Erin E. Adams

Someone is killing the black little girls in Johnstown. Every year, on the summer solstice, a black little girl goes missing. Liz, came home for her best friend's wedding. During the reception, she was watching her friend's daughter, Caroline. Caroline ran off and went missing. Liz is determined to investigate what happened with Caroline and all the other missing girls. I had a hard time getting into this book at the beginning. It was a bit slow for me. Towards the middle it picked up and became suspenseful. However, towards the end, it was very confusing. There were so many characters, and it was hard to keep up with who said what and who did what. I did like how Erin tackled racism, sexism, and domestic violence. Her imagery was beautiful as well.… (more)

This book was imaginative and creepy. It was so compelling and readable that I carved out extra time in my day to read! Packed with social commentary I can see where some people wouldn't vibe with this, but I loved it. This book is just as much about classism as it is about racism.

The pacing was great. The characters had depth, and the author did a great job making the reader understand where they (the characters) were coming from and therefore made the characters seem more real.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone that likes social horror.… (more)

An Edgar Award finalist for best first mystery novel Jackal has many strengths. It has a unique plot with Black girls turning up missing in a wooded area near Johnstown, Pennsylvania over a period of thirty years. Some of the bodies are found missing their hearts. So, that is an attention getting premise and we do ultimately get to the root of the mystery of what is happening. My problem is the almost total lack of all branches of law enforcement in a crime spree this spectacular. The primary sleuths are local private citizens from the area/ Really?… (more)