What do you think?
Rate this book
Emma Griffin Retro #1
The Girl in the Mist
There’s something strange about the mist...
After a night of a scary movie marathon, a cold thick fog rolls over Sherwood, bringing with it the promise of fall. And when FBI Agent Emma Griffin wakes up the next morning, she can't help but shake the feeling that something is off. She turns off her alarm clock, attaches her pager to her hip, and heads out to meet with the agent helping with her newest investigation.
There are rumblings through Sherwood. A camp with a sinister past has reopened. There are many different stories about what happened at Camp Hollow twenty years ago, but Emma soon learns the truth is worse than anything told around a campfire. Thirteen bodies then, fifteen now. And one that can't be found.
As she unravels local legends and shifts through archives to find out what really happened that stormy night in 1964, she discovers more than just one tragedy...
Welcome to Camp Hollow, where gruesome tales come to life.
After a night of a scary movie marathon, a cold thick fog rolls over Sherwood, bringing with it the promise of fall. And when FBI Agent Emma Griffin wakes up the next morning, she can't help but shake the feeling that something is off. She turns off her alarm clock, attaches her pager to her hip, and heads out to meet with the agent helping with her newest investigation.
There are rumblings through Sherwood. A camp with a sinister past has reopened. There are many different stories about what happened at Camp Hollow twenty years ago, but Emma soon learns the truth is worse than anything told around a campfire. Thirteen bodies then, fifteen now. And one that can't be found.
As she unravels local legends and shifts through archives to find out what really happened that stormy night in 1964, she discovers more than just one tragedy...
Welcome to Camp Hollow, where gruesome tales come to life.
265 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 17, 2022
1443 people are currently reading
1105 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
January 8, 2023
The plot had so much potential (I mean summer camp slasher, what could be better?!) but I feel like it fell short. I did enjoy the author’s tone and mood when describing the camp and the crimes itself. However, so much investigating yet no progress until the last 30 pages. Some good red herrings and a decent twist but the seeds weren’t really planted till the very end so how am I supposed to put the clues together throughout the book. A lot of unnecessary information about police procedures or criminal psychology that seemed unnaturally presented while reading. Anyone who’s seen one episode of Law and Order or Criminal Minds would get it. I don’t need you to spell it out for me every step of the way.
I really want to like this series but I find Emma annoying and unlikeable. Her tone is pretentious (like okay you’re better than everyone because you’re in the FBI?) and she seems to bring everything back to her and her previous traumas. There’s a difference between empathizing and “one upping”.
I guess I’m partly at a disadvantage by not reading all of the previous books but what’s the deal with the man-child Xavier? His relationship with Emma and her husband is really odd. I won’t harp on that too much since I think if I read previous books it wouldn’t make more sense. However, they do advertise this book as a stand alone..
Lastly, the retro aspect was cool yet confusing. I feel like this could have been in modern day.
With all that being said, I think I will give this series a couple more chances. I feel like the storylines are solid but execution is poor and writing style is not for me.
I really want to like this series but I find Emma annoying and unlikeable. Her tone is pretentious (like okay you’re better than everyone because you’re in the FBI?) and she seems to bring everything back to her and her previous traumas. There’s a difference between empathizing and “one upping”.
I guess I’m partly at a disadvantage by not reading all of the previous books but what’s the deal with the man-child Xavier? His relationship with Emma and her husband is really odd. I won’t harp on that too much since I think if I read previous books it wouldn’t make more sense. However, they do advertise this book as a stand alone..
Lastly, the retro aspect was cool yet confusing. I feel like this could have been in modern day.
With all that being said, I think I will give this series a couple more chances. I feel like the storylines are solid but execution is poor and writing style is not for me.
October 21, 2022
The plot of this book is excellent. However, the "retro" idea was very confusing. (It would have been different to have the characters we know and love be set in an older time period, but throwing in the details from the regular current-day series is what made it so hard to read).
It took about half-way through the book before I was able to look past the back and forth and just enjoy the stand-alone story. There's also a break in the story line towards the beginning. Emma is on the phone with Sam, who at that point is up in Michigan, but then the middle of the night call comes in, she and Sam both go to the crime scene.
There are also several typos/grammatical issue throughout the book that got missed in editing.
It took about half-way through the book before I was able to look past the back and forth and just enjoy the stand-alone story. There's also a break in the story line towards the beginning. Emma is on the phone with Sam, who at that point is up in Michigan, but then the middle of the night call comes in, she and Sam both go to the crime scene.
There are also several typos/grammatical issue throughout the book that got missed in editing.
November 9, 2022
Great Read!
Emma Griffin investigates two camp murders twenty years apart. In 1964 at Camp Hollow 13 members were killed now Twenty years later Camp Hollow is reopening and 16 are killed. This is a great 80’s camp slasher read!
Emma Griffin investigates two camp murders twenty years apart. In 1964 at Camp Hollow 13 members were killed now Twenty years later Camp Hollow is reopening and 16 are killed. This is a great 80’s camp slasher read!
April 8, 2023
I’m a sucker for a good slasher story, so I loved the plot of this book! I would’ve given 5 stars, but there were a lot of grammatical errors. I had to read some sentences several times for them to make sense, which slowed down my reading progress. But, overall this was a great, suspenseful read!
March 27, 2025
This says book 1
But there was a lot of information about people that we were supposed to know. Or at least it felt like that. I will have to.look back and see if I missed something. Good slasher story set in the 80s and was interesting at what we didn't have at that time. Like DNA or cell phones, or internet. Plus she was paged. Lol
But there was a lot of information about people that we were supposed to know. Or at least it felt like that. I will have to.look back and see if I missed something. Good slasher story set in the 80s and was interesting at what we didn't have at that time. Like DNA or cell phones, or internet. Plus she was paged. Lol
March 13, 2023
This was hard to follow because of the many mistakes. Obviously no proof reading was done. Punctuation was poor. Author named a set of parents as Donny and Karen but them referred to the woman as Vanessa, several times.
Characters Dean and Xavier were in the story but not describe or introduced until much later. Still not very clear on who they are?
I want to read a good story not decipher the book.
I won’t be reading this author any more.
Characters Dean and Xavier were in the story but not describe or introduced until much later. Still not very clear on who they are?
I want to read a good story not decipher the book.
I won’t be reading this author any more.
August 25, 2025
PHENOMENAL. This is a dense detail packed well written mystery without BS like some of the thrillers that are written by big name authors. Happy to have found this author, can’t wait to read the rest of her series
July 5, 2025
It was a rlly good book. Either i'm bad at this whole guessing game or it was a rlly mind-boggling book. I mean who would've thought the murderers would end up as miranda and holden. Esp w miranda missing for practically the entire book. Ig when she suddenly came outta the woods it would've been the first time someone would've thought it was sus but i js thought she survived. I think when i rlly felt like she could be invovled in this somehow, how i dont know, was when she got very defensive in the hospital when emma said that they did not find the room she described. That was probably the point where i started doubting miranda. And when holden was rlly defensive. Ig i didn't rlly think it could be him but once everything started connecting and making sense, it rlly did point out to be those two. Esp when miranda mention Jacob when emma had never mentioned him to her.
And mike. who thought mike could have had such a sad childhood. Poor mike.
Although the plot and everything was good and it was a rlly mind boggling book/mystery, there were some errors.
For example, grammatical errors. I had to re-read sentences js bcs there was smt missing n it made no sense. And for instance, other times, you'd js move to the next chapter and all of a sudden some other evidence or smt is being thrown at ur face and it was NEVER discussed anywhere. Like that js confuses you and throws you aback for a bit.
I feel like this book wasn't rlly proofread properly but ill let it slide js for the sake of it being a good book.
And mike. who thought mike could have had such a sad childhood. Poor mike.
Although the plot and everything was good and it was a rlly mind boggling book/mystery, there were some errors.
For example, grammatical errors. I had to re-read sentences js bcs there was smt missing n it made no sense. And for instance, other times, you'd js move to the next chapter and all of a sudden some other evidence or smt is being thrown at ur face and it was NEVER discussed anywhere. Like that js confuses you and throws you aback for a bit.
I feel like this book wasn't rlly proofread properly but ill let it slide js for the sake of it being a good book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2025
I finally read The Girl in the Mist by AJ Rivers after it being on my TBR forever, and overall? Super fun murder mystery vibes! Picture this: a creepy summer camp reopens after 20 years… only for history to repeat itself when another masked killer shows up. It sounds great. It’s got all the classic who-done-it goodness. Red herings everywhere, quirky characters you can’t help but love, and enough twists to keep you flipping pages. The writing itself was solid, though I will say… the whole ’80s summer camp aesthetic didn’t really come through for me. It could’ve been set anytime, which was a tiny letdown.
My biggest issue was the marketing. This book is labeled as the first in a series, but surprise! It’s actually set in the same universe as the author’s other works. And girl, the endless references to past cases and characters were SO ANNOYING. I get that it’s an interconnected world, but as a new reader, I had no idea what they were talking abut. A little disclaimer (“Hey, this ties into XYZ books!”) would’ve saved me so much frustration.
That said? Still a really entertaining read! I just wish I’d known to start with the actual first book in this universe.
My biggest issue was the marketing. This book is labeled as the first in a series, but surprise! It’s actually set in the same universe as the author’s other works. And girl, the endless references to past cases and characters were SO ANNOYING. I get that it’s an interconnected world, but as a new reader, I had no idea what they were talking abut. A little disclaimer (“Hey, this ties into XYZ books!”) would’ve saved me so much frustration.
That said? Still a really entertaining read! I just wish I’d known to start with the actual first book in this universe.
November 1, 2022
Suspensful
Another great read by A.J. Rivers. Once again Emma Griffin is knee deep in a massacre that took place in a neighboring town of Sherwood, Cherry Hill. The lead detective from there has called and asked Sam, Emma's husband and also the sheriff of Sherwood, to come help with the investigation and to bring Emma too.
There are a lot of possible suspects in this case. A summer camp was being held at a camp that had been closed for twenty years due to the fact that a terrible massacre had taken place there. Throughout the book my mind went from thinking Mike, one of the camp counselors, did it. Then I strongly felt the detective from Cherry Hill was the one. As I continued reading my mind went from thinking this one did it, then it changed to another one. Not until close to the very end did I suspect the actual killer, or were there killers? You will need to read it to find out the shocking confession and reason why these murders took place.
Another great read by A.J. Rivers. Once again Emma Griffin is knee deep in a massacre that took place in a neighboring town of Sherwood, Cherry Hill. The lead detective from there has called and asked Sam, Emma's husband and also the sheriff of Sherwood, to come help with the investigation and to bring Emma too.
There are a lot of possible suspects in this case. A summer camp was being held at a camp that had been closed for twenty years due to the fact that a terrible massacre had taken place there. Throughout the book my mind went from thinking Mike, one of the camp counselors, did it. Then I strongly felt the detective from Cherry Hill was the one. As I continued reading my mind went from thinking this one did it, then it changed to another one. Not until close to the very end did I suspect the actual killer, or were there killers? You will need to read it to find out the shocking confession and reason why these murders took place.
November 13, 2022
This was a story about 2 horrific mass murders at a summer camp 20 years apart. Emma is an FBI agent and her husband is a sheriff at the town next to the camp so they both get pulled in to help the police solve the mystery and why did this happen again. I saw this as book one in a series but found out it is book 1 in a retro series but not the first book starring Emma Griffin so I felt like I was missing something after I started reading it. Who were Dean and Xavier that were just referred to as the guys and why were they spending the night at Emma's when her husband was out of town? I thought maybe they were her sons but then I found out Emma was too young to be their mom. Eventually you find out about Xavier and then later in the book Dean. I still don't know why Pearl's Diner is on the cover! Lots of twists in the book and it did go back and forth between 1964 and 1984 was the current time in the book so all the solving was done without cell phones and modern help for the police. I did wish it was made clearer it wasn't the first book about Emma.
January 29, 2023
My 1st A.J. Rivers book to read
I understand there are 21 books in the Emma Griffin series, and this one The Girl in the Mist is the 1st book in a limited retro series. Being I haven't read any other books by A.J. Rivers, I found this one to be a great read. Set in the 1980s, a summer camp is reopened for a week after being closed down for 20 years when a massacre happened. Camp Hollow description is everything you would expect for a camp from the 60s. The characters were easy to follow and not too much extra. I felt like Xavier is on the autism spectrum, but that's never specified. A good storyline, a case solved, secrets revealed, and unpredictable ending makes this a 4 star read for me.
I understand there are 21 books in the Emma Griffin series, and this one The Girl in the Mist is the 1st book in a limited retro series. Being I haven't read any other books by A.J. Rivers, I found this one to be a great read. Set in the 1980s, a summer camp is reopened for a week after being closed down for 20 years when a massacre happened. Camp Hollow description is everything you would expect for a camp from the 60s. The characters were easy to follow and not too much extra. I felt like Xavier is on the autism spectrum, but that's never specified. A good storyline, a case solved, secrets revealed, and unpredictable ending makes this a 4 star read for me.
February 21, 2023
This is the 1st book I've read by A. J. Rivers. In looking through previous reviews, I guess I'm glad I'd never read any others because characters from her series show up in this limited series set. At first I didn't think I'd care for this at all because I am just not into the slasher craze so many love to read and/or see movies about. But once I was through the first part of the book and both sets of camp killings (20 years apart) were out of the way, the plot got down to attempting to solve the cases...thinking that one certainly had a bearing on the other. I thought there were some awesome twists and surprises, I certainly did not have it figured out by the end so it was a satisfying read. I'm willing to try another one!
October 28, 2022
I had a hard time getting through this one. I love the whole Emma Griffin series and the spin offs - but putting all of the same characters, and relationships, and mentioning things from Emma’s previous stories but placing it in 1984 was incredibly confusing and I couldn’t get past it. How is any of this set in 1984 when all the things they’re referring to and the relationships have such a thick - multi book - backstory in present day. Why could we not have the book be early-Emma? Or set in a more realistic time frame to include all these characters. It had the potential to be so good but the timeline/setting issue really ruined this for me.
January 31, 2023
Terror, Twists and Horror
How could a 20 year old massacre have any impact over todays Summer Camp for Teens? How can so many small town folks perpetrate such shame and heart aches towards families and children. As usual AJ Rivers character Emma Griffin has many twists and turns to face before solving the MASSACRE of over a dozen people. Just when the reader feels certain a character is guilty Another Twist arises and Emma has to do further research into history both past and present. Can she stop the killing, the false accusations and the lifelong terror? Only AJ Rivers words will reveal the true complicated murder.
How could a 20 year old massacre have any impact over todays Summer Camp for Teens? How can so many small town folks perpetrate such shame and heart aches towards families and children. As usual AJ Rivers character Emma Griffin has many twists and turns to face before solving the MASSACRE of over a dozen people. Just when the reader feels certain a character is guilty Another Twist arises and Emma has to do further research into history both past and present. Can she stop the killing, the false accusations and the lifelong terror? Only AJ Rivers words will reveal the true complicated murder.
October 17, 2022
Another wonderful Emma Griffin mystery. This book is a little different though, it's retro and takes place in 1984. The different time kind of threw me off but it's a good story. Info and research are once again done by hard work and quick thinking instead of instant internet and cell phones. Emma and Sam work together on this and it's nice the Xavier and Dean make an appearance. The story is well written and I'm glad I didn't know who it was until the end. As always, I am left wanting more Emma Griffin stories.
November 8, 2022
I was confused when I started reading. The previous book Emma had just found her father and cousin also she had a cell phone. No mention of her dad and the story was before cell phone became popular. Otherwise the story was good.
Was dating the sheriff had just found her father and cousin. This story started out she was married no mention of her father. Also this story was before cell phones were popular. No cell phone but in all her other books she had a cell phone. I spent the whole time wondering if I missed a book.
Was dating the sheriff had just found her father and cousin. This story started out she was married no mention of her father. Also this story was before cell phones were popular. No cell phone but in all her other books she had a cell phone. I spent the whole time wondering if I missed a book.
January 2, 2023
confused
I’ve read every Emma Griffin book up to here and this one had me super confused. It’s still a great book and I rated it 4 stars instead of 5 only because I feel like there could have been some explanation somewhere. If you’ve read them all this one will leave you puzzled.
If you don’t want spoilers stop reading…
I’m so confused by the whole time warp. There is no explanation, there’s fog, she feels weird and it’s eerie and then the rest of the book she’s in the past with all the usual crew.
I’ve read every Emma Griffin book up to here and this one had me super confused. It’s still a great book and I rated it 4 stars instead of 5 only because I feel like there could have been some explanation somewhere. If you’ve read them all this one will leave you puzzled.
If you don’t want spoilers stop reading…
I’m so confused by the whole time warp. There is no explanation, there’s fog, she feels weird and it’s eerie and then the rest of the book she’s in the past with all the usual crew.
August 26, 2023
3 stars rounded down for all the typos and continuity errors.
It was a *fine* read. A lot of characters. The dual timeline was weak because 1964 was only in play for the beginning. Waaay more procedural than I would have liked, and a lot of Emma getting other characters up to speed with things we already knew, which was annoying.
I saw one of the twists coming, but it was still concluded nicely. The major twist/explanation kept getting more convoluted and eye-roll inducing.
But man, the typos and errors were...rough...
It was a *fine* read. A lot of characters. The dual timeline was weak because 1964 was only in play for the beginning. Waaay more procedural than I would have liked, and a lot of Emma getting other characters up to speed with things we already knew, which was annoying.
I saw one of the twists coming, but it was still concluded nicely. The major twist/explanation kept getting more convoluted and eye-roll inducing.
But man, the typos and errors were...rough...
October 31, 2022
I loved the book. The description of the crime as it was occurring was intense. I felt my heart rate go up. After reading so many crime novels, it is rare that an author can make me anxious anymore. Rivers achieved this and a nice twisty plot. Every time I thought I knew who was guilty, I got a new chunk of information that changed everything. I liked the retro setting. Nobody even thought to look at the computer for clues. No cell phones made the terror more real.
November 7, 2022
Amazing first book for retro series!!
I love AJ rivers so much! And I love all the Emma Griffin books. My only thing about this book is I was confused by the timeline like she said a guy looked to be in his 20s but he was born in the 60s. And I'm thinking okay, maybe this is going back to when Emma first got in the fbi, but Xavier and Sam are there. I was really confused, but amazing book overall! Already pre ordered the second one!
I love AJ rivers so much! And I love all the Emma Griffin books. My only thing about this book is I was confused by the timeline like she said a guy looked to be in his 20s but he was born in the 60s. And I'm thinking okay, maybe this is going back to when Emma first got in the fbi, but Xavier and Sam are there. I was really confused, but amazing book overall! Already pre ordered the second one!
November 28, 2022
a page-turner and also a thumbs-down on closed communities
Two young men with similar goals collide with someone seeking vengeance for a summer camp slaughter twenty years before, which was very quietly resolved a decade later after an innocent man had been vilified and he and his family had been run out of town.
So many threads woven in a confusing tapestry, finally unraveled by the end.
Two young men with similar goals collide with someone seeking vengeance for a summer camp slaughter twenty years before, which was very quietly resolved a decade later after an innocent man had been vilified and he and his family had been run out of town.
So many threads woven in a confusing tapestry, finally unraveled by the end.
June 27, 2025
Loving the retro series so far…this was truly captivating from the get-go. This book was more gorey than the other Emma books I read previously, which worried me for a moment. Even with the setting of the book being set in a different time period, Emma is still the awesome agent we know and love. As she has gotten older you see her grow in her maturity as a person, but also how she handles certain situations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2022
Incredibly intense
Oh my goodness where do I start. This is one of the best thrillers I have read. I was drawn in from page one and couldn't stop reading until I finished. So many plot twists. I am so glad I found this book as a result of the Kindle reading challenge. I am definitely going to purchase book 2 immediately after posting this review.
Oh my goodness where do I start. This is one of the best thrillers I have read. I was drawn in from page one and couldn't stop reading until I finished. So many plot twists. I am so glad I found this book as a result of the Kindle reading challenge. I am definitely going to purchase book 2 immediately after posting this review.
November 18, 2022
The Girl In the Mist(Emma Griffin FBI Mystery Retro-Limited Series Book 1)
OMG!!!!!!!!!! This book was amazing and terrifying. I was totally surprised by who the murders were, I did not see it coming until the very end. I could not put the book down, I just had to see how it ended.
OMG!!!!!!!!!! This book was amazing and terrifying. I was totally surprised by who the murders were, I did not see it coming until the very end. I could not put the book down, I just had to see how it ended.
December 14, 2022
Fun read with a great twist
I thoroughly enjoyed reading my first A.J. Rivers book. I know I’ll be reading more of them. I felt I got this know the characters and it was fun to read a story that flipped back and forth between the 69’s and the 80’s. I didn’t guess the “whodunnit” at the end, which was a good surprise. I highly recommend
I thoroughly enjoyed reading my first A.J. Rivers book. I know I’ll be reading more of them. I felt I got this know the characters and it was fun to read a story that flipped back and forth between the 69’s and the 80’s. I didn’t guess the “whodunnit” at the end, which was a good surprise. I highly recommend
January 7, 2023
Disappointing
I found this book a little difficult to get through compared to the author's other books. There is a good story here and the ending is a surprising twist but there was just too much cerebral content that slowed down the reading. I'll probably read the next in the series because I really like this author and her characters with all their quirkiness.
I found this book a little difficult to get through compared to the author's other books. There is a good story here and the ending is a surprising twist but there was just too much cerebral content that slowed down the reading. I'll probably read the next in the series because I really like this author and her characters with all their quirkiness.
February 18, 2023
could not put it down
First time reading this series. Cannot wait for the next one! And the retro, yes I remember it well. I enjoyed the novel being written from Emma’s point of view. So many twists and turns. And she negotiated every one. It shows that there up is more than one answer to a question. Are we have to look at all the information in order to make the right choice.
First time reading this series. Cannot wait for the next one! And the retro, yes I remember it well. I enjoyed the novel being written from Emma’s point of view. So many twists and turns. And she negotiated every one. It shows that there up is more than one answer to a question. Are we have to look at all the information in order to make the right choice.
October 15, 2022
This was a super book about Emma with her great mind able to solve who was doing what and with other people helping her also. Thank you for letting me read this excellent story with marvelous writing skills.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews