Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Published by: Avon Books
Publication date: 27th August 2026
Content warnings: suicide attempt, kidnapping, mental health, cancer, dementia
“Two survivors. One killer?”
Sarah Alderson, where have you been all my life?! 😱 I can’t quite get over how bloody good this book is. The next time someone asks me what my favourite kind of book is, I think I’m just going to shove a copy of this under their nose. It’s twisty and suspenseful, incredibly clever and atmospheric. I am so bloody gutted I’ve finished it. The ultimate *chef’s kiss* of a book. I am so thrilled to be sharing my review of The Edge of the Woods by Sarah Alderson!
About the book
After narrowly escaping a serial killer, Isla has rebuilt her life. She has a devoted husband, two beautiful children, and a career helping other women survive the kind of trauma she knows all too well. The past is a locked box – until a girl is found with eerily familiar injuries, running down the verge of the very same highway where Isla was saved.
These wounds were meant to have died with the man who gave them to her. But as Isla begins to unravel the girl’s story, the lines between memory and reality blur. Is this a copycat? A cruel coincidence? Or could the man who once hunted her still be out there?
To protect her family – and herself – Isla must confront the truth she buried. Because some monsters never really disappear…
The beginning
Well, Freida McFadden wasn’t wrong, was she? One page and I really was hooked! I never wanted to put this book down, jeez. Such a chilling start paves the way for what’s to come, and it really feels like the stuff of horror films straight away. Isla was once the almost-victim of a serial killer, but she managed to escape and has spent years rebuilding her life. The man who took her was dead now, she knew that. But when a girl is found with similar injuries on the very same stretch of highway as Isla was saved from, her traumatic past is brought back to the surface. Was it a copycat? Had the person who took her all those years ago not actually died, as she’d thought? I could feel Isla’s concern – her fear, her panic – in my bones, and I couldn’t wait to find out more about their Jane Doe. Isla works as a psychologist in a special trauma unit, and working closely with this girl is something she feels both terror and passion for. She wants to help her make sense of what happened to her. She needs to get through to her. The author’s writing felt super atmospheric straight away and I couldn’t get enough of it!
“Once they’re gone, I finally can let go of the anger and slam my palms onto the countertop, trying to ignore the small worm of doubt that’s now burrowing through my brain. Maybe they’re right and I am losing my mind.”
The characters in this book are excellent, many of who had me watching them closely. Isla lives with her husband and two children; her daughter is subdued and secretive and her husband seems to be working late a lot these days. She feels distant from him, something she’s desperate to fix. I loved nestling myself into their family life, trying to work out their problems, while also thinking non-stop about that girl. And when she draws a picture of the one who hurt her, an image that clearly resembles the mask Isla’s own attacker wore, it’s clear to her that this is too much of a coincidence. Isla’s returning fear starts affecting the family, her daughter is looking for answers (and finds them) and her husband is concerned for her mental state. I couldn’t help but connect so deeply with Isla. I shared her multitude of emotions, her desire to find anwers, her need to know for sure that this monster wasn’t still out there, hunting innocent women. When the girl disappears from the trauma unit, Isla becomes even more concerned, as did I. The tension was already building… I loved it!
The middle
Alongside the main story, there are some terrifying chapters from the perspective of who I assumed was Isla as she dealt with the Masked Monster all those years ago. Seeing the suffering at the monster’s hands, the sheer horror of the whole ordeal made me nauseous. It was so brilliantly written and it felt so real. The author’s description is out of this world. I also loved slowly finding out more information about Isla’s case over time and what happened to James Altman, the guy who was convicted. After all this time though, there’s information to suggest that the wrong man was sent down. The man who killed himself in jail may not have been the one to take Isla and the other girls. And he certainly wasn’t the guy to take their Jane Doe. The possibility that the Masked Monster may still be out there, and has been out there all this time made my skin crawl. The exploration of all this, how Isla and her new work colleague and friend, Rowan, take matters into their own hands and do their own research, was sooo gripping. I was fully invested in finding out the truth alongside Isla.
“I strain to listen, holding my breath. Minutes tick by and I start to wonder if I am still asleep – trapped in a nightmare that is still a hundred times better than being awake.”
The deeper we dig into the life of James Altman, the person who was sent down for taking Isla and killing others, the more I was convinced he wasn’t the killer, that someone else was involved. Someone still out there, taking girls from their beds. It felt so wrong to have a sliver of sympathy for the person who was originally convicted, but I did at this point! I was thinking about this over and over in my head, trying to find something to connect all these girls, trying to work out what motive this killer had, to work out who they were and where they were hiding. Isla’s courage shone through each page and the way she continued to power through even when she didn’t even have the support from from her family was such a big thing for her. There was even more friction with her husband as she starts lying about where she’s been, what she’s doing, but I was totally on her side. Relationships between all characters were written flawlessly and I loved the family dynamic, even if it wasn’t perfect. It felt real and believable, and I just wanted to spend all my time as a fly on the wall!
The end
The author had no issues keeping my attention focused on Isla throughout the entire book. She keeps things exciting and intriguing after each chapter has ended, and the amount of times I just had to sneak another chapter in was too many to count! I loved how things seemed to tie up prematurely, and how everything had an explanation felt really suspicious. I quickly got the feeling that it was far from over. I could feel the suspense building again in the background, and the feeling I got knowing things were about to ramp up again had me giddy! There were so many layers that came together so beautifully. When you think you have one realisation, when you think you have it all figured out, it effortlessly morphs into something much bigger, something even more shocking, and it felt so wonderfully satisfying seeing it all unravel. There are red herrings and twists in all the right places, but there was one specific twist that really caught me off guard. It was incredible and it reminded me why psychological thrillers done right are my absolute favourites!
“The past rushes up to meet the present, enveloping me in a fog of terror. It’s as if the nightmare never ended. I am back in it once again.”
I was taken aback by such intense emotion as the truth was laid bare. I could not believe what I was reading! Everything made sense, the anger I felt for Isla, the heartbreak I shared with her as she revisits such a painful, traumatic time in her life, and then as she shares a secret she’s kept to herself for twenty years. I loved the intensity and danger of those final chapters and I was well and truly gutted to see it all come to an end. But that wasn’t before the epilogue. I was NOT expecting that! The horror of it all, the complete curveball just chilled me to the bone. And that’s all you’re getting from me because I fear I will spoil something if I carry on 😂 This was certainly one of the most WTF endings I’ve read in a long time and I am already craving something else like this! I didn’t even realise Sarah had so many other books published, but at least that means I don’t have to wait long to read another one! She’s in a league of her own. If you’re a fan of real good twisty psych thriller, this is truly one of the very best I’ve read. It’s perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, Claire Douglas and Lisa Jewell.
Overall thoughts
The Edge of the Woods is one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read this year, no doubt about it. I completely fell in love with Isla, a woman who once escaped from a serial killer who now works as a psychologist helping others dealing with trauma. When a girl is found with eerily familiar injuries, picked up on the same stretch of highway Isla was saved from, panic sets in. Was the person who took her all those years ago still out there? Had he not died in prison, as she’d been told? Was it a copycat, or just a coincidence? Isla’s past plays a huge part in who she is as a person, and what she endured is explored exceptionally well throughout the book. She’s flawed but she’s been through so much, and she’s really pushed to her limits with everything she has to deal with. Her fear, her dread, her horror and her reflection on the past kept me reading and I could not get enough.
There are some really dark elements to this and I adored the depth of this author’s writing. I got chills reading about what the ‘Masked Monster’ inflicted upon his victims, the kind of things Isla has burned into her memories. The things she still has nightmares about. It was powerfully unsettling and worked so well in keeping me engaged and fearful of things to come. I loved all these characters for so many different reasons, and the second half of the book in particular had me really analysing their every move (and I still didn’t work out the twists!) The way this book comes together by the end was one of the most perfect, satisfying things I’ve read. And that epilogue, oh my GOD. Absolutely WILD. Suspense-filled and anxiety-inducing, a twisty, edge-of-your-seat read. Sarah is certainly a new auto-buy author for me! 👏
Huge thanks to the author, Sarah Alderson, and to the wonderful team at Avon Books for my copy! You can grab your own copy of The Edge of the Woods right now on Amazon* or wherever you buy your books. Make sure you’re following Sarah on Instagram for more updates!
* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks so much for your support!
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