Hunted by Darcy Coates

Recently, with the help of my handy-dandy Kindle, I have come across an author by the name of Darcy Coates, and with her memorably eerie writing style, she has quickly become a favorite of mine. At the time of me writing this post, I have read four of her books, and am in the process of reading a fifth, with quite a few more on my evergrowing to be read (or tbr here on out) list. The books that I have read include Hunted, The Carrow Haunt, The Haunting of Gillespie House, and The Haunting of Blackwood Manor. I am currently reading The Folcroft Ghosts, and From Below, one of her newest novels, is eagerly awaiting to be read.

Now, if you’re anything like me, the sheer amount of novels written by Miss Coates can be a bit daunting. With the release of Gallows Hill in September of 2022, that makes 25 books, with the 26th coming at the beginning of 2023. That number is nearly Stephen King-esque in scope, but fear not! I am here to help you find the best Darcy Coates novels, at least out of the ones that I have read. More posts will be added to this series as I read more of her delectably scary books.

So, without further ado, let’s dive right in. We will be going through the aforementioned Darcy Coates novels one by one, starting with Hunted.

This was the first Darcy Coates novel I read. It was listed on a suggested list on my Kindle, and after reading the description offered, I was hooked. It was one of my favorite books, out of 30, that I have read so far this year. Now, I will start off by saying that Hunted is, so far, a bit different from Coates’ other novels, but that doesn’t make it any less fascinating of a story. Hunted begins with 22-year-old Eileen going missing on a hiking trip in Ashlough Forest. Todd, a friend of Eileen’s brother Chris, is immediately suspicious when Eileen doesn’t update her Facebook with the latest pictures of her solo trip, and he confides his worries in Chris. Todd is a bit of an odd character, one that is hard to be sympathetic for, as he has an almost creepy obsession with Eileen, and is one of those guys that think he deserves a medal just for being ‘a good guy.’ Think Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother, and how he thinks that he deserves Robin’s (or any woman’s attention, really) just because he thinks himself the ‘nice guy.’ Spoiler alert, he isn’t, and neither is Todd.

When the rest of Eileen’s family and friends don’t take this seriously enough for his liking, the inexperienced and pretentious Todd decides to try and find Eileen on his own, thinking that if he rescues her, she will see him as a knight in shining armor and fall madly in love with him. (GAG! Ugh.) Without telling anyone, including Chris or any of the rest of their friends, Todd sets off into the dense and mysterious forest, ill-prepared, but thinking that he is going to be the one to find Eileen.

Now, both Eileen and Todd are in the forest, with the latter unknowingly so to friends and family. A few days after Eileen first went missing and Todd went to find her, her camera washes up downriver, found by an elderly man out fishing. He turns it it into the local PD, and the case is handed to Carla, a police officer who once had dreams of saving the world, but after suffering in both her personal and professional life, it seems she had given up. A bit of a cliché, yes, but the character is still well written and likable, even if she’s a bit blasé.

Carla is able to recover some of the photos on Eileen’s camera, and the pictures paint a very confusing and terrifying last night in the forest for the poor girl. I don’t want to go into too much detail here, but the photos found on the camera (and those missing from it, as well, based on time stamps) definitely amp up the narrative. Chris, Eileen’s brother, and a band of his closest friends, decide to take matters into their own hands, not being willing to leave the task of finding Eileen alive up to Carla and the rest of the PD. One of the friends, Anna, arguably one of the smartest characters in a horror novel ever, prepares the rest of the group for their mission as best she could. But not even Anna could prepare for what awaits them in the forest.

Hunted is one of Darcy Coates longer novels, clocking in at over 450 pages, but it definitely does not feel like its that long. The excitement is rife from the beginning of the novel, and quite frankly, it is a very difficult book to put down. For me, Hunted was one of those rare stories that I would catch myself thinking about during the day, and I couldn’t wait to be able to pick it up again. The novel is full of creepy tension, and it keeps you guessing from the moment Eileen steps foot into the cryptic and dark forest. The reader is left trying to piece together the clues, but I don’t think even the most experienced reader could prepare for the twist that awaits them in Ashlough Forest.

Are you brave enough to step into Ashlough Forest? Find out in Hunted by Darcy Coates. (which is now one of the many Darcy Coates books available on kindle unlimited!)

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