There is a publisher foreword in “On the Savage Side” that mentions this novel is considered part of the Appalachian Gothic genre. That intrigued me — the genre goes far beyond the controversial and stereotypical “Hillbilly Elegy”. A definition I found says that “ Appalachian Gothic emphasizes the isolation of groups of people who live in the mountains, as well as the social conflicts that are amplified in the Appalachians, such as racism, poverty, and clannish religious and family dynamics.” And, indeed, Tiffany McDaniel sees beyond blaming people for the systemic poverty that entraps them and paints a portrait of real people experiencing more than just the horrors of being poor and addicted. There’s a serial killer preying on these people, and no one cares.

This is a fictional account of the unsolved “Chillicothe Six” murders, which were first dismissed as unconnected. Through very rich, intricate and lyrical descriptions, the story has twins Arcade and Daffodil at the center, while women around them go missing. This a heartbreaking book about powerlessness and addiction, not for anyone who wants a quick or pleasurable read. This book will haunt you long after you finish it. 4 stars. Beautifully written, but a bit too lengthy for me (although I read it in a marathon day).

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, vintage and Anchor and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES A new twist on this trope: each of the twins has one blue eye and one green eye.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO The mountains, rivers and trees are characters of their own.

ON THE SAVAGE SIDE is a beautifully written brutal book about the horrors of addiction, abuse, racism, misplaced authority and lost innocence.

Loosely based on a case of serial murders of young women in Ohio, Ms. McDaniel delves into the background of each fictional woman and believe me, that is one horrific ride. Born into families that harbored junkies, prostitutes, extreme poverty and food instability, it's hard to see anyone coming from such an environment and being successful in life. Arcade and Daffy, (Daffodil Poet) are young girls, becoming women, and basking in talent: Daffy's, (Daffodil Poet), inexorable urge to write and Arcade's irresistible urge to dig. What these ladies could have done in life is hard to wrap my head around, and it's also difficult to face because I know that these ladies actually exist and that what happens to Daffy and Arc most likely happens every single day in America.

I cannot find the words. It's been a week now and I still can't find them. The stunning quality of the prose, the beauty of these young women-their imaginations, their creativity, in spite of all the corruption and rottenness surrounding them, covering them, suffocating them...that beauty was undeniable. It's a terrible world when beauty like that can be snuffed out, whether it be in an instant or over a period of years. It's gut-wrenching.

Tiffany McDaniel is at the top of her game. It seemed like she arrived already at the top and there she remains. After having read BETTY and THE SUMMER THAT MELTED EVERYTHING, I knew I was reading the words of a goddess of literature and pain. I urge you to go ahead and introduce yourself by reading ON THE SAVAGE SIDE, so that you may then worship at the McDaniel altar with me.

My highest recommendation! Read it, read it, read it!

*Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf, and the author herself for the eARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it. *

*Trigger warnings behind the spoiler tag: <spoiler> suicide, rape, domestic abuse, drug abuse, murder, prostitution. </spoiler>

This is a book that will leave a scar.

I loved Betty by the same author, and was very excited to read this one.
It’s based on murders that have gone unsolved in rural Ohio. The victims were all young women, addicts and prostitutes whose cases languished due to who they were in the world. The book follows a family of addicts. The mom, her sister a clover and twins Daffy and Arc. The writing is very lyrical and the girls make up incredibly impressive stories and dreams to help themselves cope with the horrors around them and happening to them.
I struggled through parts, at times because of the terrible things happening and other times because I actually wanted to get to more of the meat. What a crazy and manipulative but also beautiful journey.
This definitely not a book for everyone as it’s rife with serious triggers but it will find an audience with people who will be willing to take some punches.

This is a hard read. I went into it with no knowledge of anything and it took me forever to understand that the central theme is addiction, but that's because I have a only a little experience with that, which is my only blessing in life.
It was relatable and beautiful and terrible. I think every woman on the planet would relate to the spider.
As a mother of identical twin girls I may never recover.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the advance reader copy.

I loved everything about this book. Everything. It was my first Tiffany McDaniel book and most definitely won't be my last. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time

Thank you to Knopf for the free copy and for the author for reaching out.

ON THE SAVAGE SIDE by Tiffany McDaniel is an easy five stars. I am already familiar with her work, as #BETTY is one of my favorite #books and I absolutely loved THE SUMMER THAT MELTED EVERYTHING. McDaniel blows me away with her ability to craft an exquisite, intricate, and compelling story. Both BETTY and ON THE SAVAGE SIDE are based on real events, which just amps up the intensity and the reader surely and ultimately becomes invested.

While BETTY was based on McDaniel’s own mother’s life, ON THE SAVAGE SIDE is based on the unsolved murders of six women in Chillicothe, Ohio known as the Chillicothe Six. A serial killer is the likely offender, but police investigation was less than thin. The victims were forgotten due to poverty, prostitution, and drug abuse. These six women were not given the attention they deserved and it’s utterly heartbreaking.

The true crime aspect takes a bit of a backseat to the lives of twin sisters, Arcade “Arc” and Daffodil “Daffy” who have the whole world in front of them with dreams, desires, and ambitions, but all against impossible odds. The lives they are forced to lead are inevitable and it’s truly horrific what goes on. We follow them through every terrible moment - but their bond, love, and imagination are bright spots in an otherwise sea of darkness. McDaniel pens with elegant and lyrical prose mixed with trauma and beauty. She gives all of these women the voice they deserve. There are not enough words to describe how this literary masterpiece has affected me, but hopefully you understand.

Warning: McDaniel does not mess around when it comes to the heart - she hits you right where it hurts and then keeps going. Proceed with caution if you are sensitive to issues of sexual abuse, drug addiction, violence, or poverty. Full synopsis in the comments.

This was super hard to get through. I loved Tiffany McDaniel's previous novel. Betty and I hoped to feel the same about On The Savage Side, however that is just not the case. This one's synopsis makes it seem like a thriller or at least a crime novel, but rarely was there any mention of the cases in the book. It's more of a novel about the characters who I thought would be side characters. Anyways, not what I was expecting and hard to get through.

Huge, huge thank you to Tiffany for sending me a digital copy of this one! That was very kind!

‘On the Savage Side’ is the third novel from acclaimed author, Tiffany McDaniel. I still haven’t read her debut ‘The Summer that Melted Everything’ but I did read her second novel ‘Betty’ and much like the rest of the reading world, was left completely stunned with how powerful that novel was. While ‘Betty’ was based on Tiffany’s mothers life, ‘On the Savage Side’ is based on the real life murders of six women in Ohio, where Tiffany is from. Going in, I knew that this one would feel gritty and be horrifically emotional, but even with that in mind, what I experienced was far more bleak than expected.

What I liked: The novel follows twin sisters, Arcade and Daffodil, who try to live a better than they were born into. We know from the very start that things don’t turn out so well, the opening monologue tells us that it is being delivered posthumously, and things don’t get much sunnier from that point on.

We follow these two as their life unfolds and Tiffany does such an amazing job of bringing them to life on the page. You feel like you know them in real life and that’s what makes everything that unfolds that much more difficult and impactful. As always, Tiffany’s next-level, sublime writing is on show, making you relish each sentence, even when many of them have you wiping away tears.

McDaniel sets each piece of nicely in this unravelling Chess match and while we have an idea of what’s to come, when it does, it’s far more draining to the soul because of how well Tiffany got us to that point.

As with each of her works so far, you experience this novel, you don’t just read it.

What I didn’t like: I was expecting something far more ‘true-crime’ in nature than what the story ultimately was, so if you’re going in thinking this is a straightforward murder-mystery novel, you’ll be in for a shock.

Why you should buy this: If you’ve read either (of both) of her previous novels and loved them, then this one is a no-brainer. If you’ve not read anything from Tiffany yet, this would be a very solid starting point. It has all of the high-water marks that Tiffany is known for, while also having a story that will pull you along, even when you wish you could wash it from your brain.

Outstanding work from one of the best authors out there.

McDaniel is a fantastic writer with very lyrical and absorbing prose. The actual story in this book was different than I expected - I thought it was going to be more closely linked to the true story of the Chillicothe six. I was invested at the beginning of the book, but it went on longer than I would have liked. It was incredible brutal and the end felt like it was created mainly for shock value. Still, this book made me think more about people who become addicted to drugs and their circumstances.

Chillicothe, Ohio, is a small rural town, where addiction is kept under the surface, and women keep being found dead in the river.

Arcade and Daffodil are twins, each with one blue eye and one green eye. Their lives are not easy but they have hopes and dreams, and stories from their Mawmaw Milkweed. As they grow and become young women can they turn the savage side into beauty and avoid the grips of those who seek to harm them?

This is simply an incredible book. After the brilliance of Betty I wasn’t sure how Tiffany McDaniel could deliver another story so compelling but she’s absolutely delivered.

The writing is stunning, lyrical and poetic. The characters are absolutely magnificent. The twin protagonists of Arc and Daffy are hauntingly broken yet full of beauty and hope. The women of Chillicothe are seen, despite their addictions and flaws. They are human and given voice and love through the text. And the plot is full of threat and danger.

This is not an easy read - it was inspired by the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six, deaths and disappearances taken less seriously because of addiction. The savage side is clearly portrayed and there are brutal episodes and depictions. But ultimately, it’s a book to remind us to see humanity in everyone.

Tiffany McDaniel is unmatched. This book is brutal, heart wrenching, and will stick with me for a long time.

This is a beautifully written book , a book of desperation, addiction, violence, of women whose voices have been silenced, whose souls have been killed. It is a hard book to read. It is the book of twin girls growing up in poverty, with addicts for parents and a mother and aunt who work as prostitutes. Girls with talents and dreams and then the story of them as adults. heart breaking 4.5

This book is incredibly sad. I mean, really REALLY devastating on so many levels. The writing is poetic and strange, and there were some moments that were so beautiful in their poignancy. This is a book I will think about for a long time, I just know it.

On the Savage Side is about twin sisters, Arc and Daffodil, who live in poverty in Appalachian Ohio. It flashes back between the past and present as the girls face loss and neglect and battle addictions and hardship as they age into their twenties.

There is also a murder mystery element to this book and some twists and turns. The author based portions of this story on the real unsolved murder case of the Chillicothe Six, where a serial killer was targeting women in rural Ohio.

This story was like nothing I’ve read before. I felt unsettled, heartbroken, upset…lots of heavy emotions. When the meaning of the title became understood, I was floored. Wow. The author reminds me of a female Cormac McCarthy. Her literary fiction borders on horror in its relentless honesty and artfully woven prose that doesn’t look away from the dark shades of life and humanity, choosing to face it head on, instead.

Similar to the novel, Betty, the author’s previous work, this story was a heart wrenching masterpiece. I can’t say it’s a new favorite, or that I’m in a rush to read it again, but it was impactful and has imprinted itself upon me. There are a ton of triggers associated with it, also. So be aware that it deals heavily with drug addiction, child abuse, sexual abuse, and death.

4.5/5 stars rounded up to 5 for this review.

The nitty-gritty: An devastating exploration of woman's place in a world ruled by men, On the Savage Side will haunt you long after the final page is turned.

Tiffany McDaniel has once again crafted a beautiful, moving, heartbreaking story that takes place in her home state of Ohio. On the Savage Side has many of the same qualities and themes as her last book, Betty, but this time the author focuses on heroin addiction and prostitution, framing her story as an homage to six women who were violently murdered in Chillicothe, Ohio in 2014, murders that were never solved. I’m not going to lie, this was a tough book to read at times. McDaniel never flinches from the realities of innocent women caught up in the neverending cycle of addiction and recovery, but her female characters shine with a fierceness that elevates them above the horrors they experience. Some readers may appreciate a list of trigger warnings, so do be aware that On the Savage Side contains the following content: drug use, death by overdose, pedophilia, rape, miscarriage, torture, abuse and murder. However, there is plenty of beauty in this story as well, and I would not have given this book five stars without that balance. 

The story follows twin sisters Arcade (Arc) and Daffodil (Daffy) Doggs, born with fiery red hair and mismatched eyes (each girl has one green eye and one blue eye). Both parents struggle with heroin addiction, and in 1979 when the girls are six, their father dies of an overdose. Raised by their mother Adelyn and their Aunt Clover, their unpredictable homelife is balanced out by the loving attention of Mamaw Milkweed, Arc’s and Daffy’s beloved grandmother. It’s Mamaw who teaches them to crochet, explaining that the underside of the crochet square, where the yarn is tied off and hangs down, is the “savage side,” but by pushing the strings back up, you can make it the “beautiful side.” This philosophy follows the girls into adulthood as they compare their lives to both sides and strive to have more “beautiful” moments.

By the time the girls turn twenty, they’ve fallen into the same destructive patterns as Adelyn and Clover, working at the Blue Hour turning tricks for drug money. It’s during one of their trips to the river to shoot up with their friends Sage Nell and Thursday that Arc discovers a dead woman floating in the river. Her name is Harlow, and she’s the first of six dead women to be found there. Eventually the press dubs the killer the River Man. But who is he? There are a host of suspects, like Highway Man, the local tattoo artist and drug dealer, or Spider, the man Arc and Daffy met as children who changed their lives forever. There’s also John Theresa, who helped the girls hide at a low point in their lives and gave them access to a swimming pool, where Daffy discovered her love of swimming. Even a man named Welt, who rescued Arc from a violent encounter, seems to be hiding something.

As Arc and Daffy spiral ever downwards, and the killer gets closer and closer, the girls wonder if there’s any escape from the savage side, or if the beautiful side will forever be out of reach.

McDaniel beautifully describes the small town of Chillicothe, a town that lives in the shadow of the local paper mill. Day and night, the mill spews poisonous smoke into the air, and this is how Arc and Daffy grow up. The river plays an important role in the story as well, in fact, it’s almost another character. Not only is the river where the killer dumps the bodies, but for Arc and Daffy it’s a place where they can go to escape their lives. No matter that they’re “wearing crowns” down by the river (their term for getting high), but it’s where they can be with their friends, Sage Nell and Thursday, far from the men who hurt them. The author  also inserts short passages told from the river’s POV, passages that describe what happens to the murdered women after they’ve been dumped in the river. It sounds macabre, but I loved the idea that the river was tenderly cradling the bodies, as if to give them dignity after their suffering.

Arc and Daffy grow up in poverty, made worse by their parents drug addiction, and McDaniel describes so many bittersweet moments that broke my heart. For example, the girls never had birthday cakes, so instead they drew pretend cakes for themselves on the floor with markers. The neglect was so hard to read about, as Adelyn is never sober enough to pay attention to her daughters, and when the unthinkable happens to Arc, she neither knows nor cares.

The one shining ray of light in their lives is Mamaw Milkweed, who nurtured their love of stories and art and taught them to crochet. She does her best to protect Arc and Daffy from their parents’ rough lives, but even she can’t keep all the darkness at bay.

The story is full of truly awful men, all of them harmful to the girls in one way or another. Drug dealers, “johns,” men full of violence who go out of their way to hurt innocent women. By the time they are twenty, Arc and Daffy have accepted these men as an inescapable part of life. And as the body count grows, Arc suspects the killer is someone close, someone she knows. The story feels like a murder mystery at times, although solving the killer’s identity isn’t really the point.

The book itself is beautifully designed, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy. Drawings are scattered throughout, foreshadowing what’s to come. For example, a “spider” is used as a symbol of danger, and whenever a drawing of a spider appears, you know something bad is coming next. We also get a medical examiner’s report after each body is found, and McDaniel adds a touch of poetry to these reports, which poignantly humanizes each woman:

GENDER: A reflection of herself

OCCUPATION: Rides among the stars

PROBABLE CAUSE OF DEATH: Letting the devil know her name

There are brief moments of hope, like when Daffy discovers a talent for swimming and joins a swim team for a while. Time spent with Mamaw is always happy, and the bond between the sisters is fierce and unbreakable. One of the things I loved so much about this story is the way the way Arc and Daffy and their friends supported each other and never judged. The times spent by the river, despite the fact that they are high on heroin, were sweet moments when they could dream about a different life. Each woman, in her own way, showed a resilience of spirit that made me cheer them on, even as I was brushing tears away.

This book won’t be for everyone, but readers who are looking for an emotional, hard hitting story won’t want to miss On the Savage Side.

Big thanks to the author for providing a review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I think I'm done reading for the year because there's no way I'm going to read a book that is better than this one in 2023. Tiffany McDaniel continues to astound me. I loved her first two works and this was no different. The way she is able to use her lyrical prose to tell an important and deeply saddening story is only getting better with time. I am not always one who gravitates towards prose that is lyrical and has a deeper message within but McDaniel is able to write in such a compelling way that I cannot put the book down. Nor can I forget the words she's written on the pages. This is a story about the forgotten, the unloved, and the ignored that cannot be forgotten, unloved, or ignored. I give all the applause to McDaniel for making me feel the emotions that I do not want to feel. This book may be very triggering to anyone who has had drug abuse in their lives and I would proceed with caution if you are going to pick this one up. Recommend to McDaniel fans as well as people who have never read her work. This book was astounding and something I will be shouting from the hills about for a while.

*Trigger Warnings:* Drug abuse & Addiction, Sexual Assault of minors

In July 2016, I read Tiffany McDaniel’s ’The Summer That Melted Everything’, in my review I wrote in part: “There’s so much more to this incredibly moving debut novel than meets the eye with these few words that tell you what it’s “about.” Bigotry in all senses, sexual preference, skin color, abuse, child abuse, HIV/AIDS, aging… and living. Just the day to day of living seems both precious and tenuous in Breathed in 1984.”

In 2020, I read McDaniel’s ’Betty’, which speaks to the desperation, desire to leave, to find a better life. While it begins in Ozark, Arkansas in 1954, the family leaves to live in an old, rundown house that they bought sight unseen, in the southern Appalachia town of Breathed, Ohio.

If you read either or both of those, you’re familiar with McDaniel’s ability to create an almost gothic aura while set in a more present time. Dark and disturbing, but there is also love - if often a dark and twisted love. Set in Chillicothe, Ohio, this is loosely based on six women who vanished in the area in 2015, although this story is set in an earlier time.

This is a story about a place, a time, a family, addiction, sex workers, and women whose lives are lived on the fringes - until they are not. Children whose lives are not lives that any child should be aware of, let alone live through. Any and all dreams they have are shattered - over and over again. As in her debut novel, the day-to-day of living seems both precious and tenuous.

A heartbreaking, intense, beautifully written story of family, love, loss, the darker side of life, and death.



Pub Date: 14 Feb 2023

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Knopf

This book is haunting, terrible, atmospheric, and sure to get under your skin. I thought it was a pretty incredible reading experience, even though at times I felt the prose was a little overdone and some of the twists were not my favorite. However, think I'll be thinking about this book for a long long time and it really sets a bar for true crime fiction, especially ones that center victims and focus on having a strong POV.

There were various points during this book that I would have a hard time understanding what was going on. It felt that while there was based in reality, there were parts of it that were based in fantasy. Even then, I did find the story to be enjoyable and it held my attention.

I finished this read a couple of days ago and I’m still…hurt.

This book leaves you emotionally raw and wondering just what in the hell we do to our girls in this country. As the mother of a daughter, it hit especially hard. I would to anything to keep her feeling safe and cherished.

But the girls and women in this book are anything but safe and cherished. They are disposable and horrifically abused, yet still keep a little bit of hope and dreams alive. It’s those hopes and dreams that hurt the most.

While there’s beauty in this book, it’s honestly all the ‘Savage Side’ of life.

Not a feel good book, but a book where you’ll definitely FEEL.

5 Stars.

• ARC via Publisher

Thank you NetGalley for the arc! This is one of the darkest, most heartbreaking books I’ve ever read. Tiffany McDaniel has such a unique way with words… they pull no punches and forces you to face the violence women suffer at the hands of society and how the status quo ignores or turns the blindside on the most marginalized and vulnerable communities. It’s easier to blame the victim, to find excuses for the absences, the hurt, the death than acknowledge how the very structure of the system leads to the cycles of abuse.

McDaniel forces to watch the pain and confront it dead in with a language that tattoos itself into your heart and soul and I am so thankful that this writer exists and putting out there these magnificent pieces of literature. A portrait of pain, but ultimately a legend of how the memory lives and survives in the depths of the river that connects us all… I loved this book.