Inspired by the Satanic Panic of the 1980's, Whisper Down the Lane is a treat for horror fans as well as anyone who loves psychological suspense novels or true crime. Richard is a an art teacher at an elementary school. He has an elusive past but is living a good life with his wife and son. When a rabbit is discovered ritually murdered on the school property with a birthday card for Richard underneath, his life begins to fall apart. In the 1980's, a young boy named Sean tells a white lie about his favorite teacher and ignites a panic that quickly gets out of control. What connection is there between who is threatening Richard and Sean's lies?

Whisper Down the Lane is a creepy re-examining of the Satanic Panic, the children who were involved and the adults they grow to be.

a stressful read! particularly because we as a society have learned nothing from our history of mass hysteria (see also: current drag bans & book bans).

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to read this early. Review has been posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

A quick horror read, Whisper Down The Lane has some great moments of creeping dread, interspersed with frustratingly slow sections. It’s uneven, but still a satisfying horror read.

I went into this thinking it was more of a horror novel, and honestly, it is a horror novel, though not in the way you'd think. The Satanic Panic of the 1980s makes me feel so heartbroken and sad and angry. Lives were ruined, it basically ruined the trust of the science of psychiatry for years, and so many people jumped on the bandwagon that you wonder how anyone could be so gullible (when it comes to your children, common sense can often be hard to hold onto, but I cannot imagine rushing to conclusions like this, though the therapists were just as guilty). This book had a surprising twist at the end, in my opinion, but it will make me angry, and that's probably a good thing, so this never happens again.

I really wanted to like this. Everything about it seemed compelling and interesting until I started reading it. It failed to hook me in by page 61 and I just couldn't continue reading. I had no idea what the story was.

Where was the horror, the plot, the suspense? There seems to be no plot other than dropping in on the semi-mundane lives of Richard and Sean, and the animal murder at the very beginning. Sean’s narration seems like an adult’s interpretation of a kid which feels odd rather than the actual kid’s perspective. Something is obviously wrong with Richard, but I’m surprised it’s taking this long to find out., especially when the book is only 294 pages.

Once upon a time I would’ve finished it, but my TBR list is too big. Wish it got spookier more quickly and the characters were more enticing.

One of my favorite subjects to talk about is the Satanic Panic. I find the moral panic of it all to be extremely fascinating. Perhaps since I am so well versed in the subject, that is why Whisper Down the Lane ended up being a slight disappointment for me. I built this book up so much so it is not really the author's fault that it missed it's mark.

Whisper Down the Lane is an intricately plotted told in dual timelines. Sean in the 1980s during the height of Satanic Panic focused on little white lies spiraling out of control and Richard, a school teacher in 2013--the author drops breadcrumbs down a dark, winding trail leading readers to discover how the two timelines will intersect.

Once this book gets going, it's impossible to put down!

I will always say yes to a book that has creepy kids, cult-like thinking, and the satanic panic as subjects in it, and Whisper Down the Lane delivered all of these things! It was creepy, yet felt like a real-life story I would see on the news. The way the story pulled together was awesome! Reading the parts where Sean interacted with the psychotherapist and seeing her encourage the answers she wanted from him was craziness, yet we now know this actually happened at one time. This story was super realistic and kept me hooked until the very last page! I can't wait to read more by Clay McLeod Chapman!

An unsettling, creepy story that unwinds across two timelines. Although some of the reveals aren't that surprising, there are still some excellent twists throughout this story!

I have tried several times to read this book, but the storyline is not what I was expecting. It was much more cerebral than I was in the mood for. Also I preferred the adult pov to the child's.

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Not quite my cup of tea in terms of horror—the lack of diversity as well was a bit startling. Might check out others by the author if I hear good things in the future.

I was very interested to read this book but unfortunately I just couldn’t get into, I kept putting it down and forgetting about it. I’m not sure if it was the characters I couldn’t connect with or the pacing was too slow for me

This book was very entertaining and kept me interested. It certainly makes for a good spooky Halloween read. Will definitely recommend it.

I really struggled with this book. I tend to like my characters to be morally grey, but all of these characters were just awful. I felt sorry for the main character, but he was still terrible and so cynical. It was difficult to root for him.

Also, this didn’t feel like horror to me. There’s some violence and it centers around the Satanic Panic of the 80s, but it just felt like depressing literary fiction with some mystery elements to it.

I was super excited to pick up the latest by Clay McLeod Chapman, and it didn't disappoint! I loved the variety of timelines and "viewpoints" and feel that ramped up the tension. I doubted myself and what I thought was going on, a sure sign of a great book!

TW: Animal murder, blood, use of gay words in derogatory way, child abuse, child sexual abuse, family drama,

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Inspired by the McMartin preschool trials and the Satanic Panic of the ‘80s, the critically acclaimed author of The Remaking delivers another pulse pounding, true-crime-based horror novel. Richard doesn’t have a past. For him, there is only the present: a new marriage to Tamara, a first chance at fatherhood to her son Elijah, and a quiet but pleasant life as an art teacher at Elijah’s elementary school in Danvers, Virginia. Then the body of a rabbit, ritualistically murdered, appears on the school grounds with a birthday card for Richard tucked beneath it. Richard doesn’t have a birthday—but Sean does . . .Sean is a five-year-old boy who has just moved to Greenfield, Virginia, with his mother. Like most mothers of the 1980s, she’s worried about bills, childcare, putting food on the table . . . and an encroaching threat to American life that can take the face of anyone: a politician, a friendly neighbor, or even a teacher. When Sean’s school sends a letter to the parents revealing that Sean’s favorite teacher is under investigation, a white lie from Sean lights a fire that engulfs the entire nation—and Sean and his mother are left holding the match. Now, thirty years later, someone is here to remind Richard that they remember what Sean did. And though Sean doesn’t exist anymore, someone needs to pay the price for his lies.
Release Date: April 6th, 2021
Genre: Occult Horror
Pages: 304
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

What I Liked:
• Such a creepy story that's based in facts
• The cover is super pretty
• The story is written in a way that is interesting

What I Didn't Like:
• Sometimes with the author's writing style it's easy to get confused on what they are saying.
• Knowing the who did it person made the story feel drawn out.

Overall Thoughts: I found this story pretty interesting. Take a true story and turn it into a kind of horror story. Chapman's last story The Remaking was just okay to me. The author has a habit of turning true or inspired true stories into horror novels. For me this one felt a little odd as it is a true story about child saying they were molested and that didn't sit very well. I had never heard of this story so I'll definitely read up on it more past the horror/retelling side of it.

There is a lot of uncomfortable talks about children playing horsey naked with the teacher and drawing the picture of the teachers penis that made me side eye the horror novel I choose. Definitely not a book if you can't read about that subject matter.

It's a fast read and the writing style draws you in. About the 20% mark you pretty much figure out the person behind it all so from that point on you're pretty much waiting for Sean Richard to figure it all out. I skipped the part where Weegee is killed. It's very graphic and I can't stomach animal abuse. So that part for me was a huge no. I know it's fake but just the thought of someone hurting an animal even in writing breaks my heart.

There is this weird part where Sean finds a made for TV movie of the satanic ritual in his vcr. It felt like the author was trying to tie The Remaking together because he even says "This remake by another storyteller." But it's weird because now there's a movie based on Sean's trial and in The Remaking it tells the story of them remaking a true story.

I feel like the ending came off rushed and lackluster. I was seriously confused why Jenna would have sex with Sean when she hated him so much for ruining her life. Yep nothing says revenge to the person you hate the most like an orgasam for them. I guess though plot twist gotta twist.

Final Thoughts: Definitely worth a read if you're looking for a book that can keep you interested. Even more points if you can make it to the ending without knowing who did it. I didn't care for The Remaking so it was a nice surprise to give the author another chance. You never know when a book can change your mind.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quirk Books for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.