All These Bodies is a very well done YA mystery about a serial killer roaming the mid west. Their signature, no blood left in the bodies, yet none at the crime scene. We follow our main character Michael as he navigates his sudden involvement with our main suspect and the repercussions of that involvement. This book is set in the late 1950's, and that was one of my favorite parts. You would almost forget it wasn't set in present day and then one of the teenagers would speak and there would be a "yes, sir". That subtlety was woven throughout every part of this book and it all seamed up very nicely. I also found the ending very satisfying. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in mystery novels as well anyone with an interest in speculative fiction and magical realism. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars.

This book is the perfect creepy read for September. I loved Michael and I loved Marie and I loved watching the story unfold. The synopsis is so creepy and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Kendare Blake has such a knack for writing creepy characters in creepy settings- and this book was no exception. It did not disappoint. It’s a story you will definitely want to sink your teeth into.

<em>All These Bodies</em> does really well the same thing all great mysteries do well - it leaves you guessing.

Michael Jensen, the Sheriff's son, has always wanted to be a journalist and when a murder that ties in to a huge killing spree that shakes the country, he can't believe that he is assigned to interview Marie Hale, the girl found at the latest crime scene.

But who is Marie? Is she the victim? Is she the killer? Or is it something darker and scarier that can be imagined?

>Blake does an amazing job of slowly slowly turning the knife as every new lead raises more questions than it answers. I love how mysterious Marie is - her personality and what she says and does not say, truly reminds me of some of those terribly frightening interviews you've seen on some of the country's big serial killers. What is to be believed? What has been embellished? Are they to be trusted?

I found myself having a hard time believing Marie. Is Michael being tricked? The answer?

I don't know. I love that. I love how the story fades in and out with the truth and the reader is left to be strung along. It's not just about this killing, but about all fo the killings. It's not just about her guilt or her innocence. Who is she really?

One thing is for sure - the ambiguity of our main suspect is really what drew me in and kept me there through this book.
I also love love love the setting. In 1958, there were no cell phones. There were eye witnesses and town gossip and a fear that was so gripping, the country was wrapped up in finding who had committed these murders. The story and writing took me back to that time where there were no digital distractions, like texting. But also no digital help, like Wikipedia. That made the story so raw and terrible, so terrifying that this family could have been murdered in their farm house, with no struggle.

>The book has stayed with me for days. I've double checked the locks on my house numerous times. I might adopt some dogs.</p>
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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.

A young journalist is intrigued by a teen girl who is found amid a murder scene covered in blood that isn't hers and is determined to find out the real story behind the crimes.

Michael, son of the local sheriff, is pulled into the Carlson family murders - the family slaughtered, but no blood found in them. Instead, there is blood all over 15-year-old Marie Catherine Hale. Befriending the girl, Michael starts to care for her, and starts to want to help her - and Marie says she will only tell the story of the murder spree she was a part of to Michael. But the story she tells is outlandish and involves someone drinking blood. Is she a deadly murderess telling him a tale or is she telling the truth?

Based on two real murder cases - less vampire-y though - this is a good blend of true crime and horror, with two characters that pull you into the story and don't let go until the end.

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)

I LOVED this supernatural thriller. It was sinister and goory and you were never sure how it would end. BUT THE ENDING was AMAZING. I’m also happy with Michael changing through the story as he became closer and closer with Marie. I think the best part was the suspense (which had you at the edge of your seat anticipating how everything would end) and the setting (which was a cold 50s town). Although the story leaves you with unanswered questions I do think that’s one of its best and spookiest elements.

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.