The Children on the Hill

Written by Jennifer McMahon

Narrated by Erin Moon

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Drowning Kind comes a genre-defying novel, inspired by Mary Shelley’s masterpiece Frankenstein, that brilliantly explores the eerie mysteries of childhood and the evils perpetrated by the monsters among us.

1978: At her renowned treatment center in picturesque Vermont, the brilliant psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hildreth, is acclaimed for her compassionate work with the mentally ill. But when she’s home with her cherished grandchildren, Vi and Eric, she’s just Gran—teaching them how to take care of their pets, preparing them home-cooked meals, providing them with care and attention and love.

Then one day Gran brings home a child to stay with the family. Iris—silent, hollow-eyed, skittish, and feral—does not behave like a normal girl.

Still, Violet is thrilled to have a new playmate. She and Eric invite Iris to join their Monster Club, where they dream up ways to defeat all manner of monsters. Before long, Iris begins to come out of her shell. She and Vi and Eric do everything together: ride their bicycles, go to the drive-in, meet at their clubhouse in secret to hunt monsters. Because, as Vi explains, monsters are everywhere.

2019: Lizzy Shelley, the host of the popular podcast Monsters Among Us, is traveling to Vermont, where a young girl has been abducted, and a monster sighting has the town in an uproar. She’s determined to hunt it down, because Lizzy knows better than anyone that monsters are real—and one of them is her very own sister.

“A must for psychological thriller fans” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), The Children on the Hill takes us on a breathless journey to face the primal fears that lurk within us all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Apr 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9781797136141

Jennifer McMahon

Jennifer McMahon is the author of twelve novels, including the New York Times bestsellers The Children on the Hill, Promise Not to Tell, and The Winter People. She lives in Florida with her partner, Drea. Visit her at Jennifer-McMahon.com or connect with her on Instagram @JenniferMcMahonWrites and Facebook @JenniferMcMahonBooks.

Reviews for The Children on the Hill

[Bianka Rubio · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

WOW. This book… amazing. The twists are unexpected and they keep coming. But also the emotion, the “what is family” and “who am I”. It’s difficult to review this without giving too much away. But give it a listen. To note- the audio cut out a few times which made it annoying. But this is not a problem with the book, this is a Scribd issue. Regardless it was not bad enough to detract from the story. 100% recommended this one!

[Cynthia Majewski · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

WOW awesome I recommend this book it’s so interesting !!!!

[Krystle Urick · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great narrator! Great twist! Loved it. Want to read more by this author now

[Wendy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Awesome twist! Didn’t see it coming until right before it was revealed !

[Abigail Sanchez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was a good book with a lot of different twist as soon as you think it’s over there’s another plot twist. The only thing is part of the book was missing from audio, which made it hard to fill in gaps.

[Jackie Potts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome!! Didn’t see that coming at all! Really enjoyed it.

[Terry · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good read! Well written, suspenseful at times, good characters. Definitely recommend.

[Jenna Vaughn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's 1978 in Vermont and two children, 13 year old Violet and her brother Eric are homeschooled while living near the psychiatric hospital where their Gran is the director. Violet is intelligent and she and Eric have their own monster club. They love all things monsters.
When Grab brings home a quiet, awkward girl and asks Vi & Eric to treat Iris like a sister, they do. Violet soon promises to help Iris learn about where she is from and all about her parents.

There is also a timeline from 2019 where Lizzy Shelly a monster-tracking podcaster who has a connection to the children. (She calls Eric her brother and indicates he changed his name to Charlie after "everything happened.") However, what she is really tracking is her sister from all those years ago. She fears her sister might actually be stealing women and making them disappear.

The book is suspenseful and interesting throughout. It's a multi-layered story for sure, but mostly told through Violet's perspective. There were several twists in the end that I really liked. ☺️

[Pam Allard · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book kept my interested to the very end. The narrator was perfect.
I have worked in Worcester and now live in Vermont. I live in one of the towns mentioned and have visited some of the others, making it even easier to visualize some of the settings. I have never seen a monster here.

[Carl Gaertner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Couldn't stop listening. She made me feel the characters emotion, then with a twitch of he word's had me questioning myself deeply. "AM I the Monster?

[Tzvi Anolick · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved the twists and turns here. One may wonder what is left to tell at a certain point. Much, is the answer. Narrator was fantastic.

[Sara Norden · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was on the edge on my seat the whole book and the ending had me absolutely floored!

[paul · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was cleverly written. Violet and Eric are raised by their grandmother after their parents are killed in a car accident. Gran isn’t just a typical grandmother, she is a renowned psychiatrist and runs a treatment center in Vermont.
One day Gran brings home Iris, a young girl Vi’s age who is shy and doesn’t communicate much. The three children quickly became great friends and formed a secret club to hunt monsters.
This is told in a nonlinear time line bouncing from when the kids are young to when they are older. One of the kids has changed her name to Lizzy Shelley to honor Mary Shelley. Lizzy is a popular podcaster who hunts cryptids for her show and is secretly searching for girls who have gone missing.

[Emily Griffin Neill · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great twist in the end!
Thought I had it all figured out, but the very end got me. The whole book was an engaging, easy listen.

[Shawna · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Violet grew up in a house in the hill with her grandmother and brother. She lost her parents in a car accident that she was too young to remember. Her grandmother has a hospital across the way from her house where she treats who others have deemed untreatable. One day, grandma brings a girl home ome day named Iris that she wants the children to take in as their sister. The children introduce her to their "Book of Monsters" and show her all the secret "research" they do on everyone. The story flashes back and forth from the past to present seamlessly, and it shocked me on several occasions. The conclusion was not what I expected, and I can not say enough about how much this story will shock and suprise you.

[Imelda Fernandez · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For me, it took a few chapters to catch my attention. The middle was great. It had a lot of suspense and surprise. As it led to the end, it got interesting but ended a little flat. Entertaining but not mind-blowing.

[D Herrera · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was loving it until the end! Not the worst book I’ve read but to find out the monster isn’t bad at all was a let down.

[Kandace Simpson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the storyline, it was different than other psychological thrillers I have read. I started to feel let down at the end but you surprised right up to the last page.

[Laura Cunningham · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic thriller! I couldn’t stop listening. You think you know what going to happen next but then the story twists and turns over and over again. Highly recommend.

[Katlyn Nolan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The writing was not bad but the storyline was just kind of dumb. There is a twist I saw coming from the very beginning of the book. The main plot device just was kind of dumb. There was no suspense at all but I really liked the main character as an adult. This is not a thriller or horror, just dumb, easy read.

[Robin Reese · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The reader is AMAZING!!!! Lots of good twists and turns.

[Therese Derez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

a thrilling mystery with just a hint of supernatural fantasy. honestly didnt expect the twist and i loved it ??

[Tracy Wisneski · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome story! Strong characters and outstanding storyline with a doozy of an ending.

[Erica · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love Jennifer McMahon’s writing! I thought I had the twist figured out, but I was WRONG!! Just invest your time for the story! You’ll learn all about monsters.

[David Borg · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Suspenseful, great mingling of different timelines. Great ending. Definitely a fan of this author.

[Elizabeth Smith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you’re looking for something different, with an ending you didn’t expect, this doesn’t disappoint.

[Sandra Coleman · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The book was slow to start. I had a hard time staying interested and did not feel for the characters. The plot twists were ok. I think I might have liked this book better if I had read it rather than listened to the audio version. The narrator's way of defining the characters was grating to me. Others might not find that to be true.

[Yusuf McCray · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a tense story-- it has a slow build-up but once the story starts to pick up it becomes a heartfelt tense thriller with a startling ending. JM does it again!

[Niki · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book blew my mind! Jennifer McMahon is the QUEEN of weird, messed up, and BRILLIANT!