Not every story that opens with a sense of “Once upon a time” has a happy ending. Many Grimm fairy tales are indeed grim and make readers uncomfortable, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Jackal is set in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a booming steel town in the 1800s. Seventy miles to the east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown’s best days are in the rearview mirror. The novel feels like a horror story. But—no spoilers—Jackal also reads like a fictionalized and enhanced autobiography. Meet Liz Rocher, who embodies the title of Thomas Wolfe’s You Can’t Go Home Again. The phrase reverberates in her head as she sweats out whether she will get off the train taking her back to Johnstown for her best friend’s wedding. Liz is black, and Mel, her best friend from childhood, is white—like most folks in Johnstown, a fact that is pivotal to Jackal.

Before Liz grew up in Johnstown, Alice, a black girl, was murdered. Her body was found in the woods, her heart ripped out of her body. Alice’s mother Tanisha felt uncomfortable in Johnstown: “Upon arriving, Tanisha didn’t trust the place. If pressed, she couldn’t say why. The best answer she could give was: It felt too safe.” Too safe seems odd but Adams fleshes it out. Tanisha, a city girl, was used to danger that “always lurked right around the corner.” But Johnstown has no corners—danger isn’t hiding, rather “it preferred to fester.”

Tanisha was a loving and cautious mother to Alice. When Alice became a teen, she begged for permission to join her friends in the woods. The shadowy woods worried Tanisha, who felt shadows hid danger. And danger for Black girls was different.

After Alice’s murder, Tanisha’s life stopped. Evans’ epigraph on Alice’s murder is haunting, “With each passing second, the pain of the present robbed the past of its luster.”

Liz Rocher does not want to go home. She never does:

I take another gulp of my train wine. The cheap varietal burns my palate. Varietal. Palate. Who do you think you are? There it is. Judgment. One of the many things I ran from when I left.

Liz has a therapist who tries to reprogram Liz’s worries and self-criticism over being a black woman who never felt welcomed in Appalachia. Through therapy and, inevitably, avoidance, Liz deals with her memories. Not to mention a successful career.

On her journey back to Johnstown for the wedding, Liz contemplates just staying on the train, but then Mel calls and Liz decides not only can’t she skip the wedding but also can’t skip seeing Mel’s daughter Caroline—Liz’s goddaughter, whom she adores.

When Liz disembarks from the train, she is solicited by a disheveled older woman, “nondescript in her Blackness.” Liz isn’t having it. The unhappy woman reminds Liz of how easily folks label her—as a domestic helper or shop clerk—someone unlike her professional self. “Here, the make of my bag, the quality of my clothes, the timbre of my voice, the style of my hair, none of that matters. My skin speaks first, and it is too close to this woman’s for comfort.”

Mel and Garrett are marrying in a barn surrounded by woods. It’s Liz’s least favorite place in Johnstown: She can’t stop thinking about her friend Keisha. The last time she saw her alive was at a bonfire party in the woods. Then Keisha disappeared.

Unbelievably, so does Caroline, in the party after her parents’ nuptials. Liz freaks out: It’s Keisha redux.

Keisha Woodson, the only other Black girl in Liz’s high school, walked into the woods with a mysterious man and was later found with her chest cavity ripped open and her heart removed. Liz shudders at the thought that it could have been her, and now, with Caroline missing, it can’t be a coincidence.

Liz shelves all her discomfort to focus on finding Caroline alive. Nothing else matters. Liz learns Alice wasn’t the first black girl to go missing in the woods. There have been many others. Liz doesn’t run away, convinced Caroline is still alive and that she’s the only one who can save her. Liz is determined to break the horrific pattern that only impacts young black girls, only to discover a supernatural element: It’s watching. It’s taking. It’s your turn.

Someone—a monster—has waited all these years for Liz to return. Taking Caroline is a way to entice Liz into his trap. The supernatural metaphor lays bare the rotten heart of Johnstown’s casual racism.

Jackal is a disturbing, ultimately hopeful story about confronting your past to save the people you love. Using courage and tenacity, Liz Rocher rewrites the script of what it means to be a black girl in Johnstown.

I had mixed feelings while reading JACKAL by Erin E. Adams. Liz Rocher, a young black woman, is returning to her hometown Johnstown, PA (a predominately white small town) for her best friend’s wedding. What was supposed to be just a weekend visit turns into a longer nightmarish stay when the bride’s young daughter goes missing during the wedding. The longer Liz stays to help with the search, the more she uncovers about the town’s dark history of missing black girls.

The premise is excellent and the author really does a great job in showing just how deep racism can run for years. It’s pretty obvious from the reader’s point of view how suspicious it is that every year a black child disappears and then is found brutally slaughtered in the woods. And the fact that the rest of the town makes multiple justifications on each death is unbelievable.

The chapters of each missing girl for the last 20 years or so are particularly well done and they’ll sadden and infuriate you. But the rest of the book just didn’t do it for me and I can’t put my finger on why. I found it dragging in many parts despite my keen interest in finding out answers. And the main character, Liz, was not that likable for me.

It’s so strange when a story interests you but something is just not working out. I did end up finishing it and I’m glad I did. I just wish I liked the writing style better.

I’m actually in shock that this is a debut novel. I knew very early on while reading this that it was going to be a five star. I am blown away with how this book manages to do so much and pack such a huge punch in less than 400 pages.

The double meanings, deep discussions, and thought provoking questions that this book raises need to be experienced by EVERYONE. I feel almost as though this book did what a couple of books I read recently tried to do, but ultimately missed the mark. This book, however, hit the nail on the head!

Liz was probably the smartest female protagonist I’ve read from in a while. At no point was I yelling at her for making dumb and rash decisions and I LOVE THAT! Also, the way this book is told was so unique and interesting (won’t say too much about that for fear of spoilers) but it kept me extremely interested in what was going to happen next!

Do yourself a favor and read this book!

This book was a great mixture of horror and heart. I really enjoyed the way the plot was structured with time jumps back and forth and enjoyed the character development. I would recommend this book to horror fans and non-horror fans alike

The story was well-written and compelling, the characters engrossing. The mystery contained enough possibilities and supernatural ambiguities that I remained uncertain until the final moments. This combination is quite rare for me, so I am delighted and looking forward to whatever Erin E. Adams writes next.

Jackal is a genre- and mind-bending horror, thriller, mystery helluva ride. Liz returns to her home town for her best friend Mel’s wedding. She just broke up with her bf, and going home always gives her anxiety anyway. So she’s not doing great. Mel has always been there for her though, so Liz is all in. During the wedding reception Mel’s daughter disappears into the woods. And this is happening on the summer solstice, during which black girls disappear into the woods with alarming regularity in this town. Liz starts asking questions about a disappearance from when she was back in high school, and starts to uncover that this may be all related.

Again, I didn’t feel like this book fit into any particular genre amongst the “spooky genres” so give it a shot!

**4.5-stars**

Even though she is returning to her hometown of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, as a successful adult, Liz Rocher is still filled with trepidation. Her memories of her time there fill her with anxiety. Growing up a bit of an outcast, the one person she could always rely on was her best friend, Mel. Now Mel is getting married and has asked Liz to be part of her special day.

Mel and Liz have remained close over the years and Liz is even the godmother to Mel's daughter, Caroline. When it comes to visits though, it's always them going to see Liz in the city; same with Liz's Mom. It's her turn to show up this time, so she does. It feels strange to be back; doesn't seem like a lot has changed. Her Mom is certainly full of the critiques straight away.

At the wedding, Liz is discomforted by the woodsy venue. The local woods, the subject of dark legends and a frequent player in Liz's nightmares, are part of her worst memories from Johnstown. In spite of the location, Liz is enjoying spending quality time with Caroline. It's sort of on her to keep an eye on the girl while Mel and her new husband entertain at the reception.

Sometime between dessert, dancing and dodging awkward conversations, Liz loses site of Caroline. She begins searching, asking everyone if they have seen the little girl, but no one has. Starting to panic, Liz enters the edge of the woods. She's scared. After finding a frightening bit of evidence, Liz comes to the conclusion that Caroline is gone. She needs help. A full search party is assembled.

Liz is devastated. How could this happen? The incident is reminiscent of another horrible night back when Liz was in high school. A night when another girl went missing in the woods from a party; Keisha Woodson. Even though she had only planned to stay in town for a couple of days, Liz can't leave now. She has to stay until Caroline is found. Whatever the outcome, she needs to help. She needs to be here.

In an effort to help find the girl, Liz begins asking around regarding Keisha's disappearance. Perhaps the two cases are related. What she finds is that Keisha wasn't the first. She also finds a very distinct pattern, all black girls, missing from the woods, directly around the summer solstice. Will Liz be able to figure out who, or what, is taking the girls, and find Caroline before it's too late?

Jackal impressed me. It's hard to define, it's quite unique. I would describe it as a thoughtful work of Dark Fiction with heavy Social Horror components. The writing style has a stream of consciousness quality to it, that honestly, I'm not normally crazy about, but it really fit here. It's not a super straight-forward story, it does require some effort on the part of the Reader, but I feel like for those who are willing to put in some energy, it will leave a mark.

Liz was a well-developed character. It took time to get to know her, but it would be hard not to feel for her and her experiences. I also felt like her character growth was paced well throughout. The overall tone reminded me of The Other Black Girl, in that the entire build-up of the story is laced with a certain uneasiness; like you know something sinister is going on just beyond your line of sight.

I love that feeling. The ominous feeling of the developing mystery and the building of tension as the conclusion approaches. It did sort of lose me a bit towards the end. I'm still a little confused on a couple of things and maybe in those instances would have preferred a more definitive outcome. However, this is 100% personal preference.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys Social Horror, or Dark Fiction in general. The topics explored, the over-arching mystery and compelling main character, all combine to make Jackal a stirring debut.

Thank you to the publisher, Bantam, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I'm really looking forward to reading more from Erin E. Adams!

Thoughts and Themes: When I heard about this book, the description alone intrigued me so I was happy to get a chance to read this one. I am glad that I decided to wait until I could get my hands on the audio book version though since I believe this added to the suspense in the book. I did make a mistake and read other people’s reviews half way through this book but was quite pleased that the reviews didn’t match my feelings about this book.

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The reviews that I read didn’t really seem to like the explanation of what was going on throughout the book and how that mystery unfolds. Unlike those reviews, I actually really liked the supernatural element that was added into this book and how that tied into what was going on. I think this book did a great job explaining what jealousy can do to people and how much harm can be done to a community through not only jealousy but in this case racism.

I did feel that a lot of the reviews that I was reading missed the mark about what this story was about and the commentary that it was making. I think this is one of those books that goes beyond a horror or a thriller story so if you are expecting real monsters then this isn’t it. This book takes people’s fears, insecurities, goodness, etc. and turns it into something that monsters are after and explores what happens when the monsters are your neighbors.

I ended up highlighting so much points in this book as I followed along in the e-book as there were passages I wanted to re-visit. These passages were things I wanted to think about more and think about how they played into the conclusion of the story. I can’t spoil things for you so I can’t say much but I do hope you go out and read this book. Its one of those books that would be great for a book club or to discuss amongst your friends because of how much is brought up.

Characters: In this book you are introduced to several characters through their interactions with our main character, Liz . You get to meet her best friend, Mel, Mel’s daughter, Caroline, some people in town, Nick, Doug, Chris, Lauren, her mother, and the monsters. You also get to know about some of the girls that have gone missing through our monster’s perspective.

Writing Style: This book is told in first person through the perspective of our main character, Liz. There are pieces that are told through the perspective of the person who has been taking the girls, and there are some snipping of news papers or other documents that were released when the girls went missing.

How many black girls can go missing in the same small town before someone, anyone, starts to notice? That's the question that this book, and our main character, endeavor to answer.

Jack is a thriller-mystery-horror hybrid that will make you afraid to live close to a tree line. It will make you afraid of the what lurks in the shadows, and ultimately, it will open your eyes to the unspeakably brutal things that people do to one another in the name of hate and white supremacy. I loved the tenacity of our main character and her commitment to solving the mystery of the disappearances of these young black girls, no matter the cost or sacrifice. You won't expect the ending. Promise.

Are you interested in: a horror/thriller that is light on both aspects?
What about a story about missing Black girls and their mothers that unravels when a Black protagonist returns to her hometown and is forced to visit how who she was has shaped what comes next?
This book did a great job in presenting its premise with us hearing directly from the voices we need to and introducing a supernatural scope that makes sense to the story as a whole. Only problem was that I didn’t feel any terror at the horror anyone endured in the story - may be an issue I generally have with thrillers?

I got this book from #NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.This book was more horror than thriller. It is along the lines of Jordan Peele's movies.It is about the real life monsters that you protect your children from.This book keeps you on the edge of your seat the duration of the story.

Jackal, by Erin E. Adams. This book was amazing. The many twist and unexplained things was mind blowing. The writer did an excellent job with the barely there hint of the jackal and his accomplices. The story has so much excitement happening that you will not be able to stop reading.
The details and description of the woods and shadows was spelled out so clear. The descriptive details were so good that they could easily capture the readers attention and or lure them into the book. This story offers the readers some great entertainment. This story is a page turner filled with mystery, intrigue, surprises, suspense and unbelievable revelations. I enjoyed reading every page of the book.
Liz was amazing in this book. I also thought brilliant at finding a way to weave all the players together for her one objective. I loved that her character was smart, intelligent. She was characterized as someone with, hate or rage. For me, she was a normal person like most of us.
I give this book two snaps and a, Their is no way in h e double L hockey stick that you will find my behind going near some woods day or night. Period! Until next time my fellow readers… read on!

what an odd ending...


I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you so so much Netgalley for this opportunity

the synopsis drew me in... I mean A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white Rust Belt town. But she’s not the first—and she may not be the last. . . .

It’s watching
reading that over gives me the heebie-jeebies... man this book held so much promise to be incredible!! till the ending... but lets take it from the beginning. You get to meet Liz who is coming home for her best friend's marriage, but it's a bit awkward because its been years since she has last been to her hometown. The same day she attends the wedding, her bride's daughter (Caroline) goes missing... Caroline is also Liz's goddaughter so there's a strong connection between the two.
Now the entire town is looking for Caroline and old information and cases start to emerge where Liz realizes this isn't the first time a black girl has gone missing in this town.

I would DEFINITELY classify this book as horror because I was having a hard time reading at night due to the creeps. There was character development and SO many guesses of who was behind the kidnapping... Every time I thought I nailed the person BAM more information that made me second guess who I thought it was. Twists on twists, however, the ending took a turn that I wasn't the biggest fan of. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll keep it as simple and plain as possible. supernatural and fantasy are tied into the end of the story. so if you're a fan of fantasy mixed in with your thrillers, then you'll love this!! personally, I would have passed if I knew that. However, that's what made this book different than any other horror/mystery book I've read before.


It was mainly told from one POV (Liz) and I found her more likable than I thought. Even with some of her decisions and choices, I grew on her and the ending made me LOVE her.

Overall, I recommend to anyone that enjoys horror/thrillers with a bit of fantasy thrown into the end. For being the author's debut novel, it was written beautifully! The pacing of this book was pleasant; if I hadn't made this my before-bed book, I would have finished in no time!! You'll want to find out what is going on & won't want to stop till you get there. There are a few slow parts where I could have skimmed, but they added to the suspense and background info of the characters. The ending and slow parts were the only reasons why I rated this book 3 stars, if it wasn't for those factors this would have been 5 stars all the way!! I'll be keeping my eyes out for future books by this author.

Jackal by Erin E Adams
Liz Rocher comes back to her childhood home in Johnstown Pennsylvania, a predominantly white town, where she doesn’t exactly feel embraced. But for her best friend’s long awaited wedding Liz puts on a bridesmaid dress and smile. During this night of dancing and reunions, Caroline the couple’s daughter disappears.
Liz is frantic to find her God Daughter, but she soon realizes that in her small town little black girls go missing all too often. She knows she must figure who’s behind this and find Caroline before it's too late.
First a massive thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine for giving me the opportunity to read this Arc in exchange for my honest review.
This was one of my most anticipated novels of the year and I could not wait to read it once I received the arc. The synopsis and that cover had me hooked. I enjoyed a lot about this book. Meeting Liz and the mysteries surrounding her, the characters she was reacquainting with and of course the social commentary this book gave was spot on. I really enjoy books with a strong message and this book did not disappoint. The way the Author spotlighted characters and the narratives surrounding them felt all too real. The ending was a bit off for me, I thought for a second I knew where it was going but I was wrong. Majority of this book was amazing I was just a little let down with the ending and felt it could have been stronger had it been different. In all it was a good time. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads⭐⭐⭐

A very atmospheric thriller with a speculative/metaphorical element - an element that never quite gelled for me.

For the first time in years, Liz Rocher is back in Johnstown, PA, a mostly White rust belt town that’s been left behind. She’s there for her best friend's wedding, but at the reception, the bride’s biracial daughter, Caroline, disappears. Desperate to find Caroline, Liz starts trawling through the past, discovering that this is only one in a long line of disappearances of Black girls.

The dying town of Johnstown is eerily drawn: the ever-looming woods, the history of flooding of the lowlands, the de facto segregation of the neighborhoods. Elizabeth is credibly desperate and smart enough to solve the mystery but jumps from solution to solution in her haste, using her gut to make crucial decisions of trust rather than her brain.

There is a lurking darkness in the trees that drives the abductions and only by confronting this evil will Elizabeth be able to save her young friend. As Elizabeth digs into the stories of the missing girls and her own past, the amorphous truth emerges. It’s here we venture into the metaphorical/speculative realm which I didn't quite get and which I felt was unnecessary and overly complex. I wanted there to be a rational explanation and there sort of was and there sort of wasn’t. If you’re up for that sort of ambiguity, then you’ll probably like this a bit more than I did.

Thanks to Ballantine and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

This book was okay.

I think it had some interesting elements. I was hooked in the beginning. But it kind of trickled off and began to fall a little flat for me. The idea itself was cool. It has a very CJ Tudor feel if that author is your jam. But beyond that, I would basically describe it as meh.

Beautiful cover. Love that Erin E. Adams is from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Fun genre.

Overall, I can't say that I would recommend it, but I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from checking it out.

Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

“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 path, you must ignore both or face your wrath.”

Liz left her hometown as soon as she could and never looked back. She returns for her best friend’s wedding. When her niece, a young black girl, goes missing in the woods, a white rust belt town’s dark past is revealed. She’s not the first to go missing, and Liz starts to notice a pattern taking her back to her youth when her only black girlfriend also went missing, in these same woods. Every white person is a suspect, and, each is believable.

A little horror mixed in with some supernatural and a critical examination of racism that still exists to the point that no one can be trusted.

This is an incredible debut and I loved how different this book felt. Some have said unconventional and I think that’s a perfect description. It has that same eeriness of Such a Fun Age, and similar betrayal. Our main character does all the “wrong” things in a horror book but she really shows her strength and determination through it all in the name of black girls past, present, and future. I can’t wait to see what this author does next!

(Not for the faint of heart. This book is descriptive about death).

Jackal by Erin E. Adams can be horrifying, intense and shocking at times. When I first finished this book, I wasn't sure if I was going to give this four or five stars. After a few days of not being able to stop thinking about it, I knew I had to give it 5 stars. The story has different elements of different genres in it and they mesh very well. Jackal is powerful and I really enjoyed it.

I was so excited about this from the moment I read the premise, and it did not disappointment! This book hit all the marks for me: atmospheric, well-paced, intriguing plot, a unique blend of genres, and well-written to boot! This twisting, creeping story draws on both fantastical monsters, as well as real-world horrors. I can't wait to read the next release from Erin E. Adams!

I'm the dummy that didn't pay attention to the actual title of the book until halfway through the story and was like ok duhhhh of course that makes sense.
I had slight issues with some of the directions this one took especially because there were a few plotholes and inconsistencies that I noticed.
I did however enjoy the alternating povs we got and the time jumping to the girls from the past because it added an extra layer of the mysterious aura that envelopes this town and it's missing girls.
The ending was ok, if a bit rushed. I wanted more explanations of what exactly the heck was going on and some readers might be confused or lost when getting there because it's one of those slightly weird stories!
Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy of the book!