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Ivy Morgan #4

Wicked Places

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Detective Jack Harker is going on vacation, and he wants his witchy new girlfriend Ivy Morgan to go with him. He just hasn’t asked her yet.
When he finally gets up the courage, Ivy agrees to a weeklong camping trip with Jack’s former police academy friends and their wives. Since Jack has never been camping, he needs Ivy for more than just company – he also needs her to teach him a few things about surviving in the woods.
Once they get to the campsite, Ivy finds she fits in fine with the men – even though one of them seems interested in more than just friendship – but the women are a little more hostile.
When a teenage girl goes missing from the campground, Ivy is the one to find her body and become a suspect.
Things only get worse when one of Jack’s friends starts displaying suspicious behavior, and then his wife goes missing.
Between the local hermit who claims it’s Bigfoot, and the peculiar animal tracks showing up, Jack and Ivy have their hands full.
When the truth is finally revealed, Jack has to decide if he can trust the people he calls “friend” and whether he can get to Ivy before she becomes the next victim.

194 pages, ebook

First published December 1, 2015

836 people are currently reading
232 people want to read

About the author

Lily Harper Hart

244 books766 followers

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5 stars
1,164 (55%)
4 stars
643 (30%)
3 stars
234 (11%)
2 stars
34 (1%)
1 star
11 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
Profile Image for JadeShea.
3,235 reviews60 followers
November 19, 2018
Jack is going on vacation and he is a little nervous about asking Ivy to go camping with him to meet his college friends. But once that gets out of the way he learns Ivy is really good at camping, and he is excited for them to go together. However, when they get their and Ivy meets his friends they aren't exactly very nice, and things start to come out that made it a little bit odd for Ivy to be there.

And when someone is attacked, things get even more strange when Ivy and Jack try to figure out what happened to the woman.

This was another great addition to the story, and it was really great to see the way Jack and Ivy are interacting with each other. I thought it was so awesome, and I really liked the story line as well.

However, I thought Jack's friends were awful, and I was really happy with the way it ended. I can't wait for more now.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
407 reviews1 follower
February 7, 2023
The previous book was better than this one, but my main objection is the bickering is SO tedious. Jack treats Ivy like a child. Sometimes she acts like one. Why is it so hard in some of these books to find adults behaving like adults in a relationship? This immature behavior is so obviously a ploy to expand page count that I feel used when I read a book like this.
Profile Image for Mike Lewis.
1,761 reviews8 followers
January 11, 2023
extraordinarily entertaining paranormal cozy mystery series

This is an extraordinarily entertaining paranormal cozy mystery series. A fun cast of characters and always an entertaining story. Ivy Morgan is a young woman in a small town in northern Michigan. If she happens to also be a witch who is still discovering what she can do. She can see things and experience things others cannot. Her boyfriend Jack is a local place detective in their small town. Jack has been dating Ivy for a short time and is scheduled to go on a long planned camping trip with some college buddies. He’s trying to decide whether he can ask her to go or just cancel the trip so he doesn’t have to be away from her. Read on and follow what happens and see the adventure they get into. It is entertaining and intriguing and has plenty of twists and turns until the end. Check it out
Profile Image for Carin.
120 reviews
June 15, 2017
Once again, the author is intent on reminding us how great Ivy and Jack are together (ok, we get it). If more time was spent on the actual plot, this would be worthy of a 4 or 5 star rating, because the author is definitely a good writer and I see so much potential here.
Profile Image for Ashley .
997 reviews6 followers
October 30, 2016
A little too much lovey dovey stuff in this one. Over all though I liked Ivy and this was a more complex mystery than the other ones.
Profile Image for Amy M..
256 reviews23 followers
June 3, 2016
The best in the series so far. I really enjoyed the mystery in this one.
Profile Image for Katter.
345 reviews9 followers
September 24, 2019
Oh this book was such a let down. When I first began this series it was awesome! But then the last book happened and it seems that all the bad stuff present in the previous novel is front and center in this fourth installment. Now what is this bad stuff you may be asking? It’s all the gooey romantic moments!

Yeah, that’s right. All the sickeningly sweet lovey dovey baby talk totally kills any momentum the plot picks up. So what happens in the story is Jack goes on a yearly camping trip with some old college buddies. This time around he’s a bit anxious about taking the trip because he wants Ivy to go with him, but he didn’t ask her to go with him when he remembered the trip was coming up and now he’s worried she’ll blow up on him for not asking sooner.

Eventually he gets over it his nervousness, retrieves his testicles from Ivy’s purse, and finally asks her to go camping with him. After some coaxing and reassuring that he really wants her to go, the two embark on a camping trip with Jack’s old friends and their wives/girlfriends.

And the trip’s about as fun as it sounds, which is to say not fun at all! I knew it was a terrible idea and that bad things would happen. And it sure does, because while on this miserable excursion, Ivy finds a dead body due to her kinda stupidly accurate intuition Thus a shroud of danger and mystery is placed on the horrible camping trip. Who killed this person, why were they killed, and is the villain still around?

So in essence this book is a bad case of whodunit. Since Ivy is super duper special and just “knows” things, she finds yet another body and then has to work with the state troopers to help solve the case. For what initially began as a questionable vacation, suddenly turns into a murder mystery. And a really really bad one at that.

Now you would think Ivy and Jack would be on alert and wary of everyone due to the situation at hand, but whatever worry the two may have gets completely overshadowed by all the disgusting schmooze! Seriously this book is like 90% sweetie baby talk, and the rest is just terrible writing. The plot is so bad and has no depth at all!

During the book our heroine gets into a lot of trouble due to the fact that she suffers from bouts of TSTL moments. This author really likes to stress that the MC is smart, but I’m getting a completely different picture. Eventually, and predictably, Ivy and Jack learn who the culprit is because the bad guy loses it and goes after the Ivy. Naturally Jack saves the day because he’s the hero and then once again the schmooze continues! BLEH!

So in the end, friendships are ruined, which isn’t completely surprising as NONE of the new side characters are likeable people. Justice is served and everything is all rainbows, butterflies and sunshine once again. How shocking!

With such a shallow plot line, lame execution, terrible side characters, and the MC’s being too busy sweet talking one another, or getting into fights simply because it turns Jack on so then they have to take a “nap”, I have to say that this book is a steaming dung heap.

The romance was god awful and it smattered all the pages! Every freakin’ one of em! I miss when Jack and Ivy had personalities that made them feel unique and fun. Now they are reduced to the likes of nauseatingly obnoxious teenagers suffering from puppy love with severe bouts of immaturity. Especially Ivy.

Man, I wish Max were present in this story so he could've told them to stop being gross! This series really collapses without the good side characters because Ivy and Jack cannot carry a plot on their own.

In all honesty, this novel was pretty bad and I couldn’t wait for it to be over. There just wasn’t anything good in it. However, because I have been fond of some of the previous books, I will give this series one more shot. If the next book isn’t better, then I’m cutting my losses and moving on to a different series with a main couple that doesn’t make me want to vomit.
Profile Image for Amanda Jane.
1,337 reviews10 followers
January 20, 2020
Old friends and enemies..

Jack takes Ivy away camping with his old college roommates and their wives and girlfriend.. he's antsy because he last saw them when he was in hospital after the shooting and it's not just his life that's changed with the move to Shadow Lake but his entire outlook.

Jack is also aware of the limitations of his friends partners, Scott, Alex and Donnie's other halves are nothing like Ivy. Highmaintenance, bitchy, and trying to outdo each other, he's well aware that Ivy has nothing in common with Melissa, Maria or Lauren and frankly he's overjoyed she's nothing like them never having understood what the attraction is!

As they arrive first they're all set up and having a "nap" following an overly energetic game in their tent when the 6 catch them. The men's envy is palpable which hardly endears Ivy to the women!

When the local police come round looking for a missing teenager Ivy's inner alarm pings and she finds the girls mutilated body in a nearby clearing she'd stumbled into earlier that day while exploring with Jack it only creates more tension within the group.

It becomes obvious that the couples are not all as happily settled as they should be but when Ivy finds another body the question becomes is one of them a killer?

Jack and Ivy are racing the clock to prevent any more deaths when one of their own party is taken.. can they find the murderer before any more lives, including their own are taken?

Profile Image for Karyn.
210 reviews
November 10, 2024

Another fun series from Lily Harper Hart


Once again, the characters are amazing. The reader is immediately transported in to Shadow Lake's community, and knows the central figures almost immediately. Ivy is a slightly damaged soul - she doesn't care about the idiots who bad mouth or shun her, but she is petrified of being hurt. She'd rather be alone. Jack is badly damaged emotionally, and refuses to care for anyone. And then they meet, and neither can ignore the explosive chemistry between them.


They are now in a relationship, and Jack asks Ivy to accompany him on a camping trip with his old friends from college. Ivy loves camping, and happily agrees to go, which is a good thing, but Jack knows nothing about camping outside!


A teenage girl goes missing, and Ivy finds her body. Was she really mauled by animals, or is a human in play? Another body is found (a teenager who went missing a year before) and then the wife of one of Jack's friends goes missing. The common denominator is Jack's 6 friends. Is one of them a murderer? And can Jack figure out who it is before Ivy is next?

Profile Image for Danielle Bush.
1,927 reviews25 followers
May 13, 2020
Jack and Ivy are going camping for a week. Spending time with guys Jack went to college with and their spouses and girlfriends. Ivy and Jack arrive first and after things are set up they go and have a "nap" in the tent and end up giving Jack buddies a show when they fall asleep..
When they emerge from the tent and jack introduces Ivy to everone, the guys seem okay, happy to see Jack happy. But the women are all giant assholes..not overtly but making snide comments here and there.
When a young girl goes missing, and is then found dead and mutilated by Ivy things start to go down hill. Turns out that after another body is found, this one having been missing for a year the only people that have been around the state campground both years.. is Jacks camping buddies. so now they are suspects.
Ivy and Jack are now trying to solve the mystery.. I liked that they didn't argue as much in this one, at least they were having a major fight.. That does get a little old, when every little thing results in dramatics on both sides
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Dharia Scarab.
3,255 reviews8 followers
March 26, 2017

Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
Profile Image for Loretta TheMoodyRedhead.
1,050 reviews4 followers
August 12, 2021
Not as good as the others, but this was ok. I like the setting at Ivy’s house and town. I had the feeling the killer was Alex, but not before I suspected sleezy Scott first.

C’mon Hart, I need more magic! Also, neither one of the members of the happy couple have said I love you yet. Maybe that will be in book 5, Wicked Warning. I do like that this series has short books (200 pages), because I can breeze quickly through them. Since there are approximately 23 books that go with this series, it makes me happy that each book isn’t more than a few hours worth.

I hope the next book will be better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Linda.
286 reviews1 follower
March 29, 2023
I love Amanda M. Lee's books. I've read them all and now I wait anxiously for a new one to come out in any one of her Series. I never planned on reading Lily Harper Hart's books and yes, I know that's a pen name, but I loved the first person writing in Ms. Lee's book. I never thought I could get used to reading a third person account. That being said, I want to read all of Lily Harper Hart's books. I loved the Harper Harlow series and I'm completely hooked on the Ivy Morgan series. This was an excellent book. I loved the fast pace and the love story in all 4 books I've finished. I'm onto book 5 now.
Profile Image for ● ᴢᴏᴇʏ ●.
179 reviews5 followers
May 21, 2018
Something is.... up with this book. Or potentially the author. Why did the rest of the people at the camping trip need to see the main character naked and continue to comment on it? It’s disconcerting.

It’s also difficult to identify with and/or cultivate sympathy for a character described as physically almost perfect, whom every male in the city has wanted to date. I’m supposed to believe that she feels isolated and disliked? Come on. She’s had an audience fawning over her for the majority of her life.

I still like the main relationship. It’s just.... weird.
Profile Image for Krystyna.
5,134 reviews55 followers
June 26, 2018
The call of the wild

Not one of my favourite, so far. A camping trip should have been fun. As should have been meeting his old college friends. However there seems to be a lot of jealousy, envy and resentment floating around the three other couples. When a body is found, all the negative feelings gain momentum. Add a skeleton, another death and it becomes clear there is a serial killer at large. Can our favourite couple clear things up before more people get hurt? A good plot but one that I just didn't like. The characters too seemed to be a bit forced in this one.
52 reviews
June 2, 2017
More of Jack's past comes back with bodies in tow

Camping, what fun! Old friends, a beautiful lake, fresh air, and what's that? The Dogman? Was it a werewolf? What could have torn up a body like that?
Ivy and Jack are very together at last, but Ivy keeps finding bodies both fresh and skeletal, now together they must solve the mystery. Was it Bigfoot? Or a more prosaic villain?

Profile Image for Theresa .
1,857 reviews77 followers
January 2, 2021
4 Stars... A simple camping trip with old friends turns into a nightmare when not one but three dead bodies are discovered... Everyone is suspect including Ivy, but when past secrets come to light Jack and Ivy must unravel the lies and deceit to discover the murderer before it is too late... An intriguing mystery with some heartfelt romantic moments and laugh out loud hilarity; all signature marks in this engaging series:)
Profile Image for Kathleen.
25 reviews3 followers
August 20, 2021
Not my favorite in this series.

I would have liked more character development in the college friends, more caring and sympathy shown for the raped and murdered women and their grieving families. It didn’t deserve to be glossed over or minimalized. Lastly I wish the main characters didn’t have sex multiple times a day for weeks on end. It seemed unnecessary to tell us about it all.
667 reviews7 followers
November 23, 2021
Wicked Places (An Ivy Morgan Mystery book 4

This was another winner. I love this author and all her different series. I have read over 50 of her books and loved everyone of them. Some of them I am reading a second time. As she has been writing books 10 years or more and I forget them after 5 years so I am enjoying this series again. I highly recommend all her books to every one who loves a good mystery. Diana Romano
166 reviews1 follower
October 5, 2025
Complex

Wow, you never know what you don' t know. Many people don't know themselves let alone see what is in front of them. Psychopaths and Sociopaths are good at hiding what they are. Light of day is not enough to see that they are not what they seem. Or we don't want to believe there is a problem. Spooky! But a good and compelling read. I am off to ring the rest of the series! Have fun!
Profile Image for Rebecca Waldron.
240 reviews1 follower
August 2, 2019
You don't always know your friends.

Wow! Great read. Ivy and Jack are so darn cute! I love their relationship and the magic they have.

What a suspense filled camping trip! New people, the Dogman and murder... Sounds fun. You learn here that you don't know people as well as you think you do.
Profile Image for Susan Clark.
549 reviews2 followers
August 8, 2019
Heart, Stop Pounding!

The entire setting and situation for this book lends itself to an intriguing story. Within the story is a new character i hope to meet again, whose name is Andrew. The suspense fueled my adrenaline so much that it will be awhile before my heart rate returns to normal. This one does not disappoint!
58 reviews
June 22, 2024
This was great! Jack never been camping, Ivy been camping since childhood. Murder and collage friends. To throw in some great time you also have "Bigfoot" a werewolf aka wolfman I was laughing through out this story. I can honestly say I was wrong on who the killer was. It sure wasn't the person I thought it was.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
729 reviews7 followers
May 8, 2017
This One is a Stunner

Wow! This book threw me for a loop, well lots of loops. It was really good, sad at times and weird. I enjoy books like this though and think you might as well.
Profile Image for Heather.
154 reviews9 followers
September 13, 2017
The Ivy Morgan books are a nice escape for me. Ivy manages to get into trouble wherever she goes, and watching her figure out how to get herself out of that trouble is very amusing. Easy to like characters and fun stories.
25 reviews
April 1, 2018
This series is officially boring and predictable. Not to mention nauseating. If Jack calls Ivy "honey" one more time, I will hurl.
The dialog is dull and wordy. Can't take any more. The series started out really well, but it has gone down hill.
Profile Image for Rhonda Jones.
2,794 reviews17 followers
April 19, 2018
Fantastic Mystery

Ivy and Jack are on a camping trip with his old college buddies and their wives and girlfriend. Thankfully Ivy went too as Jack knows little about camping. But a young teenaged girl is murdered, and now the camping trip is mired in a grizzly murder investigation. Making matters worse, Ivy does not care for Jack's friends, who have been rude or indifferent to her. This was a great story.
24 reviews
September 4, 2019
Love this book

Best book of the series so far. Ivy of course finds a body or two while trying to have a camping trip with Jack and his old friends. Murders and mysteries are never far when Ivy is around. I enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next.
Profile Image for Dawn Gee.
2,995 reviews12 followers
September 8, 2019
Very good murder mystery

I wish Ivy would embrace the possibility of being a witch. I bet she'd really be powerful. She helps solve numerous murders but you'll have to get who the killer is though. For once, Jack isn't the policeman who has to solve the case.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews

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