Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Wildwood in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: January 6, 2026
Summary:
From the acclaimed author of the “riveting debut” (People) Northwoods, a mother-son law enforcement team confront buried secrets in their small town as they work to expose a conspiracy that goes far beyond the tight-knit community.
Deputy Sheriff Eli North has spent the last year getting his life back together. He hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol, he’s working through his PTSD from his military deployment, and he’s repairing his most important relationships. When an undercover informant disappears and all signs point to murder, Eli must expose the dark underbelly of his idyllic Wisconsin small town while safeguarding his newfound stability.
Then, with the unexpected arrival of FBI Agent Alyssa Mason, Eli and his mother, the sheriff, are pulled deeper into a violent criminal network built on the backs of the lost and forgotten.
As the case deepens, loyalties fracture and the line between justice and survival begins to blur. In a town where everyone has something to hide, exposing the truth may cost them everything.
My thoughts:
Last year I read Amy Pease’s debut novel, Northwoods, and I fell hard not only for the characters we meet in that book, but also the atmospheric writing in that book. I was thrilled to find out, when I met Amy at a book conference that we were getting a 2nd book…and let me tell you, it does not disappoint!
This has quickly become one of my favorite series…and I do hope there is more to come! While Wildwood can be read as a stand-alone, I highly recommend reading Northwoods 1st…it really does help with the characters & their relationships.
That being said, Wildwood picks up a year later, and we find Eli and his mom, Marge, involved in another case. Each book has a self-contained case, though there are threads that do carry over. I loved seeing the character development/growth in Eli, alone from book to book — again, this is one of my favorite aspects of reading series and the author ran with it here!
This author once again gives us a complicated, complex mystery but at the same time, she makes it so immersive that you become fully invested. Yes, at its heart it’s a police procedural, but there is so much more depth to these books than just that. The themes of resilience, hope and kindness run deep in this one, as our characters, flawed though they may be, try to do the right thing even when the odds are stacked against them.
If you like dark, compelling reads, I highly recommend picking up this series!
Books in this series:
- Northwoods
- Wildwood
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