They Fear Not Men in the Woods

By Gretchen McNeil

"McNeil surprises and thrills in this folklore-inspired hike through mountains of dread. Unlike her characters, readers won't regret following her into the waiting trees." --Kiersten White, #1 New York Times-bestselling Author of Hide

"Drawing from Scandinavian folklore, McNeil excels at creating an immersive forest setting, where eerie silences and misty shadows explode into true terror."--Booklist

When Jen Monroe hears her father's remains have been found, she returns home to disprove his death, only to find the forests of rural Washington are hiding something ancient and dangerous...

Seven years ago, Jen Monroe left behind her hometown of Barrow, Washington after her father, a forest ranger passionate about protecting old trees from the aggressive logging business that runs their small town, vanished seemingly into thin air. She vowed never to return...until she gets a text from her estranged mother. Her father's remains have been found.

It seems impossible to Jen who has always believed her father is still alive, and she returns home, determined to find out what really happened. When her ex-boyfriend proposes a camping trip into the woods in her father's memory, it feels like the opportunity Jen had been hoping for: to find her father. To find the truth.

But what she finds lurking in the forest may be deeper, darker and deadlier than she could have ever imagined. And it has no intention of letting her leave.

Unsettling, tense, and atmospheric, this is a feminist suspense novel for those who have always known there's something hungry waiting in the woods.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0756420083
• ISBN13: 9780756420086
• Release Date: September 2025
• Publisher: Daw Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Be kind to trees!

I had fun with this story! I was just in the mood for this type of horror. It was almost kind of cozy, at least to me with the mysterious goings on in the woods that led to missing hikers recently and longer ago, the disappearance of Jen's father. The first part paints a pretty clear picture of Jen's so called friends (who are not likable so you know they are not going to survive most likely) when she returns to her hometown because her father's remains have been found, or have they? Lots of mysteries and it seems to revolve around the local logging business which is currently facing financial issues and looking for ways to get back on top. Add a mysterious new girl and a decision to go camping as sort of a memorial to her father (who was a forest ranger that protecting old growth trees from being cut down) and you know most, if not all the people going in are not going to be coming home. That is why I enjoyed it, cause it was nicely predicable in that way, though I did enjoy the imaginative ways they died and it will definitely stick with me and you can be sure I am going to be very careful around trees and apologize if I step on a tree root! I can see why some people did not like this book, but I did and it was just right for the mood I was in. Nicely suspenseful, creepy, a bit gory, and I loved the ending which gave Jen what she was looking for ever since her father disappeared all those long years ago. I am glad I got the chance to read this book.