February, 2025 by Minotaur Books, Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce is a British folk horror about witchcraft, small towns, and the dangers of crowd mentality.
The Review
Something in the Walls was a fun, wild ride. From the twists and turns, the superstitions and madness a group of people can be consumed by, this novel did not let go.
From the start, Pearce sets the tone of uneasiness and unbalance. The main character, Mina, seems lost. Anxious. She thinks she sees her dead brother in a photo and, on the urging of her stoic fiancé, goes to a grief group.
She meets someone else searching for what might lie beyond and that leads her on a witch hunt.
Literally. A small town believes young Alice is a witch.
I grew to love Mina’s character so much. She starts off rather meek, soft, listless. Yet in the face of events she can’t explain, in a strange place surrounded by strange people, she stands strong and shows her courage.
The heat of the British summer seems to drip off the pages suffocating you as you read. The small village seemed to crowd me even through the pages.
As Mina seeks to find answers and help Alice, things get weirder and weirder. But what really lies beneath the quiet surface of the small town? I loved loved loved how Pearce set up the slow unspooling of the mystery, setting up foreshadowing that led to the shocking end.
If you’re a fan of psychological, suspenseful folk horror about witches – this is the book for you.
10/10
x PLM
Spoilers ahead! You’ve been warned.
Seriously though, this will spoil the ending!
In the beginning, it seems like there is something supernatural going on. Mina sees things, things happen – undeniable things – then it all twists. Mina doesn’t flinch away from hunting for the truth, even as it leads to her own life being in danger.
Like I said, there are some serious supernatural things that happen but then there are other things. Women talking about gaps in their memories, talk of a “Riddance” festival to curb young women into “good” behaviour.
Then you learn the messed up truth.
Mina’s brother’s death? She smothered him to relieve his suffering.
The knocking on the walls? The next door neighbor’s wife signalling SOS.
The next door neighbour’s “harmless” cocktails he feds to the young girls he babysits? Drugged.
I was not expecting the reveal. Obviously – trigger warning if you’re someone sensitive to SA and CSA. It might mean this book isn’t right for you. I wasn’t expecting it at all.
But I loved how Pearce spun this twisted web. When the old man tricks everyone including Mina herself, into thinking she’s a witch – I actually thought maybe she’d gotten possessed as well! I was gaslit! Well done, legit Pearce, well done.
The final scene of the book was also a masterpiece. Mina is in the hospital, her fiancé leaves her. Then someone lets Mina know the old man survived and is in the same hospital. She goes to him and smothers him too, her last words to him “good riddance.” Genius. So satisfying and takes you full circle.
Seriously. Absolutely loved this book.
