If I had to choose one word to describe On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel it would be haunting. This book and its characters will stay with me for a very, very long time. Based on the Chillicothe Six, a group of missing and murdered girls in Ohio, McDaniel tells the tragic story of Arc and Daffy.

What I loved:
- EVERYTHING. No, seriously. Arc and Daffy, our main characters, took me on an emotional rollercoaster. I felt devastation, hope, love, respect, denial, and a myriad of other emotions.
- McDaniel's storytelling had me in a chokehold. Her ability to repeatedly gut punch me and leave me asking for more is chef's kiss.
- The tie back to nature, which plays a strong role throughout this novel, left me paralyzed. Reading the perspective of the river at the end of each chapter in Part One was eerie and haunting. Pure brilliance.
- The way that even in the darkest moments of the book, I couldn't stop reading. Well, there was one part when I had to close my Kindle for the night, but I picked it up again first thing.

I could go on and on with a million more reasons why this book was a five star read for me. However, it won't be for everyone. The content is dark and heavy and I strongly encourage you to seek out trigger warnings before diving in. It has them ALL!

This was bleak and depressing. The writing and story telling was hypnotic. I felt joy. I felt sadness. Goodbye.

*sprinting to read Betty*

I was expecting to read a thriller but this book was so much more. It told the stories of women who struggled with addiction. These were women that the world never gave a second thought and someone saw them as disposable. The big reveal shocked me left my jaw hanging. My heart hurt for these women and the justice they never got. This book left me emotionally drained but it is one that will stay with me. Thank you Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC in exchange for my review.

I initially saw this pitched as more of a mystery, and it is not. What it is is an affecting, sometimes brutal account of these two sisters lives, the impact of addiction on them and on their family and friends, and a testament to the lives that slip away. Giving it 3 stars because of the often brutal and hard-to-read elements, but I think there is a certain reader who will absolutely love this.

I loved the cover, title, and thought this was going to be a great read. This was not particularly what I thought it would be and thus, I couldn't connect to any characters and found it quite slow. I wasn't a big fan of the writing style either.

I had to slog through this one sadly to get to the end and finish it. I appreciate it for what it was trying to do but just was not my cup of tea. I see why people loved it, but just not for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I didn’t enjoy the writing style of this book, and felt it hard to connect to the story. I think this book is a great book, and I know many other people have enjoyed it, it’s just not for me.

The struggle I experienced while contemplating how best to write this review is unprecedented for me. Initially, while I slogged through page after page, it was forming in my head with a very negative slant. To be honest, it stayed that way until after I finished the book, did a bit of research, and sat back to think on it. There are still aspects that left me completely unimpressed, in general, but I have upgraded my rating for reasons I'll get into in a minute. First, let's go over the background and story ...

On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel was inspired by actual events that took place in Ohio in 2014-2015. A handful of women, who would come to be known as the Chillicothe Six, went missing. Four of them were found dead while the other two have never been located. There were some potential suspects, but the case remains unsolved. If you're so inclined (as I was), you can find a couple of documentaries and some true crime podcasts and YouTube videos for further details on the original subject matter.

The book features Arcade (Arc) and Daffodil (Daffy) Doggs, twin sisters who grow up in an area of poverty and drugs and face a future of generational addiction, trauma, and abuse. Their only hope came in the form of Mamaw Milkweed, but that hope was ripped away from them, leaving them in a home of neglect with a mother and aunt who could barely function beyond their next highs and johns. As can be expected, there was no protection for them, and men who pay for sex don't always have qualms about taking advantage of the young girls left to fend for themselves.

Arc narrates the story, and we have no doubt right from the start where she ends up. Once we're given that bit of information, we're taken back to as close to the beginning as she can remember, and the timeline weaves back and forth from there. Through her, we meet a group of girls her age that she becomes close to, each facing their own demons but searching desperately for something positive. Great imaginations, big dreams and little joys are what get them through their otherwise desolate existence, one that becomes exponentially worse as the river is forced to open her watery arms to cradle the women cruelly disposed of in her depths.

If you're waiting for me to finish the synopsis with something uplifting, don't hold your breath. This is a bleak read set in a town full of despair and hopelessness. That was one of my first issues. The darkness was relentless, but in the end, I forgave that aspect because we're dealing with reality, and not everyone lives in a town of picket fences and manicured lawns. What I couldn't forgive was the incessantly poetic nature of the writing style. Everything, including the dialogue was riddled with it, and it didn't always make sense. Even the river narrated with purple prose (Which, by the way, was a narration abruptly dropped. Why? What was the point of it?) The style was distracting, to say the least. Also, what was up with so many of the characters having encyclopedic knowledge about math, history, and botanicals? I can see one of them being a brainiac, but not more than half of them.

I appreciate that the author attempted to give voice and humanity to women that society writes off as having asked for what they got due to the way they lived. These victims were more than sex workers and addicts. They were daughters, mothers, and friends. Sadly, this gets lost in the mire of creative writing. Had it been toned down, I could have basked in the beauty that shown through the darkness of the story, and my rating would have been much higher.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Knopf Publishing Group for making this egalley available for voluntary and honest reviews.

This was a compelling and haunting story based on actual unsolved murders. Well written, it is a story that will linger, long after you have finished.
Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I find it most challenging to write the first sentence of a review for a book I adored as much as I loved On the Savage Side. Another reviewer on Goodreads said that Tiffany McDaniel may well be the most gifted storyteller alive today. I can’t shake it. That’s how I feel, too.

With two, and now soon-to-be-three, books published, she has a trademark style of storytelling, one that has me hanging on her every lyrical, descriptive, imaginative word. On top of that, her characterization, the vulnerability and heart in her characters, the creativity in their imaginations, reflective of her own endless creativity; I never want to leave their stories behind, and in the case of On the Savage Side, I dreaded having some idea of their ultimate fates due to what happened to the “Chillicothe Six.”

Inspired by six women in Chillicothe, Ohio, who disappeared around the same time and their cases remained unsolved years later, these women lived and loved in McDaniel’s home state, and the part of Ohio she showcases in her books, an area left behind in some ways.

Arcade (“Arc”) Doggs is the narrator. She begins as far back as her memory takes her, as the twin sister to Daffodil (“Daffy”). Her father is in the military for a time and returns home a different man. He uses drugs to cope, and eventually that use spills over to Addie, the twins’ mom. The girls are young when this happens. Their saving grace is beloved Mamaw Milkweed. She provides a respite from the chaos and is their normal. Time with and lessons learned from her are cherished. Life changes for the twins again when Mamaw is no longer part of their lives.

Time and tragedy chip away at Arc and Daffy’s dreams. Their armor slowly falls away, as they aren’t protected from the ugliness and dark underbelly, until eventually they find themselves on the same path as their mom and Aunt Clover. With drugs they lose their hopes but never their friendships and closeness with each other. During this time they become friends with other women in the community who use drugs to dull life’s immense hardships. As with their mom and aunt, they also turn to sex work to keep money in their pockets and to buy more drugs.

The women are hopeful as they try to get clean, but they return to the same environment and stressors, and life has a way of resetting back to what it knows. One by one, the women disappear and are found in the river. Arc narrates until the very end. Even though I knew the direction the book would take, I never lost hope that someone would escape to a better life, one would overcome addiction, no matter how steep the mountain was to climb. McDaniel goes deep into the darkest, most painful places, but she always leaves some hope to hang onto in the goodness of the hearts of her fallible characters.

The way the story gets its name is derived by a lesson taught by Mamaw Milkweed. That gem is literally threaded throughout the book in a subtle way, and while I have to mention it, I will not spoil it for the reader.

On the Savage Side is a marketed as a literary thriller, and I agree with that classification, though thriller fans should be prepared for the finest, deep dive characterization there is, which keeps the story at a deliciously even pace. There’s an unease from the very first page, and there are twists I did not foresee, including the final twist. I don’t think the twists are in the front seat of the story; the characters, their friendships, and life struggles are.

As with all of McDaniel’s books, I hang on every word. I read, re-read, reflect, ponder, and more than anything I feel. The Chillicothe Six deserved a voice. All women who were once little girls with hopes, dreams, aspirations, and open hearts, who were sisters, mothers, and daughters, deserve a voice, to know love and be loved, and to find justice when a life is taken.

I received a gifted copy of this book; however, I also have it on preorder. Preordering books by our favorite authors is one of the best ways we can support them, and with more than twenty books in her arsenal, and only three published, I want to hear from Tiffany McDaniel again and again for a lifetime.

We follow Arcade, who, along with her twin sister Daffodil, grow up in Chillicothe, Ohio. They grow up in the shadow of their grandmother, mother, and aunt who influence them greatly in both positive and negative ways.

As they grow up, their friends and other women in their town start to turn up drowned in the river.

This book was beautiful, devastating, and harrowing. I loved reading about the relationship between the Chillicothe Queens and how they looked out for and cared for one another. The story draws from the true story of the unsolved murder and disappearance of the Chillicothe Six, women who disappeared or turned up dead similarly to those in the novel, and were dismissed because of preconceived notions about the "type' of women they were.

Betty is one of my favorite books, so I was extremely excited to read this. I think Betty still edges it out a bit for me, but I can't wait to see what's next for McDaniel.

Thank you to Netgalley for the Advanced Readers Copy of On The Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel. While it was slow to start, it had a solid pacing and story for the latter half.

A sincere thank you to KVPA and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Daffy and Arc are twin sisters born a minute apart. They're highly imaginative and are able to turn their squalid, savage surroundings, living with essentially absent, addiction-ravaged parents, into something beautiful. The novel takes readers back and forth from Daffy and Arc's brutal childhood to the present, where young women, including their friends, are starting to disappear, only to be found murdered in the nearby river. Based on the true stories of the six missing women in Chillicothe, Ohio, this novel is a raw, emotional tribute to missing women everywhere.

This book was DIFFICULT to read, in the best way. It's an important story, a story that's true for many families and friend circles, towns, and communities. It explores the savagery of addiction and how it can completely consume a person's life, relationships, and mind. It explores the terrifying things that children and adults endure in times of desperation and poverty. It explores the general air of apathy that surrounds the disappearances and murders of "junkies," "druggies." and "whores" who are considered as little else. It explores the effects of the ghosts and demons that we carry with us for years and decades. The writing was beautiful - hauntingly so. McDaniel's talent for such raw, emotional writing is indescribable. Like I said, this is a very difficult novel to read, but it's a story that needs to be told.

Please check content warnings before reading this book, as it contains significant depictions of drug use and abuse, rape, sexual assault, animal cruelty, murder, and miscarriage.

This was really good. Considering the research the author did for this story It did not disappoint. Started a little slow but picked up at 50 percent.

Everything that Tiffany McDaniel writes is profound. I can’t say enough about this book. This story pulls on the reader’s heartstrings and gives life to women who were easily written off by society. It is what I’d call “Great Lakes Grit” at its finest. Arc and Daffy and their friends are characters that will be etched into my bones for years to come. I cannot wait to see what this author writes next, and have no doubt it will be amazing. All the stars!

After loving Betty and letting it absolutely destroy me last year, I knew that I needed to get my hands on this one. Tiffany McDaniel's writing is one of a kind and makes someone like me who normally struggles with books longer than 300 pages absolutely DEVOUR this 450+ page book in a matter of days. Tiffany used inspiration from the Chillicothe six from her home town to tell this powerful story of two twin sisters who have been surrounded by suspicious murders and believe they are next. This book was incredibly raw, and heartbreaking, and so entertaining! I could not put it down.

🦋 ON THE SAVAGE SIDE 👩🏻‍🦰

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5/5)

Synopsis: Twin sisters Arcade and Daffodil create an imaginary world as they grow up to distract themselves from the violence, poverty, and drug epidemic that envelops Chillicothe, Ohio. As young adults, they do all that they can to survive as they spiral into a heroin addiction and their friends turn up dead in the river one by one. Inspired by the real unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six.

Review: There’s a harsh dichotomy between McDaniel’s wise, lyrical prose and the gruesome violence the characters experience on a daily basis, but I think it works to tell this story. The author weaves threads of magic and folklore throughout the novel to the point where you question what’s real and what’s imagined. The mother-daughter relationship is gritty and sad and I haven’t seen such a honest reckoning with that since the film Moonlight. The river is essentially a character in the book. Mamaw Milkweed is the only responsible, loving adult in the book and I wish there was more of her in it.

On the Savage Side was released 2/14 and is available everywhere. Many thanks to @netgalley and @aaknopf for allowing me to read a digital copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

CW: murder, death, grief, drug abuse/addiction, recovery/rehab, graphic physical and sexual violence, prostitution/sex trafficking

I’ve been excited to read ON THE SAVAGE SIDE from the very early days of finding out that Tiffany McDaniel was coming out with a new book: I absolutely loved and devoured Betty, and fell in love with the author’s heartbreaking story and beautiful writing.

With this book, I was only aware of the story being based on the true crime murders of the Chillicothe Six, but thought this was a great take on it!

*many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

This was amazing. Heartbreaking. Beautifully written. A step beyond Betty, my favorite of Tiffany McDaniel's so far. This has cemented her as one of my favorite authors of all time.

Arcade and Daffodil (Arc and Daffy) are twins, born to addict parents, living in poverty and hearing stories and tales from their Mamaw Milkweed. Life was hard and its no wonder that they ended up being ensnared by the heroin addictive lifestyle they shared with their aunt and mother. This book was extremely difficult to read and is even harder to review. It was beautifully written by Tiffany McDaniels but the content was so sad and horrifying, especially the ending. I felt horrible for Arc and Daffy and the life they lived. I believe this is being categorized as a thriller but I didn’t find it to be at all so that may be a little off putting for some but I wouldn’t go off that. If you like well written, sad books this is for you! 😂I’m rounding up to 4 ⭐️. Thank you NetGalley and Knopf publishing for an arc copy of this book.

This book is haunting and beautifully written. The ending brought me to tears. The author writes about the Chillicothe six in the beginning and then takes us into the lives of six fictional characters living in Chillicothe being targeted by a serial killer. We get to know each women and their lives in and out of active addiction. Humanizes them rather than just labeling them as addicts. Both the savage side and the bright side of them all. An amazing read!