This was so. dang. GOOD. Deep in your bones good. I would have been perfect for me, but those first few chapters were, as others have noted, very very slow. I nearly chose not to finish it, but I'm glad I did. As with any mystery, the stage must be properly set before the action can start, but for some reason this "stage setting" was like walking through mud for me. Once I got outta that though, goodness did the story take off. I could hardly put it down. As other reviews have said, yes this takes a turn for the supernatural after an initial journey of a traditional mystery. But it felt organic to me - it made sense. I can't say the supernatural element really lended much to the story itself - it was solid even without it - but I understand the driver for it. As a white woman, I can't speak to all the points of race made by the author, and she speaks to them perfectly in her author's note. I can say that the idea of our lead character Liz being the perfect target for the antagonist because she had made herself into a "good" black woman in the eyes of the white majority, and was thereby small enough for him to take up space; that concept will be bouncing in my brain for a while. What is the cost of making yourself small to be accepted by those who oppress you? What kind of space does that open and how will it be occupied? It's chilling and sharp and a perfect theme for a dark story showcasing that the past doesn't always stay in the past.

**Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the eARC**

It’s watching.

Liz Rocher has returned to Johnstown, Pennsylvania to attend her best friend's wedding. On the night of her wedding, Mel's (Melissa) daughter, Caroline has gone missing. All that remains is fabric covered in blood.

As the search begins, Liz remembers her teenage years in Johnstown, when Keisha Woodson, the other black girl in school walked into the woods and never returned. Her body was found with the heart missing but the case went cold. Now, Caroline's daughter is missing. Liz can see the connection - summer night, nighttime, a party in the evening. What is more alarming is that other girls have been taken over the years. All were black girls.

Now Liz is on a quest to find Caroline before it is too late. What is happening to the young girls? What happened to them and why?

This is a book which readers are going to love or feel just so-so about. I loved the beginning of the book. I was drawn in and there were parts that I could not read fast enough. Then I got to the 60-70% mark, and I wasn't quite feeling the love anymore. The writing was still good. But the later part of the book just didn't work as well for me. If I said why, I would be giving away a spoiler. It's a shame as the book has a lot going for it, but then it no longer worked for me. I sat thinking "what did I just read?" I'm good at suspending disbelief but found I struggled with it in this book.

What the author did excel at was creating the tension and uneasy feel of the characters in and near the woods. The I thought-I-saw-something-over-there but upon looking closer there is nothing there- must have been my imagination feel/experience. Adams was adept at creating scenes which will having the hair stand up on the back of your arms. I also must give her props for creativity.

Although my enjoyment went down toward the end of the book, I look forward to what Erin E. Adams writes next.

I love mystery and horror and supernatural thrillers, so when I read some of the 3 and less star reviews on Goodreads, I felt like they wouldn’t pertain to me. A lot of them mentioned a crazy ending and expectations about going into it expecting a mystery that also intertwined the issue of race in a small town and walking away with a supernatural horror. I felt like that would work for me.

I was wrong.

This book was written well in the way that the different POVs and chapters showcased different writing styles, but the pacing of the overall plot was off for me. I think the themes of the book would have been better told in a linear way and without the weird supernatural aspect feeling like it came out of left field. To be fair, an ending like that in Get Out would have been fine, as I didn’t feel blindsided by that for some reason because the way things were “off” in the movie started to lean in a direction of something weird going on. Despite the references to the shadow in the woods, I just felt like the shadow reveal was strange. Maybe if there was found footage or something other than a memory of a shadow and a rhyme from childhood, where we assumed that maybe something supernatural was involved, it would have been easier to imagine as the story progressed. I was waiting for the shadows to be people who had some sort of motivation that might be supernatural and they were, but they weren’t.

Overall, I liked Jackal, but I think it missed something somewhere for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded interesting to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

Erin E Adams's bone-chilling new thriller.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

This book comes out October 4th. This is the first novel by Erin E. Adams.

In this book, we follow Liz Rocher as she returns to her hometown in Pennsylvania. Liz is not exactly excited to return home because she doesn't have good memories of growing up as a black woman in a predominantly white town. Liz returns to Johnstown Pennsylvania for her best friend's wedding but then her friend's daughter goes missing in a forest. Liz ends up uncovering a pattern of young black girls disappearing in this forest. She's the only one that sees this pattern and it's up to her to uncover the history of this town and find out what's in this Forest..

I thought this book was so good at keeping me on the edge of my seat. The plot twists were great. If you like horror and suspense then this is definitely for you. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

I received a digital advance copy of Jackal by Erin E. Adams via NetGalley. Jackal is scheduled for release on October 4, 2022.

When Liz was in high school, she was present at the taking of a black girl in the forest outside her white rust belt town. Liz was injured during the event, but remembers nothing more than a flash of teeth and her best friend leading her out of the woods. Now she is back in town for the wedding of her best friend. At the reception, another black girl is taken while Liz is supposed to be watching. Now Liz is desperately hunting for the young girl and working to remember what she really saw all those years ago. As she searches, Liz uncovers more about the history of her town, one filled with the disappearance of young black girls.

The strength of this novel is the mystery of the woods. There is a myth in the town warning kids that if they hear a strange sound in the woods, they didn’t. They should never look at things that appear in the corner of their eye. They should beware of anyone that calls their name. As a reader, I was full of questions about the origins of this myth and its connection to the disappearances. Was it something supernatural? Was it a serial killer? These questions kept me very invested in the story, as I wanted to understand what was happening.

The last third or so of the book did get a bit bumpy in terms of writing. I found myself a bit confused in places, not quite following what was happening, or how the plot points linked together. But because I was already invested, I was able to hang in there through the end. While I did still have some questions at the end of the novel, the pieces came together enough for me get the gist of the truth of the woods.

As a character, Liz is well developed. We get a sense of her past in the town, and her own lack of understanding of what she experienced. As she learns the truths of her past that she had overlooked, we learn more about her. The characters around Liz were a bit more blurry for me. I didn’t feel that we got to know any of them particularly well, and I would have loved more connection with them.

Overall, Jackal does a great job merging the story of a somewhat mythical wood with the racial conflict of the people around it.

TW: racism, fatphobia, alcoholism, body horror, death of a child, domestic violence, brief mention of sexual assault

What I Liked:
The setting – Erin Adams’s Jackal takes place in Johnstown. It’s a small tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone. It’s safe, where residents don’t feel the need to lock their doors and children play outside unattended. It’s deceptively picturesque because there are also dark corners to this place. The woods are home to whispers and monsters; to hidden truths and mysterious disappearances.
The atmosphere – Adams captures how sniffling this small town ends up being for people like Liz. Her hometown, while comforting to others, represents to her a place with bad memories. It’s a place where she didn’t fit in, a place that underneath its hospitality only ever seemed to tolerate her and her mother. Every moment she spends back in Johnstown feels like she is slowly falling down a rabbit hole.
The tension – I loved how well tension is built in this novel. When Liz first arrives home, there is an unspoken tension between her and her mother. There’s a lot of passive aggressiveness between the two. Liz’s mom can be harsh and Liz can’t quite get herself to be honest with her. When Liz’s goddaughter, Caroline, goes missing, there is an inherent ramping up of tension every day she isn’t found. Though it takes time to manifest, there are also problems between Liz and her best friend Mel, Caroline’s mother. This isn’t just about the circumstances surrounding Caroline’s disappearance, but years of unresolved issues. Mel represents so many white women who are unable to examine the racism in their own family even when it puts her husband, her best friend, and her daughter, all of whom are Black, in danger.
You can’t outrun your past – One of the main themes in Jackal is the protagonist’s inability to outrun her past. She got as far away as she could from Johnstown, but it always seemed to have this pull on her. She’s spent so many years trying to forget the night her classmate Keisha disappeared, but in the end must confront these memories that she’s kept hidden from herself. She often does not want to self-reflect because acknowledging the monster in the room makes it so much more real.
History and urban legend meet – I really loved how Adams intertwines history and legend in her debut. A monster in the woods isn’t necessarily a unique premise but once Liz begins to research other disappearances and town history, everything begins to fall into place and begins to make a disturbing kind of sense. Adams is very deliberate with how she utilizes flashbacks as well, missing girls become more than names and the people they left behind.
Examination of racism in small towns – Caroline’s disappearance and Liz’s discovery of the other Black girls who have gone missing has her reflecting on her childhood in this very white and suburban part of town. As one of the only Black kids at her school, Liz never felt like she belonged. She was never fully embraced even by her best friend’s family, but this friendship and her mother’s class status shielded her from what was truly happening to the Black community in her town. Jackal examines Johnstown’s history of segregation and discrimination; often juxtaposing how and why its white community was allowed to flourish while its Black community was not.

Final Verdict: Erin E. Adams’s Jackal is a riveting horror novel from start to finish about how the monsters that lurk in the dark are not as dangerous as the ones that move about in the light.

I really enjoyed most of this book, but what the hell was that ending??? Literally so much promise and potential & then the last like 15% of the book was just awful imo.

The characters were just alright, I wouldn’t say I felt too attached to any of them. I liked the storyline a lot & like I said, I enjoyed most of the book, but the ending really ruined it for me.

My rating of this book jumped up and down as I read it. Parts were horrifying and mesmerizing. The writing itself was usually beautiful. Then it would devolve into this basic-I’m back in my home town and haven’t accomplished what I wanted to when I left-stuff. Maybe I read too much of that. Those parts made me want to give up. But I came back for those missing girls.

Jackal by Erin E Adams: 3.5 stars
This book is hard to classify. It’s part thriller, part mystery, part horror, part serial killer story, part paranormal. Liz Rocher (“it’s Ro-shay”) is a Black woman returning to her small hometown for her best friend’s wedding. There’s a reason (okay, many reasons) that Liz avoids returning home but one of the biggest is the missing Black girls. Every summer, one girl goes missing in the forest and her body is usually discovered carved open with the heart missing. I feel like this could have been an excellent thriller but the story got lost a little bit with the paranormal elements. The first part is a little slow and parts of Liz’s character feel unexplored (like her ex-fiancée and why they broke up). However, I enjoyed the mystery and the setting. I recommend this book for fans of thrillers, mysteries, and horror novels. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my review.

Well this one was a lot…the mixture of mystery, horror and racism balanced out perfectly in this book. We are following Liz who goes home for her best friend Mel’s wedding. While enjoying the reception, Mel’s daughter Caroline goes missing. Liz realizes that young black girls have been going missing for the last 30 years and if found, they are missing some organs. Some claim it’s a man and a shadow who calls out to the girls, others think it’s something else. Read this as my start to spooky season and it did not disappoint! Thanks NetGalley!

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. So so Good!! Well written, great premise and interesting characters. I love this way the book meshed all kinds of genres into one book. I will be recommending this book. Thanks again for letting have a chance to read it.

I can honestly say I haven't read too much in the genre of "social horror", but I think I need to start reading more. I also can't believe this was a debut novel--it's such a strong debut. At first glance, this is just a standard thriller, but the more you get into it the more twisty and convoluted everything becomes. I also really loved the supernatural elements present in this work, I love me some spooky supernatural thriller so this definitely didn't disappoint! I am looking forward to more from this author after such an amazing debut! I absolutely recommend giving this one a try when it comes out in October.

This social horror novel is brutal and absolutely chilling, and weaves actual history with paranormal elements. It will leave you haunted at the end.

Synopsis: When Liz Rocher comes home to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for her best friend’s wedding, she is reminded of the age-old warning to never go near the woods. Her own traumatic past left her with a scar on her wrist and dark memories that seem just out of her reach. When Liz’s goddaughter Caroline, a biracial girl, goes missing during the wedding, Liz uncovers the fact that she is not the only one. Black girls have been disappearing for decades in Johnstown. Liz must uncover the secrets of Johnstown and her own past to save Caroline from the darkness before it’s too late.

This novel is an unapologetic look into classism and racism, and draws from historical events that occurred in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It confronts the fact that when black girls disappear, those disappearances are often overlooked, under-investigated, or explained away. Through the eyes of Liz and the other black female characters in the book, we see their hopes, dreams, and desires…and how society tells them to contain themselves and to present themselves in a certain way to be accepted. It will make some readers uncomfortable, and that is the whole point. The horror of this novel does have paranormal elements, but it points to a larger gaping wound in our society that we have to truly face in order to heal. I did get a little lost towards the end, but you have to accept the fact that this is a horror novel with elements you can’t explain. That doesn’t detract from the powerful underlying message of this book. Ultimately, it is a gripping and eye-opening read that will appeal to those who enjoy social horrors such as Get Out and Mexican Gothic. Make sure to read the Author’s Note at the end for more background history and her reasons for writing this novel. There are many content/trigger warnings, so please check them below.

CW: violence, racism, child death, body horror, gore, domestic violence, alcohol abuse, eating disorder, animal death, kidnapping, off-page sexual assault/rape, off-page violence against children

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Bantam for this advanced copy.

Just in time for spooky season comes this creepy and compelling novel from debut author Erin E. Adams.

Thriller, mystery, social horror, and the supernatural collide in this genre-defying tale. Liz Rocher is a young Black woman reluctantly returning to her predominately white hometown of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. She hasn’t been home in years, but her best friend is getting married, so here she is. But then the unimaginable happens: the couple’s mixed-race daughter Caroline disappears during the wedding reception, a bloody scrap of her dress the only trace left behind.

Turns out there’s a long line of young Black girls that have gone missing in Johnstown for years. The local police have been indifferent at best, but the families have never stopped believing their girls were the victims of foul play. As Liz races to find Caroline and help the families get justice, she finds herself squarely in the crosshairs of both the police investigation and the evil darkness that lurks in the woods.

Terrifying, heart-pounding, and utterly thought-provoking, Jackal is metaphor, metaphysical, and reality all rolled into one complex tale. The storytelling is exquisite, a well-crafted mystery as well as social commentary on the racism and classism in the Rust Belt. The author’s lived experience in Johnstown breathes life into the complicated and ugly history of this region.

This is an #OwnVoices book not to be missed. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House – Ballantine Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

Liz is reluctantly returning to her home or Johnstown, PA, for her best friend Mel’s wedding, At the wedding, Liz is asked to watch over her goddaughter Caroline while Mel and Garrett take some time alone. While searching for the candles she and the other children have been tossing into the woods, Caroline disappears. Reminded of their classmate in high school that disappeared at a bonfire, Liz searches for clues to Caroline’s disappearance and finds a mythical shadow man and a legacy of missing black girls that stretches back to the year she and Mel were born. Can Liz figure out what is going on in time to save Caroline?

This book was spooky and scary and just downright GOOD. You can almost feel the woods creeping up on you as you read about all of the girls being snatched from them. Adams keeps you in your toes, laying enough clues and red herrings to keep you guessing who is behind all of the disappearances. She also deftly weaves in commentary about small town power dynamics not only between the rich and the poor, but the Justice system that lets people prey upon the marginalized in our society with little to no repercussions.
I highly recommend this book if you like horror and social horror.

Jackal is a story about Liz returning to her hometown and its past and secrets. Liz's best friend was killed in the woods while they were in school. Throughout her life, she has been told to stay away from them. She returns to Johnstown, PA for her best friend's wedding and the suspense goes from there. Jackal kept my interest throughout most of the book though there was some misconnects for me towards the end. I still enjoyed the read and would recommend the book for those who enjoy thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Bantam for this advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this unique tale from Erin E. Adams. This was a really strong debut novel. When you start this book you think it's going to be a very straight forward thriller but trust me it's not. I do feel like some of the reveals are a little muddled and questionable but for the most part I really liked this book. I also liked that fact that it takes place in a small town that isn't too far from where I live.

This suspenseful thriller is perfect for fans of social horror. While it starts off strong, it loses some steam by the ending, but it was still a dark and twisty read.

This is a well done and taut thriller novel with supernatural and horror elements, and I felt that Adams really drew out the various themes in effective ways. I liked the examination of small town rust belt life, and what it is like for Black people, especially Black women, to live in this mostly white and insular town with a lot of dark history. I liked Liz as a main character, and I liked the character study we got of her after her best friend's daughter goes missing, with the spectre of other missing Black girls hanging over the town history. The social horror aspects were very well done, not only in a supernatural sense but also in an all too real sense of Black women being less noticed when they end up missing and dead. I liked seeing the last moments of hte missing girls through flashbacks and interludes, and I liked how Adams shows that it isn't just a kidnapping maniac that Liz and other Black women have to worry about, but also the way that societal and systemic racism makes those around them complicit and guilty.

JACKAL is suspenseful and haunting, and thriller and horror fans should definitely seek it out.