This is a true story, and is based on real life kidnappings, it’s set back in the 80’s in West Des Moines, Iowa.

A very good read, had me hooked from page one and I read it in two sittings, loved the characters and really found myself gripped. Brilliant book.

"I met a monster once, face to face."

This book destroyed me! I was bawling after the last chapter. It made me a paranoid parent all over again. As a parent, it's always a struggle to let your kids grow up and gain independence but also wanting to keep them close and safe. The final chapter of this book reignited all my mothering fears of something happening to my children and gave me chills and nightmares.

This book was fantastic. It was everything that I want from a novel based on a true crime. It was heartbreaking, informative, suspenseful, thought provoking, and thrilling. I read it in one day! I was able to connect to the characters and empathize with their emotional distress.

The Monsters We Make is an eye opening reminder that not every bad guy is a stranger. That we need to listen to our children when they say someone makes them uncomfortable. A must read!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the e-book in exchange for my honest review!

Christopher Stewart was a paperboy , whilst doing his paper round,, goes missing in 1984....
The story then follows Sammy. Cox, who is on his own paper round, run home from someone he is trying to hide from.... but also hiding a secret.

Sammy's sister Crystal wants to use this opportunity to write an award winning essay on the disappearance of poor little Christopher. Although she is worried about the issues that are going on in her town, she needs to have this opportunity to get herself into college through getting her scholarship and out of this town, and writing this amazing essay is the only way it is going to happen. But getting the information she needs, may land her in more trouble that she bargained for.

Officer Dale Goodkind is having to live through another paperboy being kidnapped but he was to make it known he will not let this case go unsolved. However, these abductions set a lot of things in motions that have devastating events for him, which make him face his own demons.

This book is based on real life kidnappings and is absolutely gripping! I loved how the story was told by different character perspectives and how the date was given, as if it was a time bomb waiting to go off.
The tension is built in all the right places and the author did a brilliant job of keep you guessing of who the person actually was. Would truly recommend.

The Monsters We Make is a fictional mystery based on the true life cases of three paperboys who went missing in the 80s. The book deals with sexual abuse, so if that is triggering for you, please be aware.

The book is narrated by three distinct characters. First is Sammy, a paperboy, his sister Crystal, and Dale Goodkind, who is investigating the cases of Matt Klein and Chris Stewart. Sammy is the main voice in the book as we see him navigate life in the city of Des Moines with his sister and single mom Tina. His sister knows he is harboring secrets and is troubled, but he won't tell her why.

Crystal, in her senior year of high school, dreams of becoming a journalist and believes an investigative article on the missing paperboys will help her get the scholarship she wants. While investigating the cases, she also tries to take care of Sammy and discover what his secret is.

Dale Goodkind investigated the case of Matt Klein, who disappeared in 1982 in West Des Moines and has since joined the Des Moines police department and is trying to settle in. He himself is harboring a secret from his own childhood that has taken a serious toll on his mental health. We see him trying to navigate the case, his mental health and keeping his therapy a secret from even his wife, and the toll that all this stress takes on him and his family. Will he be able to solve the case, find the missing boys, and bring these families closure?

All three characters are really well rounded and their voices are believable. You feel what both Sammy and Dale are going through and the anguish it causes. You root for both of them, as well as for Crystal to get her scholarship and to be able to help her brother.

The plotting and pacing are done beautifully. The tension builds throughout the novel as the leads diminish and Dale tries desperately to discover what happened. I found myself not wanting to put this book down and read it every chance I could.

My appreciation to Crooked Lane Books, Kali White, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Monsters We Make" by author Kali White. It is a fictional account based on a true crime case.
Set in the 1980's the novel explores the disappearances of two paperboys from a small midwestern town in Iowa. The abductions set in motion an unpredictable chain of vicious, devastating events that touch many lives in unforeseen ways.
Told from the perspective of a young boy, his sister who is an aspiring journalist and the detective on the case, it tells of a time when things felt safe and then they aren't.
An intense and gripping story!
Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

At almost 42 years of age, I'm still terrified of being kidnapped because of the cases that this book is based on. One day, the paperboy was there, and the next he wasn't. Kali White has taken that case and built up that creeping "you know something is wrong and you know that it's not going to end well" feeling to the extreme.

This kept me up for more nights than I like to admit.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Chilling. Will have you shivering in fear. Well written and researched it will draw you in. I couldn't put it down. I couldn't stop reading. I had to know who the monster is. A must read. Happy reading!

Interesting crime book to the point it felt very real. I liked the different perspectives and how anxious I felt to find out the outcome of the story. A thrilling summer read.

The Monsters We Make is based loosely on a missing child story from the 80s. There's a whole documentary about it on netflix, and the story is completely f-ed up. Even though this book is fiction, it's still well told and done in a way that's not insulting or intrusive to the real family and victims. In fact, it's so good, that for several chapters, I thought maybe it was a real account.


It's done very well and done respectfully.


The Monsters We Make publishes 8.11.2020.


3/5 Stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Kali White for the opportunity to read and review this gripping tale of monsters that live among us. 4.5 stars.

This story is based on the real-life events of newspaper boys disappearing in the early 80s in Des Moines, IA. We hear three distinct voices - Sammy is a newspaper boy who is keeping a devastating secret. Crystal, Sammy's sister, is trying desperately to win a scholarship to be able to fulfill her dream of going to college and becoming a reporter; and Dale, a police officer investigating the disappearance of paper boys in his town under his watch.

Each of these voices shows so much emotion as they deal with their problems. You feel for each character and the private hell they are all going through. The author seamlessly weaves true life issues into this novel leaving you to truly wonder once again what goes on behind the closed doors of your neighbors and friends and how much all of us are complicit.. I was riveted to this story and loved the open-ended way it ended so that we are left with hope at the end of tragedy.

The content of this book is disturbing - it deals with pedophiles who live in our hidden in our communities and who prey on our children. It's very well written and based on actual child abductions in the 1980s.

Unfortunately this book fell short for me. I had high hopes after seeing it on social media and reading good reviews. I think was hoping for more of a suspenseful thriller but found it to not hold my interest with a slower pace and some predictability. This just wasn't the book for me.

Have you ever watched 𝗪𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐧𝐲? It’s a documentary on a 30-year-old cold case about Johnny Gosch, a paper boy who went missing in West Des Moines, Iowa. He was the first child to ever appear on a milk carton because of his mother’s continual push to find her son. ⁣
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I was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa and my dad even went out on search parties for Johnny in the 80s. When I read the synopsis for this book and saw that it was inspired by Johnny Gosch and other teenage boys that went missing under similar circumstances, I knew I had to read it. ⁣
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Johnny disappeared in the early hours on Sunday, September 5, 1982 while delivering the Des Moines Register in his neighborhood. Two years later, Eugene Martin disappeared on his paper route on August 12, 1984 again in the early hours of a Sunday morning. Marc Allen disappeared on Saturday, March 29, 1986 while walking to a friend’s house in the evening. All three boys are still missing and their families still don’t have any answers.⁣
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In this work of fiction, a paper boy, Christopher goes missing in August 1984 leaving behind his red wagon full of bundled papers. No one heard or saw anything in this quiet neighborhood. ⁣
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Another paper boy, Sammy seems to know what happened to this teenage boy but is terrified to speak up. Sammy’s sister, Crystal notices his nervous behavior and starts going on his paper route with him to ensure he stays safe. Crystal also decides to investigate the disappearance of Christopher for her college essay. As she learns more about this possible abduction and takes a closer look at suspects- she begins to question her neighbors. ⁣
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Meanwhile the police are doing everything they can to find Christopher. After failing to solve another teenage boy’s disappearance at his last precinct, Officer Goodkind vows to solve this case. He becomes laser focused on a suspect and goes rogue. He has demons of his own and he lets this case completely consume him. ⁣
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This book was absolutely heartbreaking but also a nail biter- I couldn’t stop reading it. Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for this copy. This book was published on 6/9/20.

Based on a true story, this book was compelling and well-written and just terrifying. I think every parent should read this to be aware (if they aren't already) of the dangers out there and some of the signs you should look for!

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for a free digital galley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an engrossing read. I felt really drawn into the story, and liked that there were three different narrators. You wind up not knowing who to trust & not knowing who the real monster is. It's based on true events - the Des Moines Register paperboy kidnappings - and I feel that the author has done a fantastic job of capturing the 1980s & the end of innocence with regards to child abuse & stranger danger.

I'm a true crime addict. Check out my podcast list and you'll find 99% of it is true crime. The Monsters We Make is based upon real-life events that took place in the midwest in the 80s. I was hooked from the first page. In West Des Moines Iowa, another paperboy has vanished from the street corner where he was rolling his newspapers. This is not the first time that a paperboy has disappeared from this area. Detective Dale Goodkind has just transferred with his family to West Des Moines and is put in charge of this case.

The book is told from three different perspectives: the detective, Dale Goodkind, who is determined to solve this case; twelve-year-old Sammy Cox, a fellow paperboy who might know more than he should; and Sammy's sister, Crystal Cox, who wants to use this story to write an essay that will help her win a scholarship to journalism school.

I really liked this story, even though it was dark and made my stomach hurt as I tried to guess who was after these young boys.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Based on the true story of two Iowa paperboys who went missing in the 1980s The Monsters We Make is told from multiple perspectives.

Christopher Stewart has gone missing during his morning paper delivery. On the same morning fellow paperboy Sammy has his own run in and it is one he will tell no one about.

Sammys older sister Crystal see this disappearance as not only horrifying but also an opportunity to earn a scholarship for journalism to the college of her dreams. While doing research for her essay Crystal starts to harbor some suspicion that maybe her little brother knows more then he is leading on.

After moving away from the city and case that almost ruined him officer Dale can’t believe he is facing another child disappearance case. This time Dale is determined to solve the case but with it demons from his past start to unravel.

I really enjoyed the different points of view and the true crime aspect. If you are familiar at all with the Iowa paper boy cases you will see the parallels. This book is a super quick read and an easy 3.5⭐️ For me!

This book deals with heavy subject matter and should come with major trigger warnings for child abuse, sexual abuse and violence.

Thank you to the publisher for sharing a copy of this one - all opinions are my own.

I LOVED this book - this is one of those wildly mesmerizing stories (specifically as its based on true events) that sucks you right in and holds you in complete suspense through the very last chapter.

I devoured this entire story whole, I loved the characters, and I LOVED that it was impossible to know who to trust. Even when you start really suspecting who the culprit is, the tension only increases because you KNOW that things are about to implode but you aren't sure how or how badly. This story unfolds at the perfect pace, sucking you in a little more each chapter and then flying into the final twists that leave you reeling.

This is a must read for thriller lovers this summer!

In Des Moines Iowa, August 1984, twelve year old paperboy Sammy Cox delivers his newspapers early on a Sunday morning. He is hiding a terrible secret.
That morning, fellow newspaper boy Christopher Stewart goes missing, under similar conditions as another boy went missing two years earlier.
Sammy's seventeen year old sister Crystal wants to be a journalist. She is writing an essay, trying to win a scholarship to help her get into college. She decides her subject will be on the missing boys as she tries to find an angle for her story.
Sergeant Dale Goodkind is assigned to the missing boy's case. He had also worked on the investigation in the earlier case.
He has been furtively going to counseling, the previous case has had some devastating effects on him, threatening to bring up events from his childhood that he prefers to keep buried.
This chilling, atmospheric novel was a dark, intense and gripping read. At times painful and heartbreaking, but so well written and sensitively done, that it was a rewarding experience.
Thank you Crooked Lane Books for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

The Monsters We Make will speak to true crime fans everywhere. Loosely based on true events, the novel starts with the disappearance of a paper boy in the small community of Des Moines, Iowa in the early 1980s. Toward in alternating points of view, the reader is told the story by the police detective assigned to (and obsessed with) the case, another paper boy who is dealing with his own secret, and his sister who is interested in researching the case from a journalist’s standpoint. Although this is a slow burn, there were some good “oh no” moments, where the sequence of events becomes crystal clear to the reader but remains frustratingly vague for the characters.

Kali White perfectly captures the 1980s world I grew up in, when stranger danger became a difficult conversation between parents and children and it seemed that milk cartons had only been made to display pictures of missing children. John David “Johnny” Gosch disappeared in the early morning of Sunday, September 5, 1982 in West Des Moines, Iowa while delivering newspapers. Eugene Wade “Gene” Martin similarly disappeared the morning of Sunday, August 12, 1986 on his newspaper route and Marc Warren Allen disappeared the evening of Saturday, March 29, 1986 while walking to a friend’s house. All three are still missing and though they disappeared in the same general vicinity, the cases have never been linked.

This is a story about learning to look beyond the surface to see what is really there. It is about listening to children’s stories and seeking the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable to do so or when it leads you to a path you don’t want to travel. It’s a story about “the other”, and how easy it is to blame someone who looks or acts different.

“There is no ‘sinister shadow’. There are no ‘monsters’.
There is only us.”