This books was difficult for me to get through. The potential was there, and I did enjoy some plot points and plot twists, but it took a while for me to get into the story, and I was not a fan of the writing of the characters.

Not a single character was likable, and not in an intriguing way which is common in the genre. Not all of them were horrible, but many were. Every single one, however, felt so flat. There was just no depth to the characters, so moments that should have been emotional, simply were not. Then with all the women in the book, the way they were described and the way they were written was just full of misogynistic tropes.

I’m sure there’s an audience for this. I am just not part of that intended audience it seems.

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for the ARC in return for this review.

Five school friends spend the summer of 1988 running around the marshy ponds of their hometown, getting up to everything you imagine thirteen-year-old boys getting up to.

Life is uneventful until the unimaginable occurs. For that summer, there's a violent attack that leaves one girl from their school murdered and another horrifically injured.

In the present day, one of the five has been found murdered in the same manner. As the other four get together for his funeral, their thoughts turn to the past. Is it all just a coincidence?

While they brush off their initial thoughts, strange occurrences start to take place around the four: whispered warnings, strange shadows, marshy water, or mud randomly appearing.

Is this the same murderer? Or is this Ginny Greenteeth, the fabled entity that supposedly haunts the ponds to drag people into their depths and never let them go?

Told in dual timelines and multiple points of view, the mystery storyline is gradually revealed as growing violence follows them.

It is a page-turning read with a twist at the end, which was still fulfilling to read even though I'd already worked it out.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves their murder mysteries with a side of horror.


*I received an advance reader copy for free, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review*

Wow, where do I even start? *Wicked Jenny* had me completely hooked from the first page. I loved how fresh and original the story felt-it’s unlike anything I’ve read before. The writing was sharp and engaging and I felt like it was so easy to get lost in the story.

The characters were very well done. They felt real, with distinct personalities that made me care about what happened to them. The plot was perfectly paced... easy to follow but packed with enough twists to keep me on my toes.

What really stood out to me was the overall concept. It felt so unique and different from the usual thrillers I read, which made it even harder to put down. Every chapter left me wanting more, and I ended up devouring it in just a couple of sittings.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced, gripping read with characters you’ll root for and a story that keeps surprising you, I can’t recommend *Wicked Jenny* enough. It’s a fantastic book, and Matt Hilton absolutely nailed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for the advanced reader copy of this book!

Wicked Jenny is about a group of young lads involved in the attack and murder of two young girls, accusing an innocent vulnerable man of the crime who in shame commits suicide, and how all this comes back later to haunt these same lads as adults.
The plot is structured as a then-and-now dual narrative, a plot device increasingly common in mystery-thrillers and often overdone in my opinion, though in this instance the author Matt Hilton handles it well.
There's some convincing depictions of growing up in northern England in the late 1980s, and effective use of local folklore in the form of Jinny Greenteeth, a spectral figure which lurks in water to frighten naughty boys (and which may be seeking revenge on the grown-up boys).
It's a well-plotted narrative, with plenty of effective tension as the grown-up boys try to work out who or what has returned to terrorise (and even kill) them. The denouement is a bit weak, and stretches credibility a bit too much.
All in all, an enjoyable read.
Three and a half stars.

This was such a spooky read, I loved the paranormal elements mixed into the story, it kept it very intense for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I went into this book pretty blind, except knowing there was a timeline in the 80s and it was a horror-type novel. This is also a quicker read, coming in at about 250 pages according to Goodreads. I found the last 20% to be fast-paced and engaging, with a whodunnit that I didn’t guess ahead of time. However, the first part of the book fell flat to me and was at times boring. I did appreciate the whodunnit and paranormal aspects that the author was going for, but there was what seemed to be a large investment for that payout.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy reading this as much as I hoped. Personally,I felt that it was more YA horror than a good old horror story.I could see that science was being used to try to explain what was happening but I think it would have been better with more horror fiction than science fact.
The book was easy to read however at times the storyline did come across a ittle slow and boring . I also felt that the development of the characters was lacking in some areas .
Normaly, I do not like the switching of decades within a story but this seemed to work in this instance.
I feel that I may have been quite critical of the book but that was my take on it, I can understand that others may feel differently about it. therefore I will not publish this review on social media

2.5⭐️s

My childhood friends and I did a whole lot less chucking of things at one another and blowing into frog’s asses than this group. That much I know. Maybe we were doing it wrong. Who knows?

I love a good “throw a mystic evil into a group of childhood friends, watch hell break loose, and then bring them back together as adults to battle the same mystic evil” tale, but this one just wasn’t for me. This boys will be boys story felt adolescent and fatuous, and I couldn’t connect with the writing style or the characters. They all felt very two dimensional to me, and I didn’t care what happened to any of them.

Thank you NetGalley and to Severn House for the ARC, and for allowing me the opportunity to provide an honest review, but this author and I don’t move on the same wavelength.

Thank you to NetGalley & Severn House for the advanced copy of Wicked Jenny to read & review.

Wowzers, this book was not what I expected at all and far surpassed my expectations based on previous experiences of this author.

The blend of supernatural vibes, with a thrilling and wild ride throughout left me wondering where this story would end.

Each character was expanded upon enough to make us root for them and feel an attachment to them during the story, which definitely helped with the plot.

Having the chapters from different character perspectives was a nice touch. It allowed the book to move forward quicker, but without missing key parts of the story.

I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one, and I only deducted a star because I did guess the ending so it didn't have that much shock value to me!

On the whole though Wicked Jenny was a really good book and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a thrilling, supernatural vibe.

This is my second book by this, most prolific, author. He usually writes in series and although I still haven't managed to sneak in any of his series books onto my "read" shelf, I do now have a few languishing on my tblt (to be listened to) waiting their turn.
So... back in 1988 we first meet 13 year old Andy Miller and his four friends - Brian, Johnny, Gavin and Carl - as they are mucking around playing in a place locally knows as the frog ponds (you'll see why in nasty (imo unnecessarily graphic detail). There they come across classmate Melanie and her sister Poppy, exchange some banter, and then the two groups go their separate ways. Shortly after that meeting, Melanie is dead and Poppy severely injured. There is also, in the vicinity another older boy who is related to one of Andy's friends and the boys decide that, despite this, they need to tell the Police about his presence. Long story short, he is arrested but sadly kills himself whilst on remand. The case, however, is closed.
Meanwhile, back in the present and Carl's body is found at the Frog Pond, close to where Melanie died. This has a devastating effect on the four remaining friends and their lives start to unravel, beginning with them seeing things. It appears they are all being targeted. They come together to mourn their friend and all realise that they are going through similar things. Coming to the conclusion that it must be either Poppy taking revenge for her sister, Melanie back from the dead, or Ginny Greenteeth, a local legend...
Where I did enjoy this book, and at no point ever contemplated putting it down, it wasn't really anything new that hasn't been done before. I can't really go into much detail without spoiling things but if you read prolifically in this genre you will recognise much of what happens. Not this it wasn't well plotted and entertaining, it just didn't leave me with the satisfied feeling that I prefer when I turn the last page. The story was well plotted and executed, acted out by credible characters, with little waffle or padding so it got on with itself very well. All things I love about a book. It wasn't however scary or tense for me which I think would have added to the spark it was lacking.
All that said, it did give me respite from life which is a big deal to me and was well written enough not to put me off the author in the future. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Wicked Jenny is quite the ride! At first, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this book, but as all the pieces began to come together, I understood what the author was aiming for. By the end, I found myself on the edge of my seat. I appreciated the urban legend and paranormal elements, and Matt Hilton has a real talent for vividly describing scenes!
3.5⭐
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

Okay book peeps!!! This one had a twist I did not see coming!! One of those pure “whoa…” moments!! I feel like I should have seen it coming, but I definitely didn’t! 🙌

Definitely some witchy-like vibes with this one!! Check it out or Wicked Jenny will get ya!! 👀

Thank you to NetGalley, Severn House, and Matt Hilton for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

This was a pretty good supernatural horror. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it in the beginning. The story starts off when these boys are young and acting like a bunch of punks. They use some British slang and I didn’t know what the heck they were talking about sometimes. Eventually, the story got more interesting and parts of it really creeped me out. I loved the supernatural elements and the unsettling atmosphere. It was so interesting to read about the lore of Wicked Jenny, who I later realized is a real figure in English folklore.

The story is told in the past and present timelines. I thought the events that take place in the present were more interesting than what happens in the past. The parts that took place in the past kind of made the story drag for me.

I liked the mystery, and there’s a twist that I didn’t really see coming, so that was cool. I liked the ending.

I would recommend this book to fans of supernatural horror.

3.5⭐️

My thanks to NetGalley and Severn House Publishers for the ARC of "Wicked Jenny" in exchange for an honest review.
Grim, dark and horrific, hardly anyone escapes this book unscathed. And tragically more than few don't escape at all.
Four men, now grown into middle age become haunted and tormented by a terrible, guilty secret dating back to their childhood in 1988. It's possible they wrongfully accused another boy as the killer of a young girl and permanent maiming of her stepsister,, leading to the boy's suicide in jail. And the 'haunted' part of it these woeful events might have turned literal - is it a legendary tall tale wraith of their young nightmares that's making frightening appearances to them? Or is it actually that surviving stepsister who's come back to stalk them? To add to their increasing anxiety, one of their original group has been found brutally murdered.....by someone all too real.
Author Matt Hilton skillfully turns up the mounting dread as the two parallel threats, (both supernatural and corporeal) head for a surprising, blood soaked collision. But don't expect to find anyone (other than the original victims) to sympathize with......the steady pile up of horror and death stays undiluted. to the very end., with a final moment that's both satisfying and grotesquely sad at the same time.
Here's one that you'd want to keep more than the reading light on while it sucks you in.

I tried with this one because it seemed like something I would love. And in theory, yes. It had some of my fave elements - dual timeline, the 80s, potential unreliable narrators, or at least memories. But none of it ended up working for me because it was so painfully slow and boring. I love a slow burn, but this was not that. The characters were all so similar that it was hard to keep them straight at times.

Matt Hilton enthuses his new novel with tropes from several subgenres I had feared lost to modern day writers of horror.
Here is the creeping dread of the great folk horror stories of the 1970s and 1980s with echoes of the early (better?) novels of Stephen King and James Herbert but there are also influences from Algernon Blackwood, Ramsey Campbell and Dennis Wheatley. Does anyone else remember the shivering thrill of turning the first few pages of their newest Guy N. Smith terror tale? You won't be disappointed here!
What a stark reminder the author gives one of just how obnoxious we all were in our early teenage years and how sometimes the past is sure to come back to haunt us.
Spine-tingling terror crackles around the well-drawn characters as the plot twists and turns till a blood-bathed denouement.
I eagerly await the next novel in this series.

I was really not a fan of this. I found that I wasn't really connecting to any of the characters, and it could be because of how the time jumps between 1988 and current day progress. I would be partway through a chapter and forgetting which year we're supposed to be in. It felt like the different POVs of the characters didn't really change from youth to adult style of thinking, their thoughts kind of stayed like that of devilish little boys.

I did find some descriptions and the overall idea of the novel to be quite intriguing - the spooky vibes were definitely present, I'll give it that. But with not being able to connect fully or even partially to anyone...I don't know, the words felt kind of hollow and the story wasn't able to stay in my head.

Wicked Jenny, by Matt Hilton, a group of grown men come together when one of their childhood friends Carl is found beaten to death next to the frog pond. it’s the same frog pond where in 1988 foster sisters Michelle and Poppy were found beaten Michelle was dead, and Poppy was disfigured and mute. ever since their childhood, they feared the wicked Jenny that would come out of the swamp and drag bad children into its depths never to let them go so when the guys or at least some of them start getting phone calls telling them they’ve been a bad boy, coupled with other strange events they have no idea what’s going on. since her sister‘s murder and her vicious attack, Poppy has lived nonverbal with just making grunting sounds but now a doctor Chow has come and is trying new methods to get her to at least be able to speak. The book mainly focuses on Andrew Miller, but goes from his friends to Poppy into the past with his abusive overbearing mother. in the end, it all comes together to make for one superior horror read. From the gritty Erie feeling the book gives to the great storyline in a wham Bam thank you ma’am ending with the mic drop. this book is definitely going on my list of best books I’ve ever read which now I think his six books on that list this being the sixth. This was so super good. It was just, uh… so good, if this is book one signed me up for the book two!#NetGalley, #SeverenHouse, #MattHilton, #WickedJenny,

Moving back and forth between 1988 and present day, this book tells the story or 5 men who, at the age of 13, accused a developmentally disabled boy of the brutal murder of a classmate, Melanie, and the beating of her adopted sister, Poppy. That same boy commits suicide while in police custody, his guilt or innocence never proven. The police assume his guilt and never pursue the matter and the boys eventually mostly drift apart.

Almost 20 years later on those same boys is brutally murdered near the same spot along the river and the rest of the group begins to be terrorized by a hag-like creature from their childhood. Parents used to tell their children to be good or "Ginny Greenteeth" would drag them into the river. Is Ginny Greenteeth the one after the boys/men now? Can they figure out the truth before more of them die?

I was hoping for a suspenseful thriller, and got what felt like a hastily thrown-together hodge-podge of random POVs. I don't mind switching up the POV in a story, but going from third person to first person and back again depending on the character was bizarre. Also, some characters got multiple chapters and other just got one. It became a little jumbled, trying to decide which ones were important to pay attention to and which ones were red herrings. I admit that I didn't figure out who dunnit before the reveal, which is unusual for me and bumps the book from 2 stars up to 3. The fact is, I was mostly bored while I read and never had trouble putting the book down and picking up something else. This just wasn't my cup of tea, despite the fact that I'm normally a big fan of suspense, mysteries, and thrillers.

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I am a sucker for books involving groups of friends and shared trauma. I’m also a fan of local lore and folk tales. Who is Wicked Jenny? Is she gonna get you? Very good writing and intriguing characters and plot. Matt Hilton is on my radar now, and I look forward to reading more from them.