Mystery• Thriller

Review: We Already Dug the Grave by Emma C. Wells

September 12, 2026

Synopsis:

Milly can’t divine the future anymore, and maybe that’s a good thing. Lately, her life has been bleak enough, she doesn’t need the now-silent tea leaves to tell her. Meanwhile, her estranged younger sister thrives miles away in a shiny new life with a shiny new marriage. Milly doesn’t blame Francis for wanting nothing to do with her. Not after what happened in that Tennessee meadow a decade before.

But when Francis shows up on Milly’s doorstep with a black eye and a plea for help – Milly can’t say no. Especially when the tea leaves are finally crystal if the sisters don’t kill Francis’s husband, he’ll kill her.

And if they’re going to plot a murder, the sisters have no choice but to return to the one place they’d left behind. A place where another body – and a multitude of secrets – were buried. Because this isn’t the first time the sisters have needed to dispose of a bad man. In fact, they might be pretty good at it.

Review:

That was an interesting one, and it left me scratching my head quite a bit. It felt a bit like it never really knew what it wanted to be, but once I accepted that, I was ready to come along for the ride.

At the centre of the story are two sisters. It becomes clear very early on that they didn’t have the easiest upbringing, and when something dramatic happened, it had a profound impact on their future and the people they would become.
This is a story about family drama, secrets, and a bit of the supernatural sprinkled on top. That gave it a unique twist and allowed the story to take some interesting approaches to what was happening and how everything was connected.

Milly, in particular, was the character who stood out to me. Feeling responsible for helping her sister get out of a bad situation while also losing her best friend and first love made her feel like someone who didn’t deserve more out of life. She saw herself as less worthy and jumped at the first chance to help her sister out of yet another difficult situation.
It became increasingly clear that what she believed had happened in the past did not reflect the true story. Once the puzzle pieces started to fall into place for me, I was eager to discover how the story would unfold.

This is not your typical mystery thriller. It adds something special to the mix and gave me something I didn’t even know I wanted from it.

🌙 Recension: We Already Dug the Grave by Emma C. Wells
📚 Genre: Mystery, Thriller
📅 Release Date: September 8, 2026
📖 Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
📱 Read as: Kindle
📗 available in various formats
💸 I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
🗣️ Language: English
📆 Pages: 412
⭐️ 4/5