Jackal

May 1, 2022

In Jackal, a debut from Haitian American author Adams, a Black woman named Liz has returned to her predominantly white town for a wedding shattered by the disappearance of the bride's daughter--one of several Black girls who have vanished recently in the town's creepy woods. From Bram Stoker finalist Davidson, The Hollow Kind sends Nellie Gardner fleeing from an abusive marriage to a crumbling house in a Georgia forest, where son Max hears whisperings in the uncommon stillness and realizes that they're still in danger, this time from an ancient evil connected to his mother's family (35,000-copy first printing). Such Sharp Teeth, mutters Rory Morris when she is attacked by something in Bram Stoker finalist Harrison's latest; then, stronger and suddenly captivated by the moon, she starts transforming--but is she in danger or getting in touch with her true, wild self? With If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe, Pargin adds to his terrifying but funny "John Dies at the End" series as John, Dave, and Amy tremblingly face supernatural threats in a town rife with interdimensional parasites, paranormal cults, and a plastic egg that encourages the unwary to commit murder and feed it the body parts (75,000-copy first printing). YA novelist Thorne set her first adult effort on Lute, an island where the residents experience unusual peace and prosperity--but every seven years comes the Day when seven people die (100,000-copy first printing). Unlike friend Dinah, Little Eve loves the gloomy Scottish isle where they're raised among the Children by spooky and controlling Uncle, and they offer very different accounts of a massacre there (250,000-copy first printing). From Shirley Jackson/August Derleth honoree Ward.

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2022
Someone--or something--is hunting Black girls in this Appalachia-set debut. In 2017, Liz Rocher--32, Black, and newly single--reluctantly revisits her hometown of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for the wedding of her White best friend, Melissa Parker. Though Melissa's racist family tolerates Liz, they oppose Melissa marrying Garrett Washington, who is Black, though the couple has a 9-year-old daughter, Caroline. After the ceremony, Liz takes a break from watching Caroline and her cousins play outside to get a drink and flirt with the bartender. When she returns, Caroline is gone. Liz combs the surrounding woods but finds only a bloody scrap of Caroline's dress. The reception becomes a search party, which also turns up nothing. Some assume Caroline wandered off and got lost, but Liz can't help but remember Keisha Woodson--a Black classmate who vanished 15 years ago and was then found with her heart missing and her guts strewn about. Authorities claimed Keisha died from "a very bad fall compounded by animal activity," but according to Keisha's mother, each June for the past three decades a Black girl has disappeared, with little attention paid by the media or police. Every recovered corpse is absent a heart. Determined to stop the cycle, Liz launches her own investigation, unwittingly making herself a target. Chapters narrated by an initially unidentified being memorialize previous victims. Paranoia mounts and suspects multiply as Liz realizes the depth and breadth of Johnstown's bigotry. The tale's crime and supernatural elements don't quite mesh, but plentiful twists, keenly rendered characters, and atmospheric prose keep the pages turning. Harrowing horror with a side of searing social commentary.

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Starred review from August 22, 2022
Liz Rocher, the Black narrator of Adams’s stellar debut, an unforgettable gut punch of a horror thriller, returns reluctantly home to Johnstown, Pa., a largely white rust belt town, for the wedding of her white best friend, Mel Parker. When Mel’s mixed-race daughter, Caroline, disappears in the woods, Liz’s attempts to find Caroline lead her to the discovery of years of police cover-ups of the deaths of Black girls in the woods, their hearts neatly removed, and the revival of her own memories of hiding in the woods the night a fellow Black teen was murdered. Adams’s careful plotting impresses with the subtle organic feel of embedded clues primed to emerge as relevant much later. The girls’ thoughts are included at various points, and the reader is thrown off balance when the narrative shift to the point of view of the supernatural killer at the moment of violence. At the same time, Adams skillfully presents changing theories about the possible humans involved as Liz struggles with who to trust and navigates dreamscapes that seem increasingly real. This novel is a masterful and emotionally wrenching gem of Black storytelling. Agent: Kerry D’agostino, Curtis Brown.

Starred review from October 15, 2022
""A man and his shadow live in the trees. When they walk in time, both are pleased. If one calls your name, or the other tempts you off the path, you must ignore both, or face their wrath."" The Black children of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, know this chant. For more than 30 years, Black girls in this primarily white town have gone missing on the first day of summer. A Black woman who has returned to her hometown for the wedding of her best friend, Liz Rocher glows incandescent with rage after her friend's biracial daughter goes missing and Liz's Haitian mother is threatened. Recognizing the pattern of disappearances that others have ignored, Liz sets out to battle both the town's entrenched racism and the jackal in the woods, whatever it might be. A jackal might take you in one mighty gulp, Liz understands, but racism will devour you a little at a time. This novel is an artfully crafted genre-blender, combining a formidable amount of suspense and horror with a true mystery at its core, and bearing a stinging social indictment. It is a mighty exploration of where the metaphorical meets the real, an important work from a new voice, a first-generation Haitian American. There is some unsettling graphic content, but it is never gratuitous; in fact, it is completely necessary to convey the urgency of Adams' powerful message.

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August 1, 2022

DEBUT Liz Rocher, a Black woman, has warily returned to her Rust Belt hometown of Johnstown, PA. Growing up, Liz never felt comfortable in her predominantly white town but has come back for the wedding of her best friend, Melissa. During the evening wedding reception, Melissa's daughter Caroline disappears in the forest but leaves behind a piece of her dress covered in blood. As the police and the town race to find Caroline, Liz remembers when Keisha, the only other Black girl at her high school, was found murdered, with her heart removed from the body. Liz starts researching her town's history and notices a terrifying pattern begin to emerge. Johnstown has a history of girls disappearing, and all of them are Black. The mysterious sounds from the forest support Liz's feeling that something sinister is lurking in the shadows. VERDICT The examination of racism in a small town, along with the horror elements, make Adams's debut chilling and memorable. Fans of Gillian Flynn and Jordan Peele will enjoy the fast-paced storytelling, compelling characters, and spine-tingling conclusion.--Anna Kallemeyn

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.