Lurker in the West Woods

by Victoria Brown

Deep in the woods lurks a stranger that only whispers know about.

Audrey finds herself in a dangerous situation with her life hanging in the balance. Rescued by a mysterious man, she grows to love him. Although a strange man with a maverick personality, she embraces his uniqueness to stay with him. As their lives grow together, Audrey has to make some difficult choices, causing her heart to be torn in two. The secrets of the stranger are revealed, and Audrey finds out the person she loved, is not who she thought he was.

Content warnings - Please see authors note inside.

206 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2022

About the author

Victoria is a new author from the South East of the UK.
She has always enjoyed writing from a young age, using it now as a way to keep her mind active while looking after her young son. Victoria only writes part-time, and is hoping to go full time in the next year or so.
Victoria enjoys writing thrillers, dark romance, and sometimes dives into family fiction, but has a passion for reading all things sci-fi and space!

Her latest work is the West Wood series, a psychological thriller with heavy dark romance.

Victoria is contactable on instagram, tiktok and facebook.

Reviews

[💖Stacey Nicole💖 · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! Stayed up till 2 am to finish this!!

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why am I questioning this guy overall?? This was so well written, I feel like it had me grabbed in from page one making me keep wanting to find out more. I do enjoy a psych thriller so maybe I’m being harsh because it is short but there was a constant ‘is he good or bad’ and I wanted a big twist but did not get that. Overall would recommend though! Don’t read at night when you can’t sleep though.. swear I was hearing things. Thank you to the author for gifting this ebook and all thoughts/opinions above and my own!

[Jessica Rigsby · Rating 3 out of 5]

“If this was only a snippet of his love, his lust, and desire for her, she wanted to know more, she needed more.” -Lurker in the West Woods

I have been gone for three years, maybe longer, so they say. I am told he is a monster, a cruel man. They tell me that he is not who I know him to be. They are wrong! I love him! He saved my life and put me back together when I thought I was going to die. Ok, I’ll admit that he has a uniqueness about him, and yes, I have questioned some of his bizarre behaviors, but that does not make him a monster. He could never have done the things that I am being told, could he?

Victoria Brown does a satisfying job in her debut thriller Lurker in the Woods. The hold it has on the reader from the first page is a masterclass. The subject matter is complex, lending to subjects that most authors stray away from. Victoria Brown writes in a way that the reader can understand what the main character is going through, not so much relate to but understand why she feels the way she does. The dynamics between the two main characters are believable, taking the reader on a rollercoaster ride of emotions; is he a good guy? Is he a bad guy? The ending of the book made me feel as though I was reading a true story, forgetting that it is a work of fiction. It also leaves the reader wondering if there will be a second book.

I rate this book 3.5 stars. Although this book is under two hundred pages, I found it to be quite slow through the middle, dragging some. I couldn’t believe it was a shorter-page book when I finished. There wasn’t a huge twist or ah-ha moment. It is just simply a good read that I will recommend to my thriller friends.

Content/Trigger Warnings: from the author- 18+, domestic abuse, kidnapping, murder, sexual violence, and rape. Others that I’d like to add- blood, emotional abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse, pregnancy, sexually explicit scenes, torture, Stockholm Syndrome, manipulation

***I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily***

[Kayla Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t expecting this book to completely go the way that it did. But then again, i haven’t read a book with a character who had Stockholm syndrome! I definitely had my suspicions of Wade when he found her and i thought Audrey and i were in the same page! But BOY, she did NOT get the memo! She’s definitely graded a D+ on life, and that’s only because it was kind of helpful that she went with the flow. It was very interesting reading about someone being in danger and not really grasping the complete situation. Even though at some times it was super aggravating when she kept trying to convince herself she was so in love with him and he felt the same. Especially when it was put in her face how wrong he was at the end!

Wade is definitely one sick puppy! He had “exactly” what he wanted and STILL did what he did! He was definitely a big walking red flag the way he was about to turn the charm off and on! It’s easy to see how Audrey fell for him, even though within the first 48 hours of being together, he tried to touch her inappropriately and was staring like a creep! I just wish we knew HOW he got her! It doesn’t even seem like she knew what happened before she hurt herself that first time? Anyways! I can’t read the next book!

[Just a girl and her books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good and I have recommended it to other people. I found the love between the characters to be intense and scary at the same time. The bedroom scenes were descriptive but not to the level of smut. I went into this book thinking it was going to be a typical romance type book where two people fall in love under unusual circumstances, which it is that but it is so much more. Audrey will pull at your heartstrings as she is conflicted about her “ideal” life with Wade and what she is told to be facts. I found myself at odds with my feelings about Wade. I liked and disliked him at the same time. The devotion and love that Audrey has for Wade is one that I feel most of us have had in our lives, even though the red flags are more than obvious and the love that is returned is more often than not tainted with anger and dare I say hate. This is a cautionary tale about falling in love with the wrong "Mr. Wonderful". Please watch any and all trigger warnings as this book will probably hit some triggers.

[Sam Naranjo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is definitely one of the darkest and more intense books I’ve ever read. It evoked many different emotions—such as anger, sadness, empathy and shock. But there were also moments of tenderness and love, that had me confused about how I felt about the characters given the circumstance.

It was an excellent read—diving into what many would describe as a Stockholm Syndrome situation. The author has an excellent story telling ability—capturing your attention right away and is descriptive enough for you to envision the story, without it dragging on. I found myself hanging on each word, telling myself “just one more page” multiple times, but never truly meaning it.

The ending had me yelling at the pages in front of me. I don’t even know what to think or how exactly to feel. But I’m excited to see what’s next for this author, as I’m sure it will be just as great.

Please make sure to check trigger warnings before reading—as some of the contents can be disturbing to some.

[Caterina · Rating 4 out of 5]

So so good!

Audrey finds herself locked in a small cage for days when a kind man rescues her and takes her back to his place to nurse her to health.

We watch them fall in love but notice a bit of a sinister vibe that we all try to ignore because overall things are good right?

This story is well written in that I reacted much the same as Audrey. That and it was fascinating. There were some misused words that were distracting.

I read this in one afternoon because it was so good I couldn't put it down.

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I'm a bit heartbroken that the good times don't last forever. It felt so cozy during the time that she was first there and when she was pregnant. It's sad it couldn't stay that way. Although I wouldn't have read if it went on like that forever. :)

[Anders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my usual genre but saw it as a new release and thought I’d give it a go. Enjoyed the story line and the dark relationship, author portrayed the mental aspects of domestic abuse well, which verged on Stockholm syndrome. A fast paced read with a few very minor grammatical errors (but I’m a grammar buff). Being a new writer it’s nice to see Brown find her own voice and play around with the English language, metaphors and metonymies being her strengths, I’ll look forward to seeing her bend the language to capture the images she wants in her next book. Overall, a very enjoyable read.

[Lisa Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, just wow

This was an intense and dark read. It's about Audrey, a woman that thinks she was rescued by Wade and she falls in love with him. He has a dark secret though and over time she finds out how bad he can be. This is a case of Stockholm syndrome and has many triggers so watch out for those. This was very well written and I forgot I want reading a true crime story. I definitely recommend.

[Constance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book but the ending felt too rushed and a bit lackluster.

[Jiji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unputdownable! aaaaaa awesome debut, can't wait to read more from you Ms Brown. If you like a dark thriller, always put you on your edge, great writing and plot of course. this.

[Olivea Stairs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a hold on me! Definitely some twists and turns I did not see coming! Highly recommend! I can't wait to read the second one!

[Emma GORMAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing short read! Couldn’t put it down, read it in one sitting and moved onto book 2 and then instantly ordered book 3!

[Herolston · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Eve Sirviö · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so twisted but good. Had to read the book in a day. Could not put it down. This book is about woman named Audrey that disappeared years ago and she thinks that her husband saved her from her kidnapper. I thought that he might have found Audrey but later down the book I realised that there was something wrong with him. Huge thank you to Victoria that I got the arc for this book and the next one. I am leaving this review voluntarily