The Children on the Hill

By: Jennifer McMahon

Narrated by: Erin Moon

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Drowning Kind comes a genre-defying novel, inspired by Mary Shelley’s masterpiece Frankenstein, that brilliantly explores the eerie mysteries of childhood and the evils perpetrated by the monsters among us.

1978: At her renowned treatment center in picturesque Vermont, the brilliant psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hildreth, is acclaimed for her compassionate work with the mentally ill. But when she’s home with her cherished grandchildren, Vi and Eric, she’s just Gran—teaching them how to take care of their pets, preparing them home-cooked meals, providing them with care and attention and love.

Then one day Gran brings home a child to stay with the family. Iris—silent, hollow-eyed, skittish, and feral—does not behave like a normal girl.

Still, Violet is thrilled to have a new playmate. She and Eric invite Iris to join their Monster Club, where they dream up ways to defeat all manner of monsters. Before long, Iris begins to come out of her shell. She and Vi and Eric do everything together: ride their bicycles, go to the drive-in, meet at their clubhouse in secret to hunt monsters. Because, as Vi explains, monsters are everywhere.

2019: Lizzy Shelley, the host of the popular podcast Monsters Among Us, is traveling to Vermont, where a young girl has been abducted, and a monster sighting has the town in an uproar. She’s determined to hunt it down, because Lizzy knows better than anyone that monsters are real—and one of them is her very own sister.

“A must for psychological thriller fans” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), The Children on the Hill takes us on a breathless journey to face the primal fears that lurk within us all.

©2022 Jennifer McMahon. All rights reserved. (P)2022 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Twisty-Turny all the Way Around

Great character development. This book was NOT what I expected - it t was so much better and MORE! Give this one a chance- I am definitely reading/listening to more from this author.
Narrator did a great job- covering a wide assortment of ages. Will look for more from her as well.

Never disappointed with Jennifer McMahon

I love all of McMahon books. I loved this one. I think she always does great character development, back stories, and twists.

really enjoyed this

I thought this was amazing, and the last 2 hours blew my mind with an ending i'd of never dreamed of. Monster stories can have a happy ending.

Loved this!!

With all it’s shocking twists and turns, this Dr Frankenstein like story is a page turner and a jaw dropper!!

Gripping story

I found myself wanting to know what happened next. The narrator was good except for some of the character voices, mainly the kids. It was kind of annoying and distracting. However, that didn’t really take away from the story.

Distracting voiceover

I want to love this book. The story is great, but the woman performing the audio book makes the characters so exaggerated it feels like you’re listening to a children’s story. Such a shame it was so dramatic, it was very distracting.

Loved & enjoyed this audiobook!!

Loved the narrator, the way this story unfolded was absolutely mesmerizing, I had no idea what direction it would go and am very satisfied with the ending.

OMG!

OMG! There is so much to say about this book! This is the first time I've read anything by this Author and I can say I will read more of her books! I've already looked to see what else she has written and what I will read next!

I don't usually like to write anything that will give spoilers, but I can't help it! I don't know if this will give anything away, but here goes..

I am an avid reader and a lot of times I figure things out before the ending of the book. Most of the time I do, it's a game with me!

I thought I had this figured out like the 3rd chapter in as to who was the "monster', but in the end, I was wrong and I literally "gasped" out loud when the first "twist" came about and then all the other twists !

Oh , it had me to the very end and then I wanted more!

I will say, I never quite figured out the "monster hunter", but that's okay in my book, because everything else was AMAZING!

Yes, I would recommend this to EVERYONE!

Wow! What a twist!

Author does a great job of keeping the reader on their toes! Excellent use of plot twists to make the reader suspect one course of events, and end up in a completely different literary destination. As the book points out, monsters are real and they can look just like a regular person.

Narrator was a little whiny

The story was really good and I really liked this book but the narrator got really whiny when reading some characters parts and by the end of the book I was wanting to fast forward through it