The Dead Woods

I just finished the Dead Woods by Christian Francis and here is my review.

There has always been something sinister about those woods. No one liked to talk about it and the excuses that were made to cover up the deaths.... Laughable. When a boy goes missing, everyone assumes he ran off but not his friends. They all know he would never have left, especially without his journal so they set out to find out what really happened to their friend.

I actually quite enjoyed this book. I think the author did a really good job of setting the mood with his very talented writing. The story centers on a group of friends set in a time when I was a kid so I loved that. It had a real stranger things vibe to it. My biggest issue? The kids were teens but they came across so young that it was a tad confusion. I understand he was going for YA but he didn't quite hit the mark with the characters. I would have liked the characters to be portrayed at the age they were supposed to be but it didn't affect the enjoyment for me.
I loved the atmosphere of the book and I would have liked more but a solid horror read!
4 stars. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes getting the creeps
Thank you to @booksgosocial and @netgalley for my gifted copy!