
Book Description
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.
Liz Rocher is coming home . . . reluctantly. As a Black woman, Liz doesn’t exactly have fond memories of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white town. But her best friend is getting married, so she braces herself for a weekend of awkward and passive-aggressive reunions. Liz has grown, though; she can handle whatever awaits her. But on the day of the wedding, somewhere between dancing and dessert, the bride’s daughter, Caroline, goes missing—and the only thing left behind is a piece of white fabric covered in blood.
It’s taking.
As a frantic search begins, with the police combing the trees for Caroline, Liz is the only one who notices a pattern: a summer night. A missing girl. A party in the woods. She’s seen this before. Keisha Woodson, the only other Black girl in school, walked into the woods with a mysterious man and was later found with her chest cavity ripped open and her heart missing. Liz shudders at the thought that it could have been her, and now, with Caroline missing, it can’t be a coincidence. As Liz starts to dig through the town’s history, she uncovers a horrifying secret about the place she once called home. Children have been going missing in these woods for years. All of them Black. All of them girls.
It’s your turn.
With the evil in the forest creeping closer, Liz knows what she must do: find Caroline, or be entirely consumed by the darkness.
Review
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.
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.
Author Information

Erin E. Adams is a first-generation Haitian American writer and theatre artist. She received her BA with honors in literary arts from Brown University, her MFA in acting from The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program, and her MFA in dramatic writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. An award-winning playwright and actor, Adams has called New York City home for the last decade. Jackal is her first novel.