They Fear Not Men in the Woods

"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

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.

Author: Gretchen McNeil
Publisher: Daw Books
Published: 09/09/2025
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.01lbs
Size: 8.35h x 5.59w x 1.18d
ISBN: 9780756420086


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 08/25/2025
Publishers Weekly 09/08/2025

About the Author
Gretchen McNeil has been a published young adult novelist since 2011, currently with Disney-Hyperion. Her latest YA novel is Four Letter Word, which came out in March of this year. Gretchen's novels have been published internationally in over a dozen languages. Ten: Murder Island, the film adaptation of Ten starring China Anne McClain (Descendants 2, Black Lightning) premiered on Lifetime in 2017, and Get Even and Get Dirty have been adapted as the series Get Even and Rebel Cheer Squad a Get Even series for BBC and Netflix. An adult horror short story she wrote for Assemble Media last year has already been optioned by a major studio. This is her first adult novel.