The Village
- Judith D Collins
- Mar 15
- 4 min read
Updated: 4 hours ago
By: AJ Campbell
ASIN: B0GNCZB4CN
Publisher: AJ Campbell
Publication Date: 03/25/2026
Format: e-book
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
Justice is coming... and it knows where you live.
At exactly 1:45 pm, three phones buzz with the same message: I know what you did on Valentine's Day. Alice...
Faith sees it first. Mick sees it next. River sees it last.
Each recipient carries a secret from the day Alice vanished, secrets entwined with the whispers of Blackstone, a village where death is never as simple as it seems.
So, did Alice disappear by choice? Or has she fallen victim to a killer with a twisted idea of mercy?
Someone has been watching. Someone knows.
And when another body appears, it's clear the message is more than a threat - it's a countdown.
A psychological suspense thriller, packed with twists and turns, perfect for readers of Frieda McFadden, Harlan Coben, Linwood Barclay, Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena, Maria Frankland, Daniel Hurst and Adele Parks.
My Review
"Twisty, chilling, & intense!”
A. J. Campbell's latest gripping thriller, THE VILLAGE, plunges readers into the heart of Blackstone, a quaint yet enigmatic village where the façade of tranquility hides a dark web of secrets. In this seemingly close-knit community, whispers of gossip and speculation circulate like wildfire, revealing the darker side of human nature.
As a series of puzzling deaths unfold and the long-buried mystery of a past disappearance resurfaces, the tension mounts, leaving the residents—and readers—on edge as they unravel the chilling truths lurking beneath the surface.
Highlights...
At exactly 1:45 PM, three villagers—Faith, Mick, and River— receive an identical text message:
"I know what you did on Valentine’s Day. Alice."
The message refers to Alice, a local girl who vanished without a trace on Valentine's Day several years prior. Before she went missing, she had sent a journalism student to investigate the village's "Angel of Death".
For years, terminally ill villagers in Blackstone have been dying sooner than expected. While some believe it is natural, others suspect a serial killer, nicknamed the "Angel of Death," is operating within the community.
Shortly after the messages arrive, another body appears in the village. As the investigation into Alice's disappearance and the current deaths deepens, it becomes clear that Faith, Mick, and River are all harboring guilt and secrets related to the day Alice vanished.
Justice is coming... and it knows where you live.
My thoughts...
Get ready to be unnerved. Chilling and eerie, THE VILLAGE is intense and creepy, and the author skillfully captures the mysterious village, community setting, its dark history, and the secrets of the past and present.
The mystery of Alice and the "Angel of Death" forms the backbone of the village's dark history. Alice is the catalyst for the entire story. A few years before the book begins, she mysteriously disappeared after an argument with her boyfriend.
Before she vanished, Alice worked at the University and was deeply suspicious of the high death rate in Blackstone. She sent a journalism student to the village to investigate her theory that these deaths weren't natural.
Alice’s disappearance is the "event" that the characters are keeping secret. The themes revolve around the dark undercurrents of a tight-knit community and the psychological burden of past actions.
The three main characters. Faith, Mick, and River are complex, morally gray, and carrying secrets and guilt. Every character is hiding something, making you question everyone.
The past is never truly buried, especially in a small town where secrets act as a slow-acting poison.
The novel explores how a quiet, picturesque community can provide the perfect cover for "monsters," as the familiar faces you trust are often the ones hiding the darkest impulses.
The ongoing whodunit mystery of a local legend, Angel of Death, and whether a mercy killer, a serial killer, or something more sinister.
THE VILLAGE is an unputdownable psychological thriller full of twists, intensity, and turns, that will keep you immersed with the short, snappy chapters and shifting perspectives between the three leading characters that keep you guessing, as each one harbors a different piece of the puzzle they are desperate to keep hidden.
A cautionary tale about how guilt and suspicion can erode a person’s sanity and a community’s foundation from the inside out.
Recs...
If you are a fan of authors Freida McFadden, Daniel Hurst, Shari Lapena, Riley Sager, and Jeneva Rose, you will enjoy AJ Campbell's intricate small-town secrets and the gripping psychological tension of "The Village."
Special thanks to the author and publisher for providing an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Mar 25, 2026
About the Author
AJ Campbell is a bestselling author of psychological thrillers who loves throwing characters into seemingly unbelievable situations and figuring it out from there. The result is thrillers full of twists, turns, and torment, with gasp-worthy endings.
An avid hiker, AJ lives in the UK on the Essex / Hertfordshire border with her husband, sons, and cocker spaniel, Max. She is a Netflix junkie, theatre tragic, and a wine and Asian food enthusiast, and whether reading, writing or watching TV, she loves nothing more than getting stuck into a good book. WEBSITE
