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Cry of Crows
They couldn't escape the dead noise.
After her father’s death, Annabeth flees from her old life in Memphis to reinvent herself and heal at Chesterbrook College, a sprawling private institution nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. A dead body is unearthed on move-in day, and Annabeth and her roommate discover a century-long pattern of campus disappearances. When crows settle on the roof of her dormitory, Annabeth is sure they’re trying to tell her something. On this sultry southern campus, appearances are never as they seem. Can Annabeth save her friends, or will the malevolent creature circling the campus for nearly two centuries consume them all?
After her father’s death, Annabeth flees from her old life in Memphis to reinvent herself and heal at Chesterbrook College, a sprawling private institution nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. A dead body is unearthed on move-in day, and Annabeth and her roommate discover a century-long pattern of campus disappearances. When crows settle on the roof of her dormitory, Annabeth is sure they’re trying to tell her something. On this sultry southern campus, appearances are never as they seem. Can Annabeth save her friends, or will the malevolent creature circling the campus for nearly two centuries consume them all?
439 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 27, 2023
55 people are currently reading
411 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
April 19, 2023
In college I wasn’t in a sorority but after reading Cry of Crows I feel like I was in one - a scary, creepy one. I appreciated the slow burn of the book but I really enjoyed the last quarter when the action really picks up. I would classify this as a thriller or cozy horror read. Seems like the author is planning to have a sequel which is exciting! I needed a break from gory, hardcore stuff and this was perfect.
July 6, 2023
Definitely 4.5! First book I’ve read from this author but will not be the last! I was in a sorority in college and if this wasn’t as creepy as I thought they were beforehand (whoops) I’m not into horror this just was more intense thriller and I really enjoyed it! I hope there is a sequel!!
March 8, 2025
This is a haunting gothic thriller that lures the reader into the eerie, mist-laden corridors of Chesterbrook College. The setting becomes as much a character as its students—who are disappearing at regular intervals. The college is a brooding presence steeped in superstition and secrets. Annabeth’s our heroine, and her reinvention is overshadowed by history, and as the crows gather and the body count rises, the novel tightens its grip. The atmosphere is thick with secrets and college rituals take on an ominous edge.
What I loved about this book is that we don’t really have sorority sisters and fraternities in England, so learning all about them was fascinating. I didn’t get how important they can be, or that they go on to influence life after their college days.
The book blends the supernatural, horror, and psychological suspense brilliantly. Being at Chesterbrook is a fight for survival and a reckoning with the ghosts of the past. The friendships are authentic, making the revelations hit harder. It’s sinister, and a must-read for people who love horror laced with history and the right amount of heart.
What I loved about this book is that we don’t really have sorority sisters and fraternities in England, so learning all about them was fascinating. I didn’t get how important they can be, or that they go on to influence life after their college days.
The book blends the supernatural, horror, and psychological suspense brilliantly. Being at Chesterbrook is a fight for survival and a reckoning with the ghosts of the past. The friendships are authentic, making the revelations hit harder. It’s sinister, and a must-read for people who love horror laced with history and the right amount of heart.
April 19, 2023
I love any book that has folklore as the subject. This book was about witches, indigenous people history, evil and the spirit of those who refuse to sit idly by and watch friends get hurt. I really loved all the emotions that came through the pages of this story. Annabeth was such a normal person that saw through the lies that Liz and her group were spewing. Even when faced with death, Annabeth was willing to fight for what she felt was the right thing to do. I was not expecting the cliffhanger and I am glad there will be more of Annabeth and friends or another novel about ancient evil.
April 19, 2023
This book was great. It felt like it flowed really well with enough going on to keep the story moving along without getting bored and also building up suspense. The characters were well written and interesting. The ending was fantastic. All in all I really enjoyed it and would definitely read it again.
May 24, 2023
I absolutely love this book! It has everything I love in a story! Cry of Crows is the first book I have read from C S C Shows and I do look forward to reading more by her! If you like creepy, mysterious sororities and murder...this is right up your alley and I highly recommend it!
June 14, 2023
I have never audibly gasped during a book but I did SEVERAL times during this one. I couldn’t begin to to predict the outcome of this story and that drove me absolutely crazy!
April 20, 2023
Great read, one of those you have a hard time sitting down once you start. As a nonfiction reader primarily, I needed a reset with a thriller and this book definitely hit the mark.
April 29, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. It was suspenseful and had a great plot!
July 12, 2023
Cry Of Crows
By: CSC Shows
If you are looking for witchcraft, eerie visuals, and spine-tingling twists, look no further. This book will send shivers down your spine every time a crow cries overhead. If you spent your life looking for a new start, this book will have you reconsidering.
After the death of Annabeth’s father, she decides to get a new lease on life. What better way to do that than to start up her collage years? Making new friends along the way, Annabeth finds mystery and murder along her journey. Crows begin to follow her around, is this a bad omen? Will Annabeth find solstice in a sorority or will all hell break loose for her friends and her.
Chesterbrook College is surrounded by mysterious deaths and disappearances. On move in day, a body is uncovered, throwing everyone into a panic. The local school newspaper decides to investigate the body found. More and more mysteries are uncovered while the main characters try to continue with college life. Will they find answers to the missing college students, or will they only come up with more questions?
This book had my spine tingling every time I heard a crow in the yard, I found I was noticing more of them as well. I would recommend Cry of Crows to anyone who loves witchcraft and mystery. Annabeth was a very relatable character, her struggles helping to connect readers to how she thinks, making the book easier to get enveloped in. The plot was easy to follow, a little slow to progress for my personal taste. The ending was a bit sudden, however, it makes me want to read a second book. I will anxiously await to hear more about Annabeth and her friends.
By: CSC Shows
If you are looking for witchcraft, eerie visuals, and spine-tingling twists, look no further. This book will send shivers down your spine every time a crow cries overhead. If you spent your life looking for a new start, this book will have you reconsidering.
After the death of Annabeth’s father, she decides to get a new lease on life. What better way to do that than to start up her collage years? Making new friends along the way, Annabeth finds mystery and murder along her journey. Crows begin to follow her around, is this a bad omen? Will Annabeth find solstice in a sorority or will all hell break loose for her friends and her.
Chesterbrook College is surrounded by mysterious deaths and disappearances. On move in day, a body is uncovered, throwing everyone into a panic. The local school newspaper decides to investigate the body found. More and more mysteries are uncovered while the main characters try to continue with college life. Will they find answers to the missing college students, or will they only come up with more questions?
This book had my spine tingling every time I heard a crow in the yard, I found I was noticing more of them as well. I would recommend Cry of Crows to anyone who loves witchcraft and mystery. Annabeth was a very relatable character, her struggles helping to connect readers to how she thinks, making the book easier to get enveloped in. The plot was easy to follow, a little slow to progress for my personal taste. The ending was a bit sudden, however, it makes me want to read a second book. I will anxiously await to hear more about Annabeth and her friends.
May 18, 2023
Wow! What a wonderful story! This is my first book by C S C Shows and it definitely won't be my last! This book is an epic battle of good against evil set on the campus of a southern university steeped in tradition and the "old ways". Annabeth and her roommate, Shari, must outwit age-old forces of evil to get to the truth. And to survive.
Featuring characters you will love and characters you will love to hate, this story moves along at a good pace -enough detail to create a story that keeps you engaged, but at the perfect pace that moves along the storyline.
Supernatural thriller, cozy horror- call it what you like, but do check it out. This book was definitely a fun read, with an explosive ending!
* Thank you so much to C S C Shows for a free copy of this awesome book! This review was given freely and contains my honest feedback!
Featuring characters you will love and characters you will love to hate, this story moves along at a good pace -enough detail to create a story that keeps you engaged, but at the perfect pace that moves along the storyline.
Supernatural thriller, cozy horror- call it what you like, but do check it out. This book was definitely a fun read, with an explosive ending!
* Thank you so much to C S C Shows for a free copy of this awesome book! This review was given freely and contains my honest feedback!
October 29, 2023
Thank you C S C Shows for allowing me to listen to the audiobook. It truly brought the book alive for me. I loved that it had a The Skulls and witchy vibe set in a sorority. I enjoyed the country accents and it reminded me of home and the kind of the place I grew up in. Annabeths grandmother made me really miss mine. It was a perfect read for October with talk of ritual sacrifices and indigenous people and good or evil. I will be reading it again and was very excited for the Epilogue.
April 20, 2023
Cry of Crows by CSC Shows will take you on a wild and scary ride into the creepy world of the Zeta Sorority at Chesterbrook College. We meet Annabeth on her first day of her freshman year at Chesterbrook. She is a legacy student as both her Nana and father attended the same university. She never thought she would attend this school, and it definitely wasn't her first choice, but some unusual happenstance, she finds herself with a full scholarship to attend. It is a well respected college, but as she and her dorm mate, Shari, find out, all is not what it seems.
If you are a fan of witch folklore, this book will grab your attention from the very first chapter. It is full of mystery and suspense and will keep you guessing for the majority of the book as to what exactly is going on. I thought that it was well written and a quick paced easy read. It was eerie and haunting in the best ways! The crows gave me the creeps.
I did think that the end was a little rushed for me. I would have loved more out of the final confrontation. I feel like it was a bit too easy. The epilogue is intriguing and made me go look back through the book......Shikoba......what????who??????
If you are a fan of witch folklore, this book will grab your attention from the very first chapter. It is full of mystery and suspense and will keep you guessing for the majority of the book as to what exactly is going on. I thought that it was well written and a quick paced easy read. It was eerie and haunting in the best ways! The crows gave me the creeps.
I did think that the end was a little rushed for me. I would have loved more out of the final confrontation. I feel like it was a bit too easy. The epilogue is intriguing and made me go look back through the book......Shikoba......what????who??????
February 4, 2024
Cry of Crows
By C.S.C. Shows
I want to thank the author for providing me with an audiobook of this in exchange for an honest review!
This was definitely a slow burn. The tension slowly builds. You gotta be patient with this one. The ending was worth it to me. I know a lot of people struggle with these types of books, so you've been warned. You get a nice taste of stuff at the very beginning, and then you gotta wait and enjoy the ride.
This book had a semi-small cast of characters, which I always appreciate. The author made this very accessible, I never felt lost or confused. The characters were just ok for me, but that didn't detract from the story. The big bad, so to say, was excellent. I was a huge fan of them!
For me, this was a mystery novel featureing some great folklore and spooky elements. It was an easy read that I think most people who can handle a slow burn would enjoy. I like my books really dark, bleak, and horrifying. This book was pretty light on those elements. But to each their own!
I'm giving this a 4⭐️ rating. I would recommend this to people who enjoy a slow burn, like mysteries, and want something easy to read. This might be a great starter horror novel for someone getting into the genre.
By C.S.C. Shows
I want to thank the author for providing me with an audiobook of this in exchange for an honest review!
This was definitely a slow burn. The tension slowly builds. You gotta be patient with this one. The ending was worth it to me. I know a lot of people struggle with these types of books, so you've been warned. You get a nice taste of stuff at the very beginning, and then you gotta wait and enjoy the ride.
This book had a semi-small cast of characters, which I always appreciate. The author made this very accessible, I never felt lost or confused. The characters were just ok for me, but that didn't detract from the story. The big bad, so to say, was excellent. I was a huge fan of them!
For me, this was a mystery novel featureing some great folklore and spooky elements. It was an easy read that I think most people who can handle a slow burn would enjoy. I like my books really dark, bleak, and horrifying. This book was pretty light on those elements. But to each their own!
I'm giving this a 4⭐️ rating. I would recommend this to people who enjoy a slow burn, like mysteries, and want something easy to read. This might be a great starter horror novel for someone getting into the genre.
March 31, 2024
This was a slow burn book for me. Annabeth is starting her Freshman year at Chesterbrook College after her father's suicide. On her first day on campus, a dead body is discovered and she and her roommate soon find themselves involved in a century long pattern of death and disappearance.
Annabeth also notices that there are a lot of crows around her all the time and she begins to wonder if they are there to help her or to harm her. She soon finds herself caught up in pledging at her Grandmother's Sorority and all that entails. But, she begins to think that this Sorority might be involved in something much more nefarious than just the normal hazing.
I enjoyed the book and the story, but I did get bogged down in it at times. It often read like a YA book for me and I would have preferred a faster pace. But, there were some creepy moments and some great folklore-like background, so all in all, it was a fun read. The narrator did a great job and kept my attention throughout the book.
Annabeth also notices that there are a lot of crows around her all the time and she begins to wonder if they are there to help her or to harm her. She soon finds herself caught up in pledging at her Grandmother's Sorority and all that entails. But, she begins to think that this Sorority might be involved in something much more nefarious than just the normal hazing.
I enjoyed the book and the story, but I did get bogged down in it at times. It often read like a YA book for me and I would have preferred a faster pace. But, there were some creepy moments and some great folklore-like background, so all in all, it was a fun read. The narrator did a great job and kept my attention throughout the book.
February 5, 2024
This book was great for me from the dedication.
The prologue really entices you in and gets you wanting to know more.
You follow annabeth as she heads to college and her grandmother encoyrages her into joining the sorority she was once with, but this sorority isn't like the ones you see on TV (I'm in the UK so we have a different education system)
A body is found onsite and sparks talks throughout the grounds as to whether its an old body or new.
Follow the story to unravel the mysteries of the disappearances on the college grounds as annabeth unexpectacntly has to fight for her and her friends lives.
A slow burn surrounding Witches, secrets and college drama.
I usually prefer a faster pace. But I really enjoyed the pace and how the story unfolds.
#BOH intended brawl list
The prologue really entices you in and gets you wanting to know more.
You follow annabeth as she heads to college and her grandmother encoyrages her into joining the sorority she was once with, but this sorority isn't like the ones you see on TV (I'm in the UK so we have a different education system)
A body is found onsite and sparks talks throughout the grounds as to whether its an old body or new.
Follow the story to unravel the mysteries of the disappearances on the college grounds as annabeth unexpectacntly has to fight for her and her friends lives.
A slow burn surrounding Witches, secrets and college drama.
I usually prefer a faster pace. But I really enjoyed the pace and how the story unfolds.
#BOH intended brawl list
October 1, 2024
3.5 ⭐️
The first chapter felt like a draft. Something about the writing style really gave me the ick. Luckily got better throughout.
Plot concept was great, I hate books about college where it’s all romance and drama. This was different. Loved the darkness to it. Typical nobody girl who ended up being extremely important in the end. Really liked that she was actually focused on school (atleast until shit got real) and not boys boys boys.
The end was abit quick considering it was a 200 year old ongoing issue and one random girl fixed it one day. 1 little theatre kid against a soul eating witch…
#justicefornana 😔
The first chapter felt like a draft. Something about the writing style really gave me the ick. Luckily got better throughout.
Plot concept was great, I hate books about college where it’s all romance and drama. This was different. Loved the darkness to it. Typical nobody girl who ended up being extremely important in the end. Really liked that she was actually focused on school (atleast until shit got real) and not boys boys boys.
The end was abit quick considering it was a 200 year old ongoing issue and one random girl fixed it one day. 1 little theatre kid against a soul eating witch…
#justicefornana 😔
January 18, 2024
This was an enjoyable ready. I would put it under "cozy horror" or "supernatural suspense". This by no means belittles the author or her writing. It is a well crafted story, and I am already anticipating her next release that will continue the Chesterbrook saga. It kind of dragged a bit in the middle, in my opinion. I was wishing for more spooky activities during this part of the book and character development, but the pace does pick up with nail-biting suspense to the very end.
December 29, 2023
This is the story of Annabeth starting college where her late father attended school. Starting at a new school is already stressful but let’s add mystery and witches to the mix. This was a creepy slow burn. I personally loved the folklore aspect. If you’re looking for something a little creepy but also strangely refreshing I recommend this book!
May 11, 2024
The Perfect Witchy Read
This story brought back so many memories of college for me and managed to make it a magical experience as Chesterbrook College is explored by the main character Annabeth and all of its dark secrets are revealed.
This is a slow burn mystery with a banger of an ending. What an ending! The build up was fantastic!
This story brought back so many memories of college for me and managed to make it a magical experience as Chesterbrook College is explored by the main character Annabeth and all of its dark secrets are revealed.
This is a slow burn mystery with a banger of an ending. What an ending! The build up was fantastic!
May 22, 2023
I really enjoyed the focus on the history of the college and how the main character’s family members were connected. It was a fun story about witchcraft and navigating the difficult adjustment and transition to young adulthood. Definitely recommend!
September 4, 2023
WOW!!
It took a few chapters to get into it, probably because sororities were never my thing. Those first chapters are integral to the character building. Once I was hooked, I couldn’t put it down.
It took a few chapters to get into it, probably because sororities were never my thing. Those first chapters are integral to the character building. Once I was hooked, I couldn’t put it down.
December 6, 2023
Definitely a slow burn. Which usually I don't go for but it had plenty of twists and turns throughout. Appalachian mountains, curses, witchcraft, mysterious disappearances/murder, suspense. This style of writing was very descriptive so I could really picture as if I was there.
July 31, 2024
I usually love anything folklore and witchy but I just couldn’t get into this and found the writing style difficult for unknown reasons . DNF for now but will come back to it - I love the crow illustrations on each chapter
July 3, 2023
A Murder of Crows
Pretty far out and dark. Very negative about the Greek system! Only for those who love cults and witches. She must have really hated rush.
Pretty far out and dark. Very negative about the Greek system! Only for those who love cults and witches. She must have really hated rush.
August 13, 2024
This was a do not finish for me about 1/2 way through. Lost interest. Seemed to just drag on and on for me. I typically will suffer through books but couldn’t do it.
October 5, 2025
3.75-predictable but an interesting story
November 18, 2025
This book was so good I couldn’t put it down
November 17, 2023
A decent occult story with likeable characters, Well written, a few things that could have been expanded on, but good.
September 11, 2025
What a perfect read for fall and soon to be Halloween . I absolutely loved this story there are some triggers in this read as well at least there was for me . Fantastic witchy read with lots of thrills , mystery and secret societies which happen to be my favorite . And crows gotta love the crows .
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews