I've never read a book by Kendare Blake and I was waiting this one to be good, and it is. The mystery in this one amazing, the characters are well-written and developed. I recommend this.

Thank you Quill Tree Books, HarperCollins Children’s Books for this eARC via netgalley.

2.5 / 5 stars

Michael Jensen is soon found in the limelight as he speaks with a young girl is charged with a gruesome murder. Michael thinks that there is more to this case than meets the eye and he must work closely to try to fit all the mysterious pieces together.

Overall this book was very hard to connect with and get into. I did not like or expect the sort of paranormal spin that kind of occurs. I did love the mystery nature of the case itself being so ominous with the beginning information presented, but after this things kind of shifted in a different way that was not the most enjoyable in my opinion.

This book was pretty slow and I found the investigation to be boring most of the time. I loved the idea of the interview but it was pretty grueling how slow it was as well as how often things seemed to be put on pause.

This book was just not one I liked much unfortunately.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

Having liked Kendare Blake's other books I was interested to see how this would compare. I actually more impressed with the writing in this book than her "Three Dark Crowns" series but didn't like the plot as much. There was so much anticipation for the end but honestly it was a bit of a snooze. Atmosphere was 5 stars though.

This book suffers from one fatal flaw which takes this could be “In Cold Blood”-esque book for a new generation down to 3 measly stars. Unfortunately, the ending was just the worst.

Throughout this book, the pace felt just a little too slow for what the book should have been. I was excited about the mystery. Michael and Marie’s relationship was a bit bizarre, but not unexpected and I appreciated the more realistic feel to the story that including more realistic legal proceedings lent to the story. As I said before, it gave me “In Cold Blood” vibes but for teens.

However, this mostly decent novel could not pull it off in the end. I went in hoping for some excitement and an interesting villain and got “meh.”

Kendare Blake has long been a favorite author of mine and All These Bodies just cemented that even further. I could not put this book down! I loved the setting, and the characters. This was a great spooky thriller!

Great historical thriller with a vampirical twist! Kendare Blake’s writing is always immersive, dark and magical!

A series of murders that leaves the victim’s bodies drained of blood. Another gruesome murder, but this time a teen girl is found at the scene. At first, she appears to be a victim, but she is soon the suspect. A teen boy who aspires to be a journalist, and is the sheriff’s son, is the only one she will talk to.

All These Bodies is a young adult novel that combines historical fiction, mystery, and horror. The story is told from the boy’s point of view, and he’s not the best interrogated to find out what really happened.

A slow burning novel. Fans of true crime and horror are likely to enjoy All These Bodies.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unique among other titles of it's genre, All These Bodies introduces readers to a terrifying killer how may, or may not be human. It all depends on whose story you choose to believe. As far as (potential) vampire horror novels go, I thought Blake's use of unreliable narrators (either by virtue of age or trauma) was really clever, and I was definitely left with more questions than answers. The open-endedness of the finale of All These Bodies will not appeal to readers who prefer their standalone titles to provide closure at the end of the narrative, but those readers who appreciate an unanswered question, or an unsolved mystery, will likely find themselves re-reading All These Bodies more than once in search of more clues as to what really happened - or what they believe happened, anyway.

The country is on edge due to the trail of the Bloodless Murders, the unexplained seemingly random murders that left the victims drained of blood. When murder strikes in Michael's small town with a teen girl left standing covered in the victims blood, Michael finds himself somehow involved in the investigation and the confusing tales that come from the girl herself.

This was nothing like what I expected. I was expecting a scary murdery mystery and in actuality this was more like a police procedural told from a journalistic point of view with a few first hand encounters with the teen aged journalist. At times the book was almost clinical, facts and descriptors as if it was a transcript that I was reading from a crime. The story was set back in the 1960s and had the same homey, small town feel as To Kill A Mockingbird did.

The book is narrated by good boy Michael, the teenage son of the sheriff who wants to be a journalist and somehow finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation- the only person trusted to take a possible murder confession. He is on the outskirts of everything and has no real say in what happens, yet is the backbone of the investigation. The confession points in a supernatural direction while at the same time it could have very easily been non-supernatural since the confession came from an unreliable narrator. I had no idea what was really going on in the book, and I think that was part of the point of the story. All These Bodies was a different kind of read than I expected and entertaining enough and a fast read. Side note, the ending was very much left open and vague, which I was not a fan of since I like my book endings to spell out everything for me/

This wasn't my favorite thriller of late but I did enjoy the ride. All These Bodies premise/synopsis had me HOOKED - the historical aspect + the mystery sounded extremely promising.

I did really enjoy getting to know the characters and diving into this mystery but I felt that it got off track a bit which slowed the pace down exponentially. The ending also felt a bit rushed which left me personally feeling a bit unsatisfied.

Overall a fun read but I think it was a little unfocused at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this free advanced copy of All These Bodies. I am a big fan of Kendare and I was so excited for this book! The description really intrigued me and sounding right up my alley. The writing was great, and I did enjoy the mystery and historical aspects... the ultimate resolution just fell short for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. This book had me at the cover and title.. murder mystery, count me in! Set in 1958, there is a string of murders in the Midwest and all of the victims have been drained of blood. Intriguing, but the issue that I had with this story is you don't feel like you have any real answers at the end. I would still recommend it to our patrons because they may still enjoy the ride but I just wish there was a better conclusion.

This brand new book from the author mostly known for her Three Dark Crown series is a horror novel when it comes down to it, but it takes a couple of horror themes and smashes them together. brings bittersweet pathos to a vampire tale, and I think it’s a nice way to explore vampirism and what it symbolizes in a YA setting. I liked it but I'm not scrambling to yell it from the mountain tops.
Full review to come on YouTube.

This wasn't what I expected. I think I would have preferred a female narrator. The male POV irked me somewhat. Story was interesting but a change in narrator would have enhanced it, I think.

This was a fun, spooky, fall book that lives up to its “what if Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood happened in Maybury” kind of vibe. My biggest complaint is that Blake intentionally hides what kind of book she wants this to be from the audience. Are vampires real in this world? Is everyone just going a little crazy? We never get a resolution, which some readers will find very frustrating.

All These Bodies sucked me in from the very beginning. The writing was wonderful and the mystery was set up very nicely. I highly recommend All These Bodie and am looking forward to reading more books by Kendare Blake.

Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate’s legendary spree meet the In Cold Blood Cutter family murders and there are vampires maybe? If this combination sounds appealing to you, this may be your book. Be aware though that it’s quite messy, leaves a lot up in the air, and the main character Michael is a block of carved cheese with no discernible personality. Hell, even our “did she or didn’t she” murdering teen girl is kinda flat. I found myself annoyed with how bland the characters were and how little of the 1950s came through in this story. It could have happened at any time and that was a shame. But I did like the mystery element of trying to slowly unravel the whole story. It could have been better, is all.

This was a slow burn historical fiction/murder mystery/paranormal-esque book that I ended up liking quite a bit, though admittedly not as much as I was hoping to. The murders and descriptions of the murders were definitely chilling and horrific. The small town atmosphere was wonderful and amplified the shock of the murders perfectly. The scandal, the gossip, the questions- they all combined to create the perfect depiction of historical murder horror. Marie was a decent character, as was Michael. I didn't feel very strongly about either of them but I did like their odd relationship that formed throughout the book. I'll admit that the book was a little more dull and boring than I'd hoped it would be, which was a downer. The ending was anticlimactic but not something that I'm really all that upset over. Not my favorite by Kendare Blake but still an interesting read with an amazing atmosphere and murders sure to satisfy my fellow true crime junkies out there.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of All These Bodies.

The heck is this story! I'm still not even sure I know. Sixteen bloodless bodies have been found in the midwest region. People are terrified, and desperate to find the killer. But now there are new victims, and amongst those victims is a fifteen year old girl covered in blood, but none of it is hers.

Michael, the teenaged son of the town sheriff is longing to be a reporter someday, so the emergence of this fascinating blood soaked victim Marie, captivates him. And even more incredible, Marie is only willing to be interviewed by him. From there begins a legal cat and mouse, some believe Marie to be an innocent bystander, some think her to be a brutal young killer.

First of all, this is slooooow. It's easy to fade in and out without missing much. But more than that, it was convoluted? Kind of all over the place and a bit nonsensical. Not my cup of tea.

This is a historical fiction book about a serial killer in 1958 that’s committing the Bloodless Murders. Police find a fifteen year old girl among the latest victims and she’s unharmed but drenched in blood. This is a story told from an observer’s point of view and the observer becomes friends with one of the accused murderers. At the latest victims’ home, Marie is captured by police when she’s found standing by the bodies. Once she’s in custody, she’ll only talk to the sheriff’s son Michael. Michael tells this story that really leaves more questions than answers. I wanted the mystery to be solidly solved and to know if Marie committed these murders on her own or if she really was being trained by an older man. I can see her being delusional and thinking there’s someone with her or being vague to throw suspicion off of herself. Then the ending…? 3.5 stars for a truly atmospheric experience that made me feel like I had been transported to the late 1950’s and the characters that pulled the tale along!