No Rest for the Wicked

A Novel

By: Rachel Louise Adams

Narrated by: Jeremy Carlisle Parker

With an expert hand, Rachel Louise Adams’s debut No Rest for the Wicked reads like an edge of your seat, heart-pounding scary movie.

In one Halloween obsessed Midwestern town, everyone’s on red alert after a local politician goes missing. Little do they know it’s only the beginning.

It’s been close to twenty years since forensic pathologist Dolores Hawthorne left her hometown of Little Horton, Wisconsin. The town is famous for its Halloween celebrations, but also its history of violent deaths linked to the holiday. To Dolores, it’s the place she fled, family, bad memories, and all. Until the FBI calls to tell her that her father--the former mayor turned US Senator--is missing under mysterious circumstances.

Some people count to ten to wake up from a nightmare. Dolores always counts the bones of her head instead: sphenoid, frontal, lacrimal. But no matter how many times she counts them, it doesn’t change the fact that her father is missing, that his final words of warning to her were to trust no one, and that now, the rest of her family is giving Dolores a chilling welcome. With Halloween fast approaching, Dolores must face the past she left behind before it’s too late.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books

Critic reviews

Advanced Praise for No Rest for the Wicked

“A dark, twisty mystery with a cascade of blood splatter, Rachel Louise Adams’s debut had me on the edge of my seat until the very end, with twists I never saw coming and characters to die for.” –Kelsey Cox, author of Party of Liars

“An eerie small-town mystery that builds to a pulse-pounding conclusion.” –Olivia Worley, author of So Happy Together

What a great Fall read!!!

Wow! Dolores made quite a life for herself, but it still wasn't the life she'd imagine for herself. She left home the first chance she could after a horrible encounter changed her life. Now, upon hearing that her father is missing, she must now return home. She must face the past as she works to help find her father.

Important Content Warning Not Reflected in the Summary

I don’t often write reviews, but I felt compelled to share my experience with this book for others who may be considering it.
Based on the summary, No Rest for the Wicked appeared to focus on an adult woman returning to her hometown after her father’s disappearance. What the description did not clearly convey is that a serial sexual assault is a central plot thread that spans much of the book.

The main character is assaulted at a party when she is 18, becomes estranged from her father afterward, and avoids calling the crime “rape” because the language itself is too painful. Those details closely mirrored my own lived experience, and encountering them unexpectedly made reading the book emotionally difficult. Another character in the story is also raped and ultimately killed by her attacker, further intensifying the subject matter.

While I understand that stories can explore dark and difficult realities, I wish there had been clearer content warnings. I pushed myself to finish the book because unfinished stories tend to stay with me, but doing so came at a cost. During and after reading, I experienced increased nightmares, including dreams involving assault.

This is not a commentary on the quality of the writing itself, but rather a note for readers who may have similar histories or sensitivities. If sexual assault is a triggering topic for you, I strongly recommend approaching this book with caution or seeking out more detailed content warnings beforehand.

Description of events

ending was not enough to give closeure with the killers details yes yes yes yes yes

absolutely mind-blowing.

Rachel Louise Adams is as talented with words as her protagonist Dolores is with a scalpel. could not stop listening to the audiobook, beautifully read !

Worth reading

This was unique to me. Don’t delve into this genre frequently and was hoping this to knock my socks off. No, but absolutely worth reading. In just a few days took a few twists which is always nice. But it wasn’t earth shattering.