4.5 Stars

Betty is one of my all-time top reads, so when I saw that Tiffany McDaniel was releasing a new book, I couldn’t contain my excitement. The novel is inspired by the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six, the disappearance of six women—some of whom were struggling with addiction and engaged in sex work—in one part of Ohio over 14 months. It follows Arcade and Daffodil, twin girls attempting to escape a world of poverty and addiction. It’s difficult to join Arc and Daffy as they navigate the harsh realities of the “savage side,” often taking refuge in the “beautiful side” that they can find only in their imaginations.

If you read and loved Betty, let me establish something right away. This novel is not Betty. Yes, as with Betty, it’s chock full of violence (violence to animals, sexual violence against children and adults, physical violence, and many other types of violence). As with Betty, the violence can be shocking, overwhelming, sickening, triggering, shocking. However, On the Savage Side feels a bit like McDaniels is stretching her literary muscles a bit more. The narrative is much more experimental, often edging into poetic. It feels simultaneously hyperrealistic and completely unrealistic, if that makes sense: the grittiness and can’t-look-away violence of these girls’ lives offset by their poetic speaking style and the frequency with which they escape into dream worlds. Taken together, these features make it hard to pin down On the Savage Side, and honestly, I’m not sure I’d want to, even if I could. McDaniels doesn’t just humanize the women often overlooked and dismissed in society, she raises them up to a status greater than human altogether, worthy not only of finally being seen, but of being memorialized.

Set in Chillicothe, Ohio, On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel revolves around twin sisters Arcade ”Arc” and Farren “Daffy” Doggs. Raised by their addict mother Adelyn and their Aunt Clover both of whom are prostitutes, Arc and Daffy spend their time dreaming of a life away from the hell they call home, drawing on the cement floor of their home with markers gifted to them by their maternal grandmother, Mamaw Milkweed. The time the sisters spend with her, listening to her stories full of magic, life lessons and words of wisdom is the only bright spot in their miserable childhood.

Their childhood comes to an abrupt end after their grandmother dies in a tragic accident when they were nine years old. Sexually abused and with no one looking out for them, they are left to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, the darkness of their childhood follows them into their adult lives and what follows is a painful cycle of sexual abuse and prostitution, violence and substance abuse, and ultimately tragedy. The friends they make along the way lead into some beautiful heartfelt moments of friendship and support but with each of them struggling to step out of the darkness in their lives, the friends are unable to keep themselves and one another out of harm’s way. As evil lurks in their community, targeting women like themselves, law enforcement turns a blind eye only compounding the tragedy in the lives of these women who have been profiled, judged and victimized their whole lives.

On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel is a dark, brutal, atmospheric and heartbreaking read. The narrative flits between the past and the present day when Arc and Daffy are twenty years old. The author develops her characters with meticulous detail and weaves their stories together seamlessly. I put down this book multiple times but was unable to stay away from it for too long. Exceptionally well-written, this is a compelling read that will stay with me for a long time. With consistent pacing and a tightly woven plot, featuring Arc and Daffy and their friends Thursday, Nell, Violet and Indigo the author tells an emotionally hard-hitting story inspired by the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six. This is not an easy read but a powerful one.

Many thanks to the author, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for the much-appreciated digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own, The book is due to be released on February 14, 2023.

It will take me a while to fully digest this book, in a way great and complicated books often do. This book depicts a family living on the savage side, plagued by drugs, poverty, prostitution, and loss. But Arc and Daffy lived on the beautiful side in their minds. They dug for treasures the Earth holds and swam the rivers like fish from long ago. They spoke in poetic dreams and shared these poetic dreams with their friends. This book is as beautiful as it is tragic. It left me wishing that all the little girls who live on the savage side have a Mamaw Milkweed to show them to weave in the beautiful side.

This is probably unpopular opinion, but I just did not enjoy this book. I picked it up expecting a murder mystery and thriller as the summary says it was inspired by the unsolved murders of six women in Chillicothe, Ohio. This book is beautifully written, but not my style. It is more of a lyrically written book with poetic undertones.

Six women in Chillicothe, Ohio go missing and are found murdered. On the Savage Side tells the story of twin sisters and alternates storylines between their childhood and their adulthood. All of the women that go missing are known to the sisters. Are they next?

There are many triggers that repeat including pedophilia, violent sex, violence against women and drug use. It just was not an enjoyable read for me. I was hoping for a fast paced page turner and this book is not it.

Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for an advance copy. Overall, I have to say that I did not care for this book very much. While the writing at times was lyrical, much of it felt quite pretentious and repetitive. Where I was expecting a mystery, there really was nothing other than a series of murders. And while I am usually able to read dark mysteries with little issues, this one was even too dark and disturbing for me...to the point where I had to start skipping over sections.

I will say that there were a few interesting twists and I know many readers liked this book but there were so many times that I was tempted to put the book down that I will just have to consider myself the exception.

Tiffany McDaniel has done the nearly impossible, weaving beautiful words together with the most ugly parts of the world we live in. Betty was one of my top books of 2021, so I was excited to see that McDaniel had a new book coming out. While the reading of this book was a much different experience, I once again spent the time marvelling at what a talented writer McDaniel is.

Based on the true story of the Chillicothe six, McDaniel brings so much humanity to those suffering through the most savage side of life. The story is told by Arc Doggs, who lives with her twin sister, mother, and aunt in a home wrecked by heroin addiction. The story flips seamlessly from the time the twins are six into their 21st year, giving only tiny glimmers of hope amidst addiction, poverty, child abuse, sexual abuse, depravity, and neglect. The glimmers of hope during those times are the bonds made between these Chillicothe queens, as they provide each other with the love and family they didn’t get elsewhere.

This book was brutal, and did not hold back. I frequently read very depressing books, yet found parts of this one very hard to stomach. While I appreciate it, I know it will not be for everyone. I could best compare it to the level of suffering in A Little Life. If you're up for the challenge, I highly recommend it!

Thank you, Tiffany McDaniel, NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC of On The Savage Side.

This was an incredibly beautiful yet brutal novel. Not for the faint of heart, it tackles addiction, parental neglect, child abuse, child sexual abuse, prostitution, police brutality, male brutality and the never-ending cycle of poverty and addiction without being gratuitous, sentimental or judgmental. McDaniel gives humanity to the people struggling with the savagery of life in a small Ohio town.
The novel was inspired by the unsolved murders of The Chillicothe Six—six women--mothers, daughters, sisters--who went missing. When the first is found floating dead in the river, it reveals the disturbing truth of a small Ohio town. This harrowing and haunting novel tells the story of twin sisters, Arc and Daffodil, both of whom could be the next victims.
This novel digs deep into its main characters, tracing the course of their lives right from childhood when they still believed, with the help of their incredible grandmother, Mamma Milkweed, that "there are things that not even fire can destroy. And one of these things is the strength of a woman". Also that the savage side of life can always be mended and made beautiful. Later, even when the grim reality of living with an addicted mother, gradually chips away at their hopes and dreams, McDaniel's breathtaking, lyrical prose gives humanity to these women who fight to hold onto something magical amidst the brutality. Most often this comes in the form of friendships with sister sufferers or from their deep connection to the the land and water around them. These are damaged and bruised women whose imagination and creativity is never crushed.
This is the kind of novel that burrows deep into your soul and haunts you, written, I believe, by one of the most talented writers around today.

'Probable cause of death: Being a woman.'

4.5*

Bleak, harrowing and so beautifully written.

On the Savage Side was a tough read, but a wonderful one. Based on a true story, this book details cycles of drug abuse, child abuse and neglect, sex work, poverty and despair as told by our narrator, Arc Doggs.

This is the first book I've read by Tiffany McDaniel, and I'm already itching to get my hands on more of their work - the prose was lyrical and thoughtful and evoked so many emotions in me. Sadness, anger, disgust and hope to name a few. Rarely have I highlighted so many passages in a book!

I couldn't recommend this book highly enough, but make sure to check the trigger warnings before reading (there are a lot).

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

Tiffany McDaniel's third novel, which centers around the true crime of the Chillicothe Six, was my most anticipated 2023 release. While I can't say it was a 5 star read for me, it does get a lot of things right.

I want to first say that this book is not a true crime novel or a thriller, this book is not Betty, and this book is not for everyone. Betty came with every trigger warning under the sun, and On the Savage Side does as well. It's dirty. It's gritty. It's disturbing. But that's sort of the point. In this novel, McDaniel explores the titular "savage side" of ourselves and life itself. In what I'm coming to recognize as McDaniel's unique lyrical prose, she explores the reality of addiction in the foothills of southern Ohio and the ways in which it has ravaged both people and place. Chillicothe, Ohio is an area I'm quite familiar with, and for me McDaniel totally hit the nail on the head in making this city authentically come alive.

Like Betty, this novel presents a distinctly feminist point of view. McDaniel doesn't hold back in her examination of women as essential yet expendable. She creates a beautiful and unbreakable bond between these "Chillicothe Queens." I also enjoyed the generational aspect as we see so much duality between Arc and Daffy alongside their mother and aunt. Duality is the overwhelming theme of the novel, to the point where for me, personally, it was a bit overwrought at times, but you can't fault McDaniel for putting it all on the table and working overtime to make us see that the beautiful and savage are one in the same.

On the Savage Side reminded me of some of my most favorite difficult reads centered around addiction, place, and family, namely Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell, Ghosting by Kirby Gann, and the works of fellow Ohioan Donald Ray Pollack. McDaniel continues to be an author I have my eye on, and I look forward to whatever comes next.

This book was a very hard read for me. It’s very dark and there are so many triggers. Please be aware before you dive into it. That said, this book was so beautiful! Arc and her twin sister go through so much! I just wanted to hug them and make it all better! The way the girls handled their traumas and abuse was just so beautiful, yet sad.

It did take me awhile to read this because of the themes. The author did a very good job writing this. I will think about this story for a very long time. I really want to read more from them. I didn’t see the twist in the book, and the ending was beautiful.

“The thing about saving someone in the flood is that you have to get in the water, too. Sometimes you don't get back out.”

This book is dark, it’s disturbing, it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s a story of identical twin sisters growing up in poverty, addiction and prostitution. The writing is beautiful. It’s raw and emotionally draining, with all the possible trigger warnings.

I loved Betty so much that I couldn’t wait to read this one. And I have to say Tiffany McDaniels did it again!

“Lives lost to addiction are not always because the victim was the addict. Sometimes you die because the person you love is one.”

Thank you Netgalley for the arc.

On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel is a detailed character study of women who end up being murdered by a serial killer. She doesn't focus on the killer, but rather the lives that these women led up to that fateful moment.. We follow Arc (short for Arcade) through moments in her childhood to when she is an adult, addicted to heroin and selling herself to fund her addiction. She has an incredibly difficult life. TW for so many things but especially sexual assault on a child. These characters felt authentic, like they were real people. The message is that these women deserved to be mourned, not murdered. I loved this story and would highly recommend to people who like in-depth character studies or if you enjoyed Betty. (her previous book.) There was a perspective from the river which felt gimmicky and unnecessary but all in all, an excellent book. 4 stars!

This was one of the most gut-wrenching, beautifully written, and grittiest books I've ever read in my life. Not only is this a top contender of one of my favorite reads for the year, but has a solid place on my bookshelf of favorite stories I've ever read. I loved Tiffany McDaniel's storytelling, prose, and I couldn't believe how sad and unsettling this one was. Not only do I love this one, but it made me immediately purchase Betty as well!

I feel inadequate in my attempt to review this novel, another devastating story from Tiffany McDaniel, a twist on the true story of the Chillicothe Six, women found dead in the river near Chillicothe Ohio.

Arcade and Daffodil, or Arc and Daffy as they are referred to primarily in this book, are twin sisters in Chillicothe, young women struggling to escape generational trauma and addiction, down trodden by life and their circumstances. The story is told from Arc's point of view, as she and Daffy come of age in the small town under the shadow of the paper mill. This book seems like it'll be a crime drama, but in the end its a study in how the evils perpetuate a system of addiction and prostitution and regret.

Each woman who is found in the river is known to Arc and Daffy, and the book alternates timelines from when they are young through to when they are in their early 20s. As each woman is discovered in the river, the book grows more and more tense, as Arc begins to suspect everyone around her as being The River Man as the killer becomes known.

That said, this book is not about the killer. It's about the struggle against those things that keep women looked down upon by society, keeping them on the fringes and desperate, including addiction, sexual abuse, and poverty. This is not a book that will leave you feeling happy and hopeful, on each page it delivers a brutal truth that is difficult to look past. I found the writing to be both lyrical and also raw, and emotionally draining.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, and NetGalley for the electronic ARC for review.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the copy of On The Savage Side. If I had researched the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six I probably would have passed on this book because country life, drugs and sex are not enjoyable to read about for me. The writing was strangely ornate and flowery so it was hard to get engaged with it. The first part of the book was all background on the twins and their family, and it went on too long. I kept waiting for something to actually happen. I did like the ending because it was a surprise, but this book just wasn’t for me.

Not for the faint of heart, On the Savage Side, Tiffany McDaniel’s upcoming book is affecting and important.

Loosely based on the Chillicothe Six, an unsolved case of missing and murdered women in Chillicothe, Ohio, this book is narrated by Arcade Doggs, who goes by Arc. Arc and her twin sister Daffodil (Daffy) spend their earliest years with their grandmother who gives them all the love they need that their parents can’t give them because of poverty and addiction. When Adelyn and Flood Doggs convince Mamaw that they are sober and ready to show their daughters a wonderful life, the girls go to live with them. But addiction is a mean thing. It is not long before the girls are being raised in an environment of sadness, addiction and sex work. A police officer who comes to the house at one point makes a comment on his way out to his partner that in a few years they will be returning to arrest these young girls for the same things their parents have been doing. Talk about being set up for failure…

The story moves between time periods and focusses its lens on the girls. When we come back to see the young women in early adulthood, they are living the same tragic life that their mother and their aunt live. Going to the river with their friends is a past time, sitting in an old half buried car, getting high. The women call themselves the Chillicothe Queens. Each of the women in this story have a very distinctive character and we see their most human side. They deal with bad johns, family, children and pregnancy in addition to having hope, creativity and strength of character.

When a woman is found floating in the river, a new era in this small Appalachian town has begun. Soon one of the group disappears and turns up in the river and the group fears for their safety from the River Man. Reports to police are not taken seriously. Police comment on the risky lifestyles that the women lead as reasons to not assume they are missing.

This is not a whodunit, although there will be many suspects. This story is to show that the women who have gone missing or found murdered were human beings. They were mothers, sisters, and daughters.

I would recommend this book for people that understand hurt, enjoy Appalachian stories, true crime stories, detailed characters, great writing, and have good self-care practices as this one could be triggering for many.

Thank you to @netgalley and @aaknopf for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. On the Savage Side comes out February 14, 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc of On the Savage Side in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

There has been a lot of hype about this novel so I was so excited to get an early release.

This story is based on the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six and focuses on two sisters, Arcade & Daffodil who could potentially be the next victims.

The story focuses on the lives of the sisters from adolescence into adulthood and all the demons that they must face. Abuse, alcohol, women they were friends with being murdered, the feelings that invokes.

This was a very trippy story, but told very well.

It was not what I expected going in, but was still a great read.

I gave it 3.5 stars and would recommend giving it a read.

barely know how to describe this book. I didn’t want to put it down but had to. I could read the lyrical writing forever and not for another minute because of what it was describing. A searing look at being a woman in this world, and at addiction and abuse and violence…and cutting holes in all of those terrible things to let the light in and grasp at life in the face of a deeply disturbing present. A masterful tangled web. Harrowing, heavy, and powerful read

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

My introduction to the Chillicothe 6 came through a news article I read at work in Charleston, WV. A sex worker had killed a man who tried to strangle her; when police arrived they found duct tape, tarps, shovels, etc. in his trunk. And speculation began that perhaps he was responsible for some of these Ohio murders. I read about each woman. They all reminded me of people I had met or heard about through my work. When the opportunity for to read this book came along, I started immediately.

I thought I was ready. I thought I knew the stories. But I was unprepared for McDaniel’s beautiful, heartbreaking prose. Reading from the river’s perspective was an unexpected gift and comfort in an absolutely brutal book. Every time I felt some hope, it was taken away. But even so, the characters didn’t lose that tiny spark.

You might ask how could all these terrible things happen to one family? I don’t know why, but I do know it happens. It’s not far fetched.

The women in this book, even the ones I felt incredible anger toward, were strong, creative, artistic…they had dreams. They were victims. They buried things among the stars.

The title of the book and its meaning will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to Knopf and Netgalley for the arc.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Knopf for an advance readers copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. This book just completely blew me away! It was a solid 4.5/5 stars from me. The editors note at the start lets us know that the book is intended to be read twice, as it’s likely we’ll miss important clues in this story in the first read through. It’s ultimately the story of unsolved murder cases in a small town in Ohio and we’re lead through the story by two sisters, from their brutal childhood to adulthood. I do want to note upfront that there is some heavy content in this book and some tough scenes to read, I’d definitely recommend looking at the content warnings before picking this up.

That being said, this author really sheds light on the reality of addiction, especially as it exists within familial cycles, and she certainly does not sugarcoat anything. However, one element of this book I really enjoyed was the imagination that she gave the characters; there were so many fantastical wonderful stories told by the narrator especially and that were intertwined in the narrative, as they tried to imagine themselves on the more beautiful side of life, instead of their own “savage” one. I found this juxtaposition to be both beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time and very much appreciated the craft.

Overall, this story and its ending is one that will stay with me for a long time to come. This book is a beautiful tribute to the unsolved murder cases of the Chillicothe Six and a reminder that behind the headlines and news stories are actual women and people with hopes, dreams, and stories just like the rest of us. It’s a reminder that these women matter. While I would definitely recommend exercising caution, I would also highly recommend this book.