This atmospheric thriller was one my most anticipated reads of 2020 and it did not disappoint! After 25 years, Paul Adams returns to his dismal hometown of Gritten where a grisly slaying took place when he was a teenager. He was falsely suspected of involvement until another teenager wandered into the police station covered in blood and confessing to the crime. Shortly thereafter, Paul left for college and vowed never to return but this changes when his elderly mother is injured and placed in hospice care. While in Gritten, Paul begins receiving sinister messages that cause him to recall the horrific events of his adolescence, including those connected to a local boy named Charlie, who mysteriously vanished in Gritten Wood (aka The Shadows) after participating in the slaying. Meanwhile, detective Amanda Beck works to solve a murder in Featherbank that is eerily similar to what took place in Gritten years ago, leading her and Paul’s paths to soon cross. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and left me covered in goosebumps. Alex North is a master at creating a truly menacing atmosphere and the town of Gritten is reminiscent of Stephen King’s fictional town of Derry. The plot points employed throughout the story are unique and completely engrossing. I love when an author formulates multiple storylines and mysteries and manages to fit the pieces of the puzzle so seamlessly together. I suspect that I will always be haunted by the ideas of red hands and lucid dreaming.