I received a digital advance copy of Jackal by Erin E. Adams via NetGalley. Jackal is scheduled for release on October 4, 2022.

When Liz was in high school, she was present at the taking of a black girl in the forest outside her white rust belt town. Liz was injured during the event, but remembers nothing more than a flash of teeth and her best friend leading her out of the woods. Now she is back in town for the wedding of her best friend. At the reception, another black girl is taken while Liz is supposed to be watching. Now Liz is desperately hunting for the young girl and working to remember what she really saw all those years ago. As she searches, Liz uncovers more about the history of her town, one filled with the disappearance of young black girls.

The strength of this novel is the mystery of the woods. There is a myth in the town warning kids that if they hear a strange sound in the woods, they didn’t. They should never look at things that appear in the corner of their eye. They should beware of anyone that calls their name. As a reader, I was full of questions about the origins of this myth and its connection to the disappearances. Was it something supernatural? Was it a serial killer? These questions kept me very invested in the story, as I wanted to understand what was happening.

The last third or so of the book did get a bit bumpy in terms of writing. I found myself a bit confused in places, not quite following what was happening, or how the plot points linked together. But because I was already invested, I was able to hang in there through the end. While I did still have some questions at the end of the novel, the pieces came together enough for me get the gist of the truth of the woods.

As a character, Liz is well developed. We get a sense of her past in the town, and her own lack of understanding of what she experienced. As she learns the truths of her past that she had overlooked, we learn more about her. The characters around Liz were a bit more blurry for me. I didn’t feel that we got to know any of them particularly well, and I would have loved more connection with them.

Overall, Jackal does a great job merging the story of a somewhat mythical wood with the racial conflict of the people around it.

TW: racism, fatphobia, alcoholism, body horror, death of a child, domestic violence, brief mention of sexual assault

What I Liked:
The setting – Erin Adams’s Jackal takes place in Johnstown. It’s a small tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone. It’s safe, where residents don’t feel the need to lock their doors and children play outside unattended. It’s deceptively picturesque because there are also dark corners to this place. The woods are home to whispers and monsters; to hidden truths and mysterious disappearances.
The atmosphere – Adams captures how sniffling this small town ends up being for people like Liz. Her hometown, while comforting to others, represents to her a place with bad memories. It’s a place where she didn’t fit in, a place that underneath its hospitality only ever seemed to tolerate her and her mother. Every moment she spends back in Johnstown feels like she is slowly falling down a rabbit hole.
The tension – I loved how well tension is built in this novel. When Liz first arrives home, there is an unspoken tension between her and her mother. There’s a lot of passive aggressiveness between the two. Liz’s mom can be harsh and Liz can’t quite get herself to be honest with her. When Liz’s goddaughter, Caroline, goes missing, there is an inherent ramping up of tension every day she isn’t found. Though it takes time to manifest, there are also problems between Liz and her best friend Mel, Caroline’s mother. This isn’t just about the circumstances surrounding Caroline’s disappearance, but years of unresolved issues. Mel represents so many white women who are unable to examine the racism in their own family even when it puts her husband, her best friend, and her daughter, all of whom are Black, in danger.
You can’t outrun your past – One of the main themes in Jackal is the protagonist’s inability to outrun her past. She got as far away as she could from Johnstown, but it always seemed to have this pull on her. She’s spent so many years trying to forget the night her classmate Keisha disappeared, but in the end must confront these memories that she’s kept hidden from herself. She often does not want to self-reflect because acknowledging the monster in the room makes it so much more real.
History and urban legend meet – I really loved how Adams intertwines history and legend in her debut. A monster in the woods isn’t necessarily a unique premise but once Liz begins to research other disappearances and town history, everything begins to fall into place and begins to make a disturbing kind of sense. Adams is very deliberate with how she utilizes flashbacks as well, missing girls become more than names and the people they left behind.
Examination of racism in small towns – Caroline’s disappearance and Liz’s discovery of the other Black girls who have gone missing has her reflecting on her childhood in this very white and suburban part of town. As one of the only Black kids at her school, Liz never felt like she belonged. She was never fully embraced even by her best friend’s family, but this friendship and her mother’s class status shielded her from what was truly happening to the Black community in her town. Jackal examines Johnstown’s history of segregation and discrimination; often juxtaposing how and why its white community was allowed to flourish while its Black community was not.

Final Verdict: Erin E. Adams’s Jackal is a riveting horror novel from start to finish about how the monsters that lurk in the dark are not as dangerous as the ones that move about in the light.

I really enjoyed most of this book, but what the hell was that ending??? Literally so much promise and potential & then the last like 15% of the book was just awful imo.

The characters were just alright, I wouldn’t say I felt too attached to any of them. I liked the storyline a lot & like I said, I enjoyed most of the book, but the ending really ruined it for me.

My rating of this book jumped up and down as I read it. Parts were horrifying and mesmerizing. The writing itself was usually beautiful. Then it would devolve into this basic-I’m back in my home town and haven’t accomplished what I wanted to when I left-stuff. Maybe I read too much of that. Those parts made me want to give up. But I came back for those missing girls.

Jackal by Erin E Adams: 3.5 stars
This book is hard to classify. It’s part thriller, part mystery, part horror, part serial killer story, part paranormal. Liz Rocher (“it’s Ro-shay”) is a Black woman returning to her small hometown for her best friend’s wedding. There’s a reason (okay, many reasons) that Liz avoids returning home but one of the biggest is the missing Black girls. Every summer, one girl goes missing in the forest and her body is usually discovered carved open with the heart missing. I feel like this could have been an excellent thriller but the story got lost a little bit with the paranormal elements. The first part is a little slow and parts of Liz’s character feel unexplored (like her ex-fiancée and why they broke up). However, I enjoyed the mystery and the setting. I recommend this book for fans of thrillers, mysteries, and horror novels. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my review.

Well this one was a lot…the mixture of mystery, horror and racism balanced out perfectly in this book. We are following Liz who goes home for her best friend Mel’s wedding. While enjoying the reception, Mel’s daughter Caroline goes missing. Liz realizes that young black girls have been going missing for the last 30 years and if found, they are missing some organs. Some claim it’s a man and a shadow who calls out to the girls, others think it’s something else. Read this as my start to spooky season and it did not disappoint! Thanks NetGalley!

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. So so Good!! Well written, great premise and interesting characters. I love this way the book meshed all kinds of genres into one book. I will be recommending this book. Thanks again for letting have a chance to read it.

I can honestly say I haven't read too much in the genre of "social horror", but I think I need to start reading more. I also can't believe this was a debut novel--it's such a strong debut. At first glance, this is just a standard thriller, but the more you get into it the more twisty and convoluted everything becomes. I also really loved the supernatural elements present in this work, I love me some spooky supernatural thriller so this definitely didn't disappoint! I am looking forward to more from this author after such an amazing debut! I absolutely recommend giving this one a try when it comes out in October.

This social horror novel is brutal and absolutely chilling, and weaves actual history with paranormal elements. It will leave you haunted at the end.

Synopsis: When Liz Rocher comes home to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for her best friend’s wedding, she is reminded of the age-old warning to never go near the woods. Her own traumatic past left her with a scar on her wrist and dark memories that seem just out of her reach. When Liz’s goddaughter Caroline, a biracial girl, goes missing during the wedding, Liz uncovers the fact that she is not the only one. Black girls have been disappearing for decades in Johnstown. Liz must uncover the secrets of Johnstown and her own past to save Caroline from the darkness before it’s too late.

This novel is an unapologetic look into classism and racism, and draws from historical events that occurred in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It confronts the fact that when black girls disappear, those disappearances are often overlooked, under-investigated, or explained away. Through the eyes of Liz and the other black female characters in the book, we see their hopes, dreams, and desires…and how society tells them to contain themselves and to present themselves in a certain way to be accepted. It will make some readers uncomfortable, and that is the whole point. The horror of this novel does have paranormal elements, but it points to a larger gaping wound in our society that we have to truly face in order to heal. I did get a little lost towards the end, but you have to accept the fact that this is a horror novel with elements you can’t explain. That doesn’t detract from the powerful underlying message of this book. Ultimately, it is a gripping and eye-opening read that will appeal to those who enjoy social horrors such as Get Out and Mexican Gothic. Make sure to read the Author’s Note at the end for more background history and her reasons for writing this novel. There are many content/trigger warnings, so please check them below.

CW: violence, racism, child death, body horror, gore, domestic violence, alcohol abuse, eating disorder, animal death, kidnapping, off-page sexual assault/rape, off-page violence against children

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Bantam for this advanced copy.

Just in time for spooky season comes this creepy and compelling novel from debut author Erin E. Adams.

Thriller, mystery, social horror, and the supernatural collide in this genre-defying tale. Liz Rocher is a young Black woman reluctantly returning to her predominately white hometown of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. She hasn’t been home in years, but her best friend is getting married, so here she is. But then the unimaginable happens: the couple’s mixed-race daughter Caroline disappears during the wedding reception, a bloody scrap of her dress the only trace left behind.

Turns out there’s a long line of young Black girls that have gone missing in Johnstown for years. The local police have been indifferent at best, but the families have never stopped believing their girls were the victims of foul play. As Liz races to find Caroline and help the families get justice, she finds herself squarely in the crosshairs of both the police investigation and the evil darkness that lurks in the woods.

Terrifying, heart-pounding, and utterly thought-provoking, Jackal is metaphor, metaphysical, and reality all rolled into one complex tale. The storytelling is exquisite, a well-crafted mystery as well as social commentary on the racism and classism in the Rust Belt. The author’s lived experience in Johnstown breathes life into the complicated and ugly history of this region.

This is an #OwnVoices book not to be missed. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House – Ballantine Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

Liz is reluctantly returning to her home or Johnstown, PA, for her best friend Mel’s wedding, At the wedding, Liz is asked to watch over her goddaughter Caroline while Mel and Garrett take some time alone. While searching for the candles she and the other children have been tossing into the woods, Caroline disappears. Reminded of their classmate in high school that disappeared at a bonfire, Liz searches for clues to Caroline’s disappearance and finds a mythical shadow man and a legacy of missing black girls that stretches back to the year she and Mel were born. Can Liz figure out what is going on in time to save Caroline?

This book was spooky and scary and just downright GOOD. You can almost feel the woods creeping up on you as you read about all of the girls being snatched from them. Adams keeps you in your toes, laying enough clues and red herrings to keep you guessing who is behind all of the disappearances. She also deftly weaves in commentary about small town power dynamics not only between the rich and the poor, but the Justice system that lets people prey upon the marginalized in our society with little to no repercussions.
I highly recommend this book if you like horror and social horror.

Jackal is a story about Liz returning to her hometown and its past and secrets. Liz's best friend was killed in the woods while they were in school. Throughout her life, she has been told to stay away from them. She returns to Johnstown, PA for her best friend's wedding and the suspense goes from there. Jackal kept my interest throughout most of the book though there was some misconnects for me towards the end. I still enjoyed the read and would recommend the book for those who enjoy thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Bantam for this advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this unique tale from Erin E. Adams. This was a really strong debut novel. When you start this book you think it's going to be a very straight forward thriller but trust me it's not. I do feel like some of the reveals are a little muddled and questionable but for the most part I really liked this book. I also liked that fact that it takes place in a small town that isn't too far from where I live.

This suspenseful thriller is perfect for fans of social horror. While it starts off strong, it loses some steam by the ending, but it was still a dark and twisty read.

This is a well done and taut thriller novel with supernatural and horror elements, and I felt that Adams really drew out the various themes in effective ways. I liked the examination of small town rust belt life, and what it is like for Black people, especially Black women, to live in this mostly white and insular town with a lot of dark history. I liked Liz as a main character, and I liked the character study we got of her after her best friend's daughter goes missing, with the spectre of other missing Black girls hanging over the town history. The social horror aspects were very well done, not only in a supernatural sense but also in an all too real sense of Black women being less noticed when they end up missing and dead. I liked seeing the last moments of hte missing girls through flashbacks and interludes, and I liked how Adams shows that it isn't just a kidnapping maniac that Liz and other Black women have to worry about, but also the way that societal and systemic racism makes those around them complicit and guilty.

JACKAL is suspenseful and haunting, and thriller and horror fans should definitely seek it out.

Jackal is a unique mystery about a young mixed-race girl who has gone missing told in the perspective of her godmother, Liz Rocher, who left her small, isolated Pennsylvania town as soon as she could for college and a successful career. Jackal is a little bit slow at first but Adams does a wonderful job building the tension. The story builds in intrigue as we and the main narrator learn about the black girls in the community that have gone missing or were killed since 1985. We also hear from a mysterious second voice of one of the hunters of the girls. The inept police department has done very little to solve these cases of missing or murdered girls. They haven't even connected the dots linking these cases. It is up to Liz and the grieving black community to solve these cases. I appreciated the social commentary on whose cases receive attention and resources. There is a vivid ominous setting and feeling throughout the book that was really effective. Overall, a good mystery to dive into during the fall and winter months.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Jackal by Erin E. Adams is a terrifying & thrilling mystery novel that also putts the horror in horrifying story. This book embodies every parent’s worst nightmare. What happens when the supposed to be one of the best days of your life, your wedding, turns into the worst day of your life as your child goes missing?!
The main character, Liz Rocher, returns to her small hometown for her best friend’s wedding. Then, the celebration turns catastrophe when her best friend/bride’s daughter goes missing. This book takes place in a small town riddled with secrets & perhaps, even a very dark history that no one wants to sound the alarm on & disrupt the “idyllic” small town vibes.
This novel brought out a visceral fear with this horror story. This genuinely brought that fear to the pit in my stomach as I was reading. A book that can so vividly bring out those emotions, even the scary ones, is a testament to the author’s writing & storytelling. The author has a phenomenal way with words. They cleverly shone a light on so many different issues such as racism, class inequality, discrimination, prejudices & privileges & so much more, but they interwove it into this fantastic work of art so seamlessly.
The graphic nature of the horrific events of this novel mirrors the real life horrors of the realities, effects & consequences of the issues discussed from our society.
Jackal has such stunning writing but simultaneously shocked me with the twists & turns of this story. This is also a thought-provoking novel that left me reeling with its’ conclusion. I would like to thank the author for putting out this gripping & ghastly keep-the-light-on-at-night novel!

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for giving me the opportunity to read an arc of this book! All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Trigger warnings: This book mentions &/or contains racism, fatphonia, children missing, animal killing, addiction, gore, violence & murder.

I will post to my Bookstgram the week of release as well as Amazon after publication.

What caught my attention first with this was the gorgeous and mysterious cover. From then on, this story continues to capture your attention.

“If you hear something call your name, no you didn’t” A rhyme, a myth, a legend told to children in the small, old steel mill town of Johnstown. But, hey…in this case, if this novel calls your name, pick it up!

The action and suspense start straight away, which I always prefer! It keeps you guessing til the bitter end. A different and ominous way of looking at the systemic racism in this country. The last couple of chapters did not do it for me. It confused me and took a bit from the story in my opinion. Ultimately, it took away a star in my rating too. Overall, a very strong and gripping debut from Erin Adams. I cannot wait to see what she conjures up next.

This read was a bit dense for me. I struggle with literary fiction, and that’s how this read. That is nothing against the author, it is a fault of my own. It’s spooky, though.

In Liz Rocher’s hometown of Johnstown, PA there’s a legacy the locals would rather forget. Black girls go missing — and this time, the victim is the daughter of Liz’s best friend. Adams’ depiction of the woods that appear to swallow up one young girl after another is eerie and atmospheric, and a clever structure will have readers racing to unravel what proves to be a fresh, dark, and deeply disturbing mystery. Part multilayered thriller, part horror, this is a novel that will appeal to fans of Wanda Morris and Stephen King.