This book was interesting enough, but highly unbelievable. I wish it had a more solid ending as well instead of being left open like that. The story was good and kept me interested enough to finish. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Gripping mystery set in small town USA. Leaves you with a wonderfully haunting feeling and wishing there was a sequel.

"Sixteen bloodless bodies. Two teenagers. One impossible explanation. In this edge-of-your-seat mystery from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake, the truth is as hard to believe as it is to find.

Summer 1958. A gruesome killer plagues the Midwest, leaving behind a trail of bodies completely drained of blood.

Michael Jensen, an aspiring journalist whose father happens to be the town sheriff, never imagined that the Bloodless Murders would come to his backyard. Not until the night the Carlson family was found murdered in their home. Marie Catherine Hale, a diminutive fifteen-year-old, was discovered at the scene - covered in blood. She is the sole suspect in custody.

Michael didn’t think that he would be part of the investigation, but he is pulled in when Marie decides that he is the only one she will confess to. As Marie recounts her version of the story, it falls to Michael to find the truth: What really happened the night that the Carlsons were killed? And how did one girl wind up in the middle of all these bodies?"

A fantastical In Cold Blood.

In 1958, the Carlson Family is found dead in their farmhouse, drained of blood. They are just the most recent victims of a serial killer who has been moving across the Midwest. However, this incident is different. A girl, Marie Catherine Hale, is found at the scene drenched in blood. How was she involved? Is she the killer? Or is she the partner of the real killer? No one knows, and Marie isn’t sharing her story with anyone. Except Michael Jensen, the sheriff’s son.

All These Bodies is told from the perspective of Michael, the male protagonist of the story. Michael wants to be a journalist when he gets older, but he may have bit off more than he can chew with Marie. The story has some spooky, supernatural elements, but it isn’t the heart of the story. The heart is Michael and Marie’s friendship and relationship as she waits on death row and shares her stories with Michael.

A fast-paced read, readers will stay on the edge of their seat. The ending will leave some readers upset due to the fact not everything is tied up into a nice bow. While some things are wrapped up conclusively, same aspects of the story are wide open to interpretation. Readers will either love it or hate it.

Part mystery, part thriller, part historical fiction, and part fantasy, All These Bodies by Kendare Blake is an enjoyable mixed bag of genres. This novel is the perfect read for the fall! 4.25 stars.

I received a free digital ARC from NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books in exchange for an honest review.

All These Bodies is a fictionalized version of two true crimes. Based partly on victims immortalized in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, it imagines the story of two teenagers caught up in a gruesome rash of mysterious murders. A fifteen-year-old girl is found at the scene of a grizzly crime, and the only person she’ll talk to is the son of the local sheriff. As he takes down her story, he deals with the peculiar explanation she gives him and his own beliefs and feelings.

I hope a lot of people who’ve never read Kendare Blake give this novel a shot. Because her fans likely won’t like it. Her departure from the kind of writing she normally does will be confusing and probably disappointing, but the story is a really masterfully done character piece. In the story, as in life, nobody is just one thing, and that’s true of authors as well.

This YA tale is gritty and real and doesn’t shy away from the fantastical, while still being rooted firmly in reality. Marie is complex in her simplicity and Michael is an honest boy who has trouble seeing beyond what he can touch. Both of them learn much about each other and themselves, and the answers they find and the questions that remain pull them both along in a nonstop, slow-moving collision. It will be impossible to look away.

Thank you to the author from my free copy. These opinions are my own.

As a huge fan of Kendare Blake's THREE DARK CROWNS series, I was thrilled to receive a review copy of this book. This book took so many twists and turns I wasn't expecting and had a really interesting cast of characters that made this book a real page turner. The mystery was so unique and different from other mysteries I've read as I've started getting into the genre and had me dying to get back to it when I had to put it down.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 2.5/5 stars.

I read the author's Three Dark Crowns series, so I was interested when I saw a historical mystery/thriller by her. The idea of investigative journalism and historical fiction (and murder mystery) along with the cover drew me in. BUT as many as my expectations go, it fell flat. Told from the perspective of Michael looking back on the case, it lacks a flowing prose. It reads, as you would expect, as a journalism report, but it's choppy and wasn't entertaining enough to make me WANT to keep reading - I only kept reading out of obligation to finish the book.

The story idea and concept itself was interesting -- bloodless murders -- but I don't think it got resolved. All of the sudden the "suspect" is found and Marie -- the accomplice who Michael was interviewing -- was done for. The whole case and story just had MUCH more potential than what was in the novel. The motive of the murders was also never explained, and the relationship between Marie and the killer was problematic, unnecessary, and not explained. Nothing feels resolved by the end.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this book through NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed "Anna Dressed in Blood" but Blake's other books have been a bit hit or miss for me. This one was okay, but didn't really pull me in. Originally I thought this was a retelling of an actual series of murders, but the whole thing is fabricated (even if it is loosely based on a variety of events that have happened in the past, which Blake addresses in an Afterword) and that makes this story have less impact.

The story is told from a teen boy's perspective as he is tasked with interviewing Marie, the girl who was found covered in blood at the last of the Bloodless Murders. It ends up being a fairly dry story and moves very slowly. Marie's stories push the reader towards believing that these events were paranormal in flavor but nothing is well defined and the reader is left to draw their own conclusions.

It was a short enough story that I went ahead and finished it. However, I found the ending to be fairly disappointing and open ended. Those who follow my reviews know that I generally don't like a lot of open-endedness to my books.

The one bright point here was I enjoyed the Minnesota setting. It's fun to read books set in my home state; there just aren't a lot of books set in Minnesota. I do think Blake did a great job of capturing the shifting moods of a small town and enjoyed that as well.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this one was a bit of a miss for me. It is pretty short and I was curious enough to finish it up. However, it moves slowly and the ending was disappointing. I went into this thinking this was a story about an actual serial killer, but it is all “made up” which gives it less impact. I also thought that the supernatural/paranormal elements felt forced. The characters are pretty hard to engage with as well. I did enjoy the Minnesota setting. This is one I would personally skip.

A tense, true crime inspired, well spun yarn of a YA book, with mild horror and supernatural hints. Blake kept you guessing what would be revealed next, while supplementing the events of the murders with the perceptions and experiences of the protagonist.

This was such an odd book. It takes place in the late 1950's and almost feels like it was written in that time, too. It was pretty cool.

All These Bodies is told by Michael, a local teen that wants to be a journalist. There were a string of murders that ended in a small town in Minnesota. When a family was found dead, there was a young girl there covered in blood. The police knew she couldn't be the person who killed all those people and they want her to give up the man that did it. The DA in Nebraska wants her to go to trial there and face the death penalty. But she says she will only tell her story to Michael in their small town jail. What she tells him is almost impossible to believe. All of the bodies were drained of blood. The blood wasn't found around them, so the papers mentioned Dracula murders. The young girl, Marie, talks about a man who drinks the blood and lives forever. But vampires aren't real. So what really happened?

The pacing was pretty slow, but it was still a really quick read. Don't expect to get full answers to every question you have, but there is sort of an ending? It's hard to explain without giving anything away. I did want more though. I was reminded a bit of In Cold Blood while reading this and the author does mention that book in the notes. The book was loosely based off two different true crimes in the US.

I gave this book 4 stars. Thank you to the publisher for sending me a Netgalley link for review.

Warnings for blood, cuts, hints of sexual abuse, mention of sex, animal death.

I enjoyed reading this book. I thought the characters were well developed and the plot moved at a pace that felt appropriate. I would like to read other books by this author in the future.

I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and were not affected by the free copy.

I wanted to love this book. Kendare Blake is such a good author, and I love murder mysteries. Unfortunately, this book fell so flat for me. It had such an amazing premise: 16 bodies have been found throughout the Midwest, but the police only know one thing: they are found entirely drained of blood. There are no leads and no suspects; then Marie Catherine Howe is found at the scene of the most recent murder, drenched head to toe in blood-none of which is hers.

Thrilling, right?! No. The most thrilling part of the book occurred in the first chapter, with the murder of the Carson family and the discovery of Marie. After that, it was a slow trudge to the end, where we get more questions and no answers.

It had such great potential, but was lacking in most ways. I had no real connection to any of the characters, and only finished it in the hopes it would get better.

Fantastically creepy setup: The entire Midwest is freaked out by a series of murders called the Bloodless Murders because the victims are found fully drained of blood in immaculate crime scenes. When a young woman named Marie Catherine Hale is found drenched in blood in the home of a dead family in a small Minnesota town, she’ll only tell her story to Michael Jensen, the teenage son of the town sheriff.

The late 50s small town setting, gruesome murders, and gradual reveal of Marie’s bizarre story were really interesting, but I found myself frustrated at the end with the unanswered questions.

(3.5 rounded up)

Wow, this book was a quick read for me. I started and finished it all within 24 hours!

I want to start off by qualifying some of my tags. Is 1958 old enough to be considered "historical fiction"? I'm not sure, but I feel like yes! I've also tagged this as "mythical-beings" and "paranormal" because the book discusses and theorizes about vampires, buuuuut the book never really confirms if they're real or not so take those tags with a grain of salt.

All These Bodies is the latest from Kendare Blake, and she kills it (literally). In the summer 1958 a gruesome killer plagues the Midwest, leaving behind a trail of bodies completely drained of blood. The book revolves around Michael Jensen, an aspiring journalist whose father happens to be the town sheriff, and Marie Catherine Hale, a mystery girl found at the scene of the most recent crime.

When Marie decides to only confess to Michael, it falls to him to record and dissect her tale. Boy does she have a crazy, impossible story to tell but the reader is lead down a path of distinguishing the difference between what is "true," what is "correct," and what is a "fact."

Blakes weaves together a fascinatingly gruesome story that is not for the feint of heart. You'll be spooked and bewildered and unable to take your eyes off of the page. In true cold-case fashion, it's up to you to decide what to believe.

They finally find a witness to all the murders who is alive. And she leads them on a trail to connect the dots, but no one can believe the story about the murderer.

Paused this 65% of the way through in favor of something else, it wasn’t holding my attention. But when I restarted it I finished the rest of the book in a sitting. The tension of waiting to find out what happened is very well done, however I would have liked a few more answers by the end.

Kendare Blake did a magnificent job capturing the darkness and gloominess in this story. The author perfectly crafted the right setting and mood, which is something I appreciate deeply (especially in thrillers/suspense/true crime). As soon as you start reading, you’re completely hooked. Truly can’t stress enough how awesome Kendare’s writing is in this novel, so atmospheric, it was really easy for me to picture this whole Midwestern town, or its characters, or anything that was happening.

There’s a lot of mystery in this book, it keeps you questioning and wondering what is truly happening or where the story is going. A series of gruesome murders struck the Midwest, the nature of these crimes is truly brutal and there was no suspect, until one day, a 15 years old girl covered in blood was found in the latest crime scene and she became the number one suspect. This book has twists and turns and did I mention is loosely based on a real story?

I highly recommend it, this will be a great read during spooky season!

(Thanks Netgalley & Publisher for the eARC!)

Being a huge fan of Kendall Blake’s fantasy series, I was intrigued and excited to read this horror/suspense/mystery. “All These Bodies” kept me turning pages and I was drawn in to the well-defined setting and characters, but the interviews became somewhat repetitious after a while. I honestly did like the book, but as I finished it and got a this may become a serious” vibe, I became turned off.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

I have read Blake's Anna Dressed in Blood and if you were a fan of that, this is your next read. Blake mixes horror, gothic noir, mystery/suspense, and delivers it in a format that is both interesting and unique. Add in the fact that it takes place in the 1950s and you are set with a one-of-a-kind book and a story you don't want to miss.

Marie Catherine Hale was found at the scene of the Carlson murders. She was in the middle of the room, drenched in their blood, and utterly alone. She had no scratches on her, no injuries, and all the blood came from the family of Steve and Mr. and Mrs. Carlson. The little baby, Patricia, was in the other corner of the room, safe and crying. No one thinks she could have done it on her own. She couldn't have done any of the other so-called Bloodless Murders by herself either; those victims found completely bled out but with no trace of the blood anywhere. Or any other evidence either: no footprints, no fingerprints, no weapon, no forced entry, no sign of a struggle. Nothing. But Mary Catherine Hale at the last murder site.

So now, she has been taken into custody and the only person she wants to talk to is the clean cut son of the Sheriff, a prospective journalist himself, who finds himself drawn to Marie. She is unlike anyone Micheal has ever met, and as he tells the story to the reader, in a series of chapters and vignettes he eventually mails to the editor of the local paper, he struggles with whether or not she is guilty. She was there all right, and she certainly isn't innocent, but that doesn't mean she deserves to die. Which is exactly what the district attorney is aiming for. As Marie talks to Michael and her story becomes more and more unbelievable, he finds himself even more invested. And, more surprisingly, the stranger the tale, the more he thinks it might be the only answer.

Highly recommend. This is a relatively clean read due to the time period of the story (no vulgar language, etc) and could easily be enjoyed by readers grades 8 and up.

It's 1958 and a local family has just been found dead in their home. Drained of blood and with no signs of a struggle, they are assumed to be the latest victims in a string of what reporters are calling the Bloodless Murders. Only this time, there are two survivors-- the baby and a girl no one has seen before.

Michael Jensen is the sheriff's son. He's an aspiring journalist in his senior year of high school. When he first sees Marie Catherine Hale, dripping in blood after being apprehended at the site of the Carlson family murder, he is instantly intrigued. The two form an unlikely bond. When she's ready to tell her side of the story, she will only relay it to Michael. Seeing it as an opportunity to record the story of a lifetime, he agrees. As her story unfolds, it's up to Michael to sift through the details and find the truth.

This is, admittedly, my first Kendare Blake read, so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was a creepy, twisty story with a seemingly obvious solution that was expertly unfolded. The setting was so well written, I could easily picture the town. It's like a spooked up Hardy Boys novel. It was fast paced and thoroughly engrossing. I would recommend to readers who enjoy a good mystery with supernatural elements and aren't afraid of the dark.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest review.