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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Kidnapping, Body horror, Hate crime, Grief, Murder, Violence, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Blood, Gore, Child death, Gun violence, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Physical abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, Child abuse, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Alcoholism
Minor: Suicide, Bullying, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Racial slurs, and Vomit
Misogynoir. Missing person/child. Descriptions of corpses (human and animal).minimicropup's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Main POVs š:
- A New Yorker returning to their PA hometown for their childhood best friendās wedding and staying with their Haitian mother, with whom they have a complicated relationship. Thereās a reluctance about returning due to trauma, shame, and fear from the past and a recent relationship break-up.
- An unknown narrator describing the circumstances of each of the missing Black girls over the townās history.
Atmosphere š: Confusing, jarring, pensive. The writing holds the undercurrents of tension without drowning you in it.
- Set in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in different eras, with the main action being present day
Cred Rating š: Supernatural true crime realism
- Realistic IRL horrors from our world merged with those of another realm.
Growls and Howls šŗ:
- Can we please have everyone describe characters the way this author does from now on? I loved getting the descriptions of the charactersā skin, hair, and style. It wasnāt overly detailed, and it helped bring the characters to life.
- The writing was jarring at times in a way that knocked me out of the story. I wasnāt skimming and yet I found that I had to re-read lines or go back a few pages to figure out what was going on occasionally. I especially struggled with this during the final action fight-for-your-life scenes.
- I have biases Iām not even aware of. This book helped me with that. I identified so much with our MC because of the authorās skill at gradually placing you in someone elseās mind and body. I donāt know how to say this in a way that isnāt cringey, but I came away from this story having more empathy about the pressures and experiences unique to young Black men and women in America. Like, insight into those subtle paper-cut-type wounds from how one is treated because of appearance and ancestry, and how they accumulate and harm how we view ourselves and others.
Reading Journey šµāš«: All the ups and downs, twists and turns of an IRL drive through hilly Pennsylvania. Sometimes I got spun around, took a wrong turn, ended up going in circles, but it was worth it for the views.
Mood Reading Match-Up:
- Cerebral suspense/mystery
- Occult/supernatural entities, āstay out of the woods!ā energy
- Subtle horror using metaphor, allegory, and personification to explore IRL horrors of racism, classism, and generational and regional trauma.
- Subjective, poetic type writing
Vibes: š«¢šµš¤
Content Heads-Up: Missing and murdered children. Prejudice and discrimination due to race and social status.
Format: Library Digital via Libby
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, and Racism
Moderate: Animal death, Classism, and Alcohol
Minor: Fatphobia
animal deaths are not of pets and are related to hunting in the woodsmaddiearthur's review
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Death, Murder, and Hate crime
Moderate: Fatphobia
edgaranjapoe's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Child death, and Racism
Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Vomit, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Cursing, Murder, Bullying, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Excrement, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Confinement, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Body shaming, Hate crime, and Sexual assault
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A thriller with multiple red herrings and possibly corrupt cops. So just another Tuesday, eh? Liz is a flawed character the reader can empathize with. Returning home for her best friend's wedding Liz faces the judgment and complicated feelings of being back but single for reasons she doesn't want to explain. Her boyfriend and her were very toxic with each other. The relationship ended due to a domestic dispute incident. This is revealed that the supernatural element smashed her boyfriend in the back of the head with a lamp.
Many of the elements within the book are well done. This is including the guilty party being surrounded by equally suspicious characters. There is one character that was not fleshed out as well as most of the others. The brother of the bride. He is revealed to be violent and racist during Liz's high school years and he is sarcastic or otherwise plainly showing his distaste for Liz. Other than that he is not exhibiting any suspicious behavior and is removed from the final confrontation rather easily. It just felt like a waste for him to be so close to being a main person in this case only for him to get a quick off page redemption arc and then get written out until the wrap up.It is revealed that while the police and guilty party are setting up the case against Liz due to her involvement he tells them to back off her because she is just trying to help.
The revelation of the supernatural element was jarring despite allusions made to it throughout the pages.It was written like it was a man until the big reveal during the final confrontation. Even when the perspective switches to the guilty side of the coin you may mistake foreshadowing for metaphor or symbolism. If the intent was to keep the reader in the dark about the true nature of all of the elements this is masterfully done.
Many of the elements within the book are well done. This is including the guilty party being surrounded by equally suspicious characters. There is one character that was not fleshed out as well as most of the others. The brother of the bride. He is revealed to be violent and racist during Liz's high school years and he is sarcastic or otherwise plainly showing his distaste for Liz. Other than that he is not exhibiting any suspicious behavior and is removed from the final confrontation rather easily. It just felt like a waste for him to be so close to being a main person in this case only for him to get a quick off page redemption arc and then get written out until the wrap up.
The revelation of the supernatural element was jarring despite allusions made to it throughout the pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Blood, Violence, Death, Racism, Body horror, Alcoholism, Child death, Gore, Eating disorder, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Fatphobia, Child abuse, Rape, Violence, and Animal death
Minor: Stalking
The rape and some of the violence happen off the page. Violence towards children is tagged as child abuse to cover bases. It is not presented as a classic depiction of child abuse.melodyseestrees's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Sandra Okuboyeho and William DeMeritt do fantastic narrations of their story sections. You will stay firmly on the edge of your seat hoping for the safe return of the missing girl and justice for the other girls. This story takes a twist towards the fantastical so if you don't like fantastical elements in your thrillers this will not necessarily be for you. If you go in knowing to expect the element towards the conclusion you will be less disappointed though as it is well done, just not very realistic. The spoiler tag reveals the unrealistic element solidly so click at your own risk. The Jackal is a possibly demonic entity encouraging this random white family to murder black little girls and feed him the girls' hearts so he can become real. The white family is a father, a son, and the son's wife. The father taught the son to kill only little girls as the blame can be more easily spread out amongst the populace. The son wanted to kill specifically Liz out of jealousy over her mother being a doctor when he is unable to afford the education needed to become a doctor. It is racially motivated hatred and jealousy. The wife supports her husband unquestiongly and directly participates in at least one crime, the kidnapping of Caroline. The Jackal wanted to team up with Liz instead of Doug because of her 'pure heart' as he wants to become a God and knew Doug's hatred would burn up the body too fast.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Child death, Death, Blood, Violence, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Fatphobia, Violence, Animal death, Child abuse, and Rape
Much of the specifics within the tags happen off page but the implications can be intense. If you see your triggers listed proceed with caution. A character gets their leg broken pretty descriptively. Some of the details around hearts are visceral. At two points there is a heavily described deer carcass. One of those points involves popcorn kernels. I couldn't tag violence against children so I tagged it as child abuse.ezismythical's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Holy cow this book is amazing. It kept me guessing until the very end. The story is heartbreaking and challenging. Itās absolutely worth the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, Gore, Hate crime, Murder, Kidnapping, and Racism
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Grief, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicide
krys_kilz's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was blown away by this book! It was so well done - the writing kept me invested, the atmosphere was tense with a constant tinge of dread below the surface, the setting was perfectly laid out and the characters were complex and not always trustworthy. I found it really interesting how Adams set the novel in her own hometown of Johnstown, PA and drew on actual historical events when writing this book. It was incredibly effective and illustrated that while this is a work of fiction, the horror it contains is very real.
I did not predict the twist, which made it all the more shocking. I agree with some other reviewers that the ending did feel a bit rushed, but I disagree that the paranormal element didn't work.The imagery of the jackal and his desire to become a god by taking over a Black woman's body felt incredibly poignant to me. The additional metaphors around shadows, scavenging, the consumption of the girls' hearts and Anabis, the Egyptian god of death, were also potent. I am still teasing apart the metaphors meanings, but I do think they were incredibly intentional and not something random that Adams threw in at the last second. Perhaps they could have been explained more, but also maybe it's up to the reader to do their own digging. I also don't feel like the paranormal element diminished the horrors perpetuated by humans. As Jack said himself, he never forced anyone to do anything they didn't want to do, he simply gave them permission. And that alone feels like a lot to chew on about what Jack represents in the story.
I am very excited to read whatever Erin E. Adams publishes next!
tw: anti-Blackness, misogynoir, white supremacy, abduction and targeted killing of Black girls
I did not predict the twist, which made it all the more shocking. I agree with some other reviewers that the ending did feel a bit rushed, but I disagree that the paranormal element didn't work.
I am very excited to read whatever Erin E. Adams publishes next!
tw: anti-Blackness, misogynoir, white supremacy, abduction and targeted killing of Black girls
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Kidnapping, Racism, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Animal death, and Alcoholism
Minor: Fatphobia
taratearex's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was so good! When I first saw this book I was interested because the cover is gorgeous and it was adult horror. I read the back, but by the time I actually read this I'd pretty much forgotten what the back said, I just knew it was a social horror about a woman who goes back to her hometown and a young Black girl goes missing and she wasn't the first young Black girl in that town to go missing. For a horror/thriller/mystery I really like not knowing much about the book going in so I'm not going to say much else about the plot.
I listened to the audiobook for this and it was EXCELLENT, like top best audiobooks I've listened to. There are two narrators and they are both PHENOMENAL, I was so engaged and so creeped out, and I just could not put this down. The beginning does take a bit to get the story going, but the writing and narration really kept me interested.
The social commentary on racism and the lack of care and attention to the missing Black girls is woven throughout and makes this story even more horrific as it represents a real problem, the way this true horror is woven into the story is so well done.
I found the ending to be SO SO GOOD and so satisfying. I honestly feel like that is so hard to do in a thriller and I'm so glad I knew nothing going in because the twists and turns as we got to the ending kept me engaged and guessing and wanting to know! Edit: Just want to add, I'm seeing some reviews who didn't like the ending or thought it didn't make sense, I just want to say- there are clues about the ending throughout the entire book and I think it's too big of a spoiler to say anything more :)
Incredible debut and I can't wait to read more from this author!
CW: Violence. Racism. Child death. Body Horror. Domestic violence. Gore. Alcohol abuse. Eating disorder. Animal death. Kidnapping. Off-page SA. Off-page violence against children
I listened to the audiobook for this and it was EXCELLENT, like top best audiobooks I've listened to. There are two narrators and they are both PHENOMENAL, I was so engaged and so creeped out, and I just could not put this down. The beginning does take a bit to get the story going, but the writing and narration really kept me interested.
The social commentary on racism and the lack of care and attention to the missing Black girls is woven throughout and makes this story even more horrific as it represents a real problem, the way this true horror is woven into the story is so well done.
I found the ending to be SO SO GOOD and so satisfying. I honestly feel like that is so hard to do in a thriller and I'm so glad I knew nothing going in because the twists and turns as we got to the ending kept me engaged and guessing and wanting to know! Edit: Just want to add, I'm seeing some reviews who didn't like the ending or thought it didn't make sense, I just want to say- there are clues about the ending throughout the entire book and I think it's too big of a spoiler to say anything more :)
Incredible debut and I can't wait to read more from this author!
CW: Violence. Racism. Child death. Body Horror. Domestic violence. Gore. Alcohol abuse. Eating disorder. Animal death. Kidnapping. Off-page SA. Off-page violence against children
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Body horror, Blood, Racism, Murder, Violence, Hate crime, Death, and Animal death
Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexual assault, and Alcohol
remie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Gore, Racism, Murder, Body horror, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, and Hate crime
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Alcohol and Eating disorder