Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's - Delacorte Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

It's been a year since Nan's three best friends went swimming and never returned and were presumed dead. However, Luce returns on the anniversary shocking Nan since she killed all three of them. A few twists.

Although it was hard to get into at the start, the double layer of the deaths and the reappearance made it an enjoyable book.

This book was a quick read, and kept me wondering what was going on throughout the whole text. Rory Power writes an twisting tale of "friendship" and murder through the eyes of Nan, the unreliable narrator. Nan's friends are murdered, and one of them comes back from the dead, threatening Nan's biggest secret.

This is a good read, and if you like books with twists that'll keep you guessing.

gripping and twisty if a bit predictable in some of its twists at points. a very interesting premise to start with , though. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Rory Power’s Kill Creatures is a solid mystery novel with an eerie atmosphere and a fun whodunit plot. The story keeps you engaged as the characters piece together the truth. While the mystery itself is enjoyable to unravel, it does rely on some familiar tropes, though. It felt predictable at time, which took away some of the suspense, but the overall pacing kept things moving. Power’s writing style is immersive, creating a moody and unsettling tone that fits the story well.

One aspect that didn’t fully work for me was the friendship between the main characters. Their dynamic felt a bit forced, and it took me a while to understand them. It did all end up making sense eventually, however. Another thing that struck me as odd was the protagonist’s memory loss—while it serves as a key plot device, it sometimes felt a little too convenient and I didn't understand how she even lost the memory of it all, tbh.

That said, Kill Creatures is an entertaining read. It's a guilty-pleasure read, and a good choice for fans of small-town mysteries with eerie undertones. It just may not leave a lasting impression.

I loved this book. Rory Power is a gifted writer that manages to write a spellbinding story of friendship and betrayal that keeps the reader guessing until the very end.

Yes, this is a murder mystery. Yes, you are told who the victims and even the killer is (it’s right there on the back of the book). No, you don’t know what’s happening.

Rory Power is good at flipping the typical into something… else. Wilder Girls could have been another girl’s school thriller; it was a sister of Annihilation. Burn Our Bodies Down could have been a family trauma story, but it becomes something about the dark things underneath, in metaphor & not. Here, we have multiple revenge stories, layered & folded into each other. The victims and killers alike are sympathetic and despicable. Even tertiary characters are touched by a very human darkness, even if it’s just everyday corruption.

The story is definitely engaging. The character development is alright but not the best in my opinion. I wasn't as in love with this story as I've been with Power's other stories. It's still well worth the read.

This was a mix of creepy and mysterious. At one point I thought I had it figured out, but the shift between past and the present threw me off again. Of course when the events finally unfold, the epilogue twists the story again! I liked the story from Nan’s perspective because her limited knowledge of her dad meant the reader didn't have any details either. This book is a well-written mix of creepy, murder, and the result of what jealousy can make people do.

The story revolves around 17-year-old Nan, who recently lost her three best friends. A year ago, she joined Luce, Edie, and Jane on a night boat tour that ended in Devil’s Eye Canyon. Nan was the only one who returned. No one knows what happened to the other three girls—except Nan. She knows because she killed them.
Haunting and beautiful. LOVED,

I definitely did not enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed Rory's other books. This one was rushed and very predictable. It was a good premise, but a bit disappointing.

Kill Creatures is a YA suspense novel with the unusual premise of being from the killers perspective. Or are you?
On the one year anniversary of the disappearance of three girls, one mysteriously returns with no memory of the past year. Her friend Nan is shocked. She shouldn't be back. She should know because she killed her.

This was a quick easy read with a few twists and turns. Overall, the tropes and ending were just not my favorite. I was disappointed in the writing and in the plot. Hopefully this will get alot more editing before going to its final printing. Thank you to netgalley and Penguin Random House/Delacorte Press for the advanced reading copy for review.

Kill Creatures has a very interesting premise. A missing person coming back after a year? Yes, please. The killer waiting, watching, sweating over the fact? Even better.

It was a fast-paced read for sure. I was speculating (100% invested) throughout the whole book on why Nan killed the girls.

My personal issue is.. I don't like the ending. It was underwhelming to me.

However, a lot of people will love Kill Creatures. It's going to be a mover and a shaker this year undoubtedly.

A year ago, Nan lost her three best friends to Saltcedar Canyon: their bodies were never found, despite the best efforts of the community to locate them. On the anniversary of the disappearance, during a lakeside vigil held in their honor, one of the girls is found injured but alive. No one is more shocked to see Luce than Nan, who doesn't share the town's excitement: after all, Nan was pretty sure she had killed all three of the girls. As Luce recounts her fractured memories of the past year, Nan and the reader are left wondering: how much does Luce really remember?

The plot was compelling, and the writing was solid; however, I did think it fizzled out at the end a bit. Thrillers often require some suspension of disbelief, which I have no issue with, but there were some parts to the story that didn't add up for me. Still, I was reading this every spare chance I had to see how everything unfolded. While there are things that are going to bother me as an adult reader, they probably won't bother the target audience, and I think it's an overall solid addition to the YA thriller genre.

I’m gonna be honest and say I only requested it for the cover. The premise was intriguing but I was hoping the story would match the vibe of the cover. Personally, i don’t think it does. When the story opens we meet our MC, Nan, who tells us from the start that she did it. A person that brazen must be evil or conniving and definitely must have a really good reason for doing such a thing. That’s where the story falls off for me. Because the closer we look at Nan the more we see a different picture and it isn’t as dark and twisted as one might imagine. Knowing that info made the ending underwhelming and the book less interesting. I’d still tell others to check it out but not to expect anything too dark.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s and Delacorte Press for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Whoa - Kill Creatures is an incredible thriller, and I’m jealous that younger adults and teens have this quality of thriller geared towards them because as a reader decidedly not in that age group I absolutely would love if every thriller marketed to the adult set was an intriguing as this one. I would recommend this for teens, YA, and adults alike as an eerie mystery and thriller that hits high points in several places. Setting the stage by taking us to a canyon town where the lake is slowly dropping, there’s a memorial one year after the mystery disappearance of three girls, Luce, Edie, and Jane. The only survivor is Nan, which is why she’s not only shocked but terrified when Luce is suddenly found in the middle of the lake during the memorial - after all, she killed her friends - all of them.

Nan is a standout character because she comes off as cold and unfeeling in present while her past memories of her and ‘her girls’ depicts her as polar opposite to that. As she and Luce, whose memory is gone, support the local Sheriff in trying to find the other girls (and help Luce recall where she’s been) it quickly becomes apparent that her memories can’t be completely trusted and that there was a lot more that happened that night a year ago than even Nan remembers.

If I could change one thing in this book it would be spending some more time with Luce looking back (and even forward) as she stayed such a mystery for so long that when we get her perspective it’s thrilling but doesn’t share as much as I was eager to learn. Which is to say this book keeps you on tenterhooks during the reading but continues to poke you with questions after as well (not the what happened kind but the satisfying I want to know more because I loved it kind). Definitely recommended for fans of thrillers and mysteries of all ages, though I’d say start at age 16 onwards as this story is no joke.

To be honest, I don't love a thriller that ends with the main character being the killer after all. I don't know why- especially for YA, I prefer a story that ends with a new group of friends and traumatized teens (don't read into that)- but a story starting with "how is she back? I killed her!" and the ending being "she did TRY to kill her but it didn't work" just doesn't feel satisfying to me. I was hoping the whole time I was wrong and her dad would've been a bad guy, but NAN wasn't a bad guy, but it just didn't end up that way. It's not your fault! The story was done well and the characters felt real and realized, I just didn't enjoy the ending because of my own personal taste. I think I might have enjoyed it more on audiobook, which is how I listened to AGGGTM which this was comped too, but overall it was just a fine book for me. But it is a GORGEOUS cover and I do look forward to reading more from Rory!

"Kill Creatures" by Rory Power is an atmospheric YA thriller that pulls readers into the dark and haunting world of Saltcedar Canyon. The story follows Nan, who has spent a year mourning her three 'best friends' who mysteriously disappeared. On the anniversary of their loss, a memorial vigil turns shocking when one of the missing girls reappears alive. But for Nan, this isn’t a miracle—she knows they were dead because she’s the one who killed them.

The premise is gripping, and the stunning cover captures the eerie tone of the book perfectly. The fast-paced narrative is packed with tense moments that keep readers flipping pages, though the plot's resolution feels predictable given the dynamics between Nan, Luce, Edie, and Jane. Their relationships are layered with jealousy and resentment, which are explored but don’t leave a lasting impression.

Power’s writing is solid, creating an unsettling atmosphere that underscores the themes of violence, secrets, and revenge. While it’s not groundbreaking in the thriller genre, it’s a compelling introduction for readers looking to dip their toes into darker, twisty narratives.

Overall, "Kill Creatures" delivers a solid, suspenseful read about flawed characters and their entangled, toxic relationships. While not wholly original, based on reviews, it’s a quick, engaging book that fans of "A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder" and "Gone Girl" will appreciate.

An absolutely phenomenal book that took me on the YA thriller read of my life. Could not put it down! Highly recommend for YA book groups. WIll be purchasing for libraries.

OMG this is the first book I have read by Rory and it will not be the last. I freaking loved this book. It had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. Then when I would read on I was lie oh no because just when I thought the story was going one way it would veer off to the other side and I did not see that coming.

Nan, Luce, Jane and Edie are having a wonderful summer when things go wrong and all four girls go up to Devil's Trail and only one of them returns. Nan is the only one who comes back from that trip. The other three parents are searching for their child when the boats and hikers go out in search of them. But they find nothing until the year anniversary comes and the town is holding a vigil for the three missing girls.

Then their is commotion on the water and Nan has no idea what is going on. Then she hears from her mother that one of the girls has been found. Nan starts to freak out because the dead don't come back to life but one of the girls does and she has a story to tell and Nan is freaking out because she knows the truth and if it gets out it could be bad for Nan and her family.

Thank you Net-galley for allowing me to read this ARC.