The Children on the Hill

By: Jennifer McMahon

Narrated by: Erin Moon

Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2022 Jennifer McMahon. All rights reserved. (P)2022 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

A great intro to this author!

This is the FIRST book I have read by McMahon. And it did NOT disappoint me! I would say I am now hooked on her as author. The story was GREAT and had A LOT of twists and turns I didn’t expect! Definitely going to look up more of her books…RIGHT NOW!

I liked it!

I thought the performance overall was really good though the children's voices did sound a little cartoonish and the teens voices were a little over the top. Definitely some plot twists - right up to the end. The characters were developed and likable and the story kept me engaged.

Starts slow, gets really good!

I love this author. I'm always awaiting her next book. Her use of multiple perspectives and time jumping is so interesting! This book started out really slowly. I actually gave up and came back to it. In the end, it was worth it! This is my first McMahon audio book, and the narration is wonderful!

One of her best

I am a big fan of Jennifer McMahon. I have read many of her books and this is one of her very best. Creative storyline, well written , intriguing characters from the beginning. I especially appreciated it being a native Vermonter.

so so

the narrator annoyed me. the plot was ok. not sure what the hype was about

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝗼𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐲 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐜𝐌𝐚𝐡𝗼𝐧

I was very surprised by the “Frankenstein” turn of events that happened in this book. I enjoyed the asylum portion so much as Gran seemed to be helping the world, but she also had a dark secret. The children on the hill seemed to be normal but once they start looking into where their new sister came from it raises a lot of questions about themselves. One bad review I have is that the audio narrator for 13 year old Vi sounded wayyyy younger than 13 and that caught me off guard a few times.

great

I love this author and narrator "The Winter People" was amazing and now I can't get enough

that was awesome!

Tons of fun, good twist, spooky. Loved it. I always like her blend of real life and supernatural. You are never sure which type of threat is really the issue. This might be my favorite of hers yet.

Twisty-Turny all the Way Around

Great character development. This book was NOT what I expected - it t was so much better and MORE! Give this one a chance- I am definitely reading/listening to more from this author.
Narrator did a great job- covering a wide assortment of ages. Will look for more from her as well.

Never disappointed with Jennifer McMahon

I love all of McMahon books. I loved this one. I think she always does great character development, back stories, and twists.