Something in the Walls

A Novel

By: Daisy Pearce

Narrated by: Ana Clements

“Clements’ commanding narration pulls listeners along for the creepy ride.”—AudioFile

Unbearably tense, utterly propulsive, and studded with folklore and horror, Something in the Walls is perfect for anyone who loves Midsommar and The Haunting of Hill House.

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

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

©2025 Daisy Pearce (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Very captivating

Loved the narrator and the author. I highly recommend reading this book.. even if you think it’s not your thing !

Couldn’t stop listening!

Love this book it kept me engaged and wanting more with each chapter. Just when you thought it was going to end one way it shifted and turns out another.

Perfect for the supernatural lover

I am truly enjoying this book. the author is great and so is the narrator

It’s ok.

Lots of strong moments but very underdeveloped. I would read more by this author in the future.

So fun!

This story gives midsommer- without the gore! Def has me looking into medieval history - and amazing audiobook performance

Mina was a very interesting, witty character.

I loved how this book was very descriptive. It allowed me to see the actual story unfold in my head. The book kept me on the edge with creepy details about the witch! Never saw the plot twist coming at the end.

I didn’t see the ending coming at all.

I was absolutely on the edge of my seat. I was so jumpy and anxious. It is now an absolute new favorite book of mine

Mostly solid creepiness

I enjoyed this quite a bit overall. It's a moody story that has its disturbing moments and goes to some unexpected places, it kept me engaged and anxious to find out what was going on. It's basically the ending that holds it back a bit - it moves along a bit too fast towards the end, and feels like it doesn't wrap up every plot that in a way that feels more aggravating than intriguing. But it was still worthwhile on the whole, it gets a solid recommend.

eerie, emotional, and seriously thought-provoking

i loved this book. something in the walls is creepy in all the right ways, but it’s also so much more than a horror story — it’s layered, emotional, and really gets into your head. daisy pearce writes with such a quiet intensity that i couldn’t put it down.

i listened to the audiobook, read by ana clements, and it was absolutely brilliant. her performance added such a heavy, suffocating tension to the story — there were moments i felt like i couldn’t breathe. she captured mina’s emotional spiral so well, and made the eerie atmosphere even more immersive.

mina was such a standout for me. she’s a young psychologist, fresh in her career and still dealing with personal grief, and you can really feel how fragile she is underneath the surface. her vulnerability made everything she experienced hit so much harder. and her dynamic with alice — this desperate need to understand, to fix, to protect — was heartbreaking. she’s caught between logic and something she knows doesn’t quite make sense, and that inner conflict is so powerful.

and alice… wow. such a haunting character. she’s just a child, but the fear she radiates is deeply unsettling. her belief that something lives in the walls, that there’s a witch coming for her, it all felt so visceral and real. the way pearce wrote her made it almost impossible to tell what was delusion, what was trauma, and what might be something else entirely.

i’ve seen some of the negative reviews, and i do understand the frustration some readers had — but for me, the book told us exactly what it was from the beginning. it literally says “it’s not the dead we should be afraid of, it’s the living.” and later, the idea of mass psychosis is laid out clearly. i feel like that’s the lens you’re meant to read the entire story through. it’s not about getting clear answers — it’s about questioning reality, shared delusion, and what happens when grief, fear, and the unknown collide. if you missed that, of course it’ll feel confusing or unresolved.

but if you lean into the ambiguity and trust what the author is doing, it becomes something so clever and chilling.

highly recommend if you’re into psychological horror with emotional depth and unreliable narrators. this one left me breathless — in the best way.

So exciting but I still have so many questions!

The performance was amazing and the story was very compelling. I was left with a lot of unanswered questions and felt that it was a bit rushed at the end. I would have liked to see more character development on so many characters. All in all. I really enjoyed it.