Marie Tierney's 'Deadly Animals' introduces Ava Bonney, a fourteen-year-old with a morbid fascination for death and decomposition. Her secret hobby of studying roadkill takes a chilling turn when she discovers the body of a classmate. Fearing exposure, Ava anonymously alerts the police, but her involvement doesn't end there. As Detective Seth Delahaye takes charge of the investigation, Ava becomes entangled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances plaguing her community. Tierney weaves a suspenseful narrative where Ava's unconventional interests drive her into the heart of a chilling mystery. While the premise intrigues, the execution sometimes falters in balancing Ava's character development with the intensity of the thriller plot. Nevertheless, 'Deadly Animals' offers a unique perspective on teenage curiosity turned into a perilous pursuit of justice.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced copy to review for my honest opinion.

Be forewarned - this is not Nancy Drew or Flavia de Luce. Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney is a mystery unlike anything you've ever read.
Ava Bonney, age 14, has long been fascinated by death and decomposition of the roadkill she finds in the dead of night. She records her observations in her many red notebooks. All is well until, on one of her many nights wandering the streets, she discovers the dead, mutilated body of a classmate. Fearing the police won’t believe her or take her seriously due to her age, she places an anonymous call that puts Detective Seth Delahaye on the case. Over time he comes to respect and trust Ava and her observational and critical thinking skills. The two are challenged by more murders of young boys leading to the conclusion that a child predator is on the loose. This is a classic who done it with a twist and a must read for fans of the genre.

Deadly Animals is one of the most disturbing, yet compelling books I have read in a very long time.

Ava Bonney is a 13 year old girl in 1980s Birmingham, England with a rough home life and a distrust of adults (for good reason mostly). Her closest friend is a local schoolboy named John who accepts her for who she is, a girl with "odd interests," namely, studying the decomposing remains of animals who she finds as roadkill or hunted by other animals. On one of her middle of the night trips for scientific observation, Ava stumbles across the remains of another local boy who had been reported missing. Over the course of the book she gets caught up in the hunt for a serial killer targeting young boys, and has to figure out how to share her knowledge with the police, understanding that adults rarely take kids seriously.

Although the primary characters in this book are teenagers, this book is for adults and also has the perspective of a detective who has been assigned to the case and actually takes Ava seriously without judging her. This book was disturbing in the premise of the serial killer case and how vividly the perpetrator and their acts were described, however I didn't find it disturbing in the sense that I wanted to put it down. It was disturbing in that it was so vividly written that I could really picture just how horrific this would be if it were an actual serial killer and someone really was experiencing these events. If this were a movie it would probably be terrifying. That said, anyone who is squeamish on this subject should be prepared for this going into the book in addition to being prepared for descriptions of animals who have died.

I also enjoyed the dynamic between Ava and John which to a degree reminded me of Harriet and her friend Hely from The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. I thought the other characters were well rounded as well, and I appreciated that this book touched on how police have a tendency focus on one single perpetrator and have blinders toward literally any other option. Unfortunately in real life this isn't usually resolved by a good detective being open minded.

The only drawback to this book is it's made clear who the serial killer is about halfway through which seemed a little too soon. Instead of continued suspense trying to figure out who did it, it's more waiting to see how the characters will put it all together and how will this person ultimately get caught/held accountable.

This book is a fantastic debut and definitely a must read for anyone interested in creepy murder mysteries.

Many thanks to Henry Holt & Co and to NetGalley for this ARC to review. This review is my honest opinion.

Thank you to Henry Holt and Co. and Marie Tierney for this ARC.

I’m going to start this review with a big warning: if you are sensitive to the death of animals or children, this will not be the book for you. This book is extremely graphic and gritty, but I truly loved every sentence.

I still can’t believe this is a debut novel. The plot is fascinating, but the standout is the character development of the incredible 13-year-old child prodigy Ava, who is brilliant and fascinated with bones and science. She only uses dead specimens for her observations, which is the perfect foil for the elusive villain killing young boys in her town. I also thoroughly enjoyed her repertoire with DS Delahaye, and the dual POVs in this book gave an extremely well-balanced plot.

This was a very fast read for me. The short chapters, coupled with the escalation of murders, kept me engaged for the entire novel. I will say that I guessed the culprit at the 60% mark and guessed the twist; however, this did not ruin the novel for me in the least. I loved the reveal, the heart-pounding climax, and even how this novel wrapped up.

Marie Tierney, please, please, please, make this into a series. I need more of Ava, John, and Delahaye. This was such a fun new twist on the crime thriller genre. While morbid and graphic, I was fascinated with every twist and turn. If you are looking for a fast-paced horror novel this fall, definitely try out “Deadly Animals.”

I fear this is common sense, but stay away from this one if you’re sensitive to animal deaths. Outside of that, EVERYONE should read this book. I was disgusted yet completely captivated. All 13 year olds are off kilter, so being inside their minds is a wild ride 100% of the time. Ava was such a clever girl. I wish I had a John at her age. It took me a few tries to get into this one but once I finally did, I couldn’t put it down.

Biting, terrifying, gripping, are all words that perfectly describe deadly animals. As a fan of horror, thrillers, and all things sinister, deadly animals is the perfect mix of terror and excitement needed for a well written thriller. Tierney has an incredible writing voice, and I cannot wait to see what she does next.

Thank you NetGalley, Henry Holt and Co., and Marie Tierney for the eARC of Deadly Animals. Creepy, curious, and a fascinating plot, unfortunately the constant shift in perspective was distracting.

Big thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC of this book. I am leaving an honest review.

Creepy debut from Marie Tierney. The writing is chilling and sometimes grotesquely descriptive (in a good way!). The unusual lead character, with her fascination with the dead and dissection, drew me into the story, and the macabre plot kept me reading. Adding this author to my list to follow!

Marie Tierney's "Deadly Animals" intertwines the innocent curiosity of childhood with the chilling elements of a murder mystery. Despite its intriguing premise, the book fell short of its full potential.

I wasn't disturbed by MC Ava Bonney's obsessive interest in roadkill and decomposition (although I can see why some people might), it was more the pacing of the book. Some parts of the story dragged unnecessarily while others were rushed.

One of my biggest disappointments was the predictability of the mystery. I figured out who the killer was halfway through the book, which took away the suspense and made the story drag on longer than needed. There was a lack of genuine twists that made the latter half of the book feel tedious.

Additionally, some characters felt superfluous, such as Trevor, Ava's mom's boyfriend. While it's clear he meant to serve as a red herring, he lacked any development. I don't think he had any dialogue and was just an annoying background character.

In conclusion, Deadly Animals had the ingredients for a compelling thriller/mystery but ultimately failed to deliver a cohesive and engaging story.

Definitely an interesting plot but I couldn't get into it as much as I hoped.

The writing had an eerie vibe and I love dyhe inclusion of the young girl obsessed with pathology.
I didn't like how the perspectives shifted so much and it was difficult to differentiate at times. Also, the killer was very easy to predict from the beginning.

Thank you to the publisher for a copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co. for the eARC! This book was exceptional and unlike anything I’ve read before! As I was reading it I began to wonder if that was the direction we were heading but was unsure if it could be pulled off. Tierney did an incredible job of building a plot and characters that keep you attached to the page and unable to put it down. I appreciate the plot and the twists provided. I’m excited to read more from this author!

The book immediately captivated my attention from its opening pages. I concur with a fellow reviewer in asserting that it would make for a compelling read during the Halloween season, as there were moments where I found myself questioning the nature of the antagonist - whether they were a mere mortal or a supernatural entity. While I do have a minor critique regarding the length of certain sections, I am eager to explore more works by this author and will certainly be recommending this book to others.

This serves as a prime illustration of my 14-year-old self. At present, I have evolved into a scientist.

This book is an absolute triumph! I loved the turn that the story took despite the fact that it was completely unexpected and a little bizarre. Ava is such a fascinating character and her relationship with Detective Seth Delahaye was pitched perfectly, using the POV of a teenager to tell the story makes the story so much more interesting than if it had been from the POV of Seth all the way through. I really think that Deadly Animals is the most unique thriller I've read this year - it's almost a horror thriller but the bones of it is still a murder mystery/police procedural which is everything I could ask for in a novel.

14 year old Ava has a fascination with death and all things morbid. I really wanted to like this story but it just wasn’t for me.

Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney is a mystery unlike anything I’ve ever read.
Ava Bonney, age 14, has long been fascinated by death, decomposition and all things medically scientific. She records her ‘interests’ in her many red notebooks, oftentimes in the dead of night when she goes searching for roadkill and/or other recently deceased animals.
On one of her many nights wandering the streets, she discovers the mutilated and dead body of a classmate. Fearing the police won’t believe her or take her seriously due to her age, she places an anonymous call to the precinct.
After this young boy’s body is discovered, more murders of young boys take place leading Detective Seth Delahaye to the conclusion that a child predator is on the loose.
Detective Delahaye, with frequent input from Ava whom he has come to respect and trust, hunts for this brutal and ritualistic killer. When the identity and motives of the child killer are revealed, Ava, and all of Birmingham, are shocked and devastated.

I love this book so much. To the very first page to the end it had you very intrigued wanting to know what will happen next.

Loved it and definitely worth reading and sharing! I found this book unique and with some very interesting facts of the anatomy as well as the type of illness one has.

Not going to lie, I was a little surprised with the main character being a teenager - I assumed maybe it would be a better fit for YA? Upon further reading, the darker themes and motifs proved the exact opposite. This one was a slower read for me because some parts were downright creepy, and I'm an avid thriller reader! The writing style and characters made for a strong storyline, but it would have been better suited for a bigger true crime fan with a stronger stomach than I am..some parts felt more gruesome and in tune with a horror genre than suspense. That being said, the fact I responded so strongly just goes to show that Tierny is onto something and will be a writer that we all need to keep an eye out for! Thanks for the ARC!

I really enjoyed the writing in this book. Ava as a character is someone I understand and I liked being inside her head. The themes of the novel felt a little adult for such a young protagonist, but sometimes bad things happen to young people, as this novel excels and showing, and so giving us the story through Ava’s perspective most of the time fit. The metaphors and similes used throughout were unusual in a good way. John even mentions once that Ava is an unusual person and provides vivid descriptions, something that I felt through the narration of the story, even though it wasn’t told in first person. The author does a fantastic job of making that awkward, unique teenage perspective clear.
At one point it felt that there was going to be a supernatural element to the story, but it was done in a way that was well achieved and subtle. A lot of authors go very heavy handed on the supernatural, but this was just sprinkled in enough to be believable. And then when things did start to come together, it was fun to see it all happen. There were hints throughout the book for the savvy reader, but not so much that I spent the whole time feeling like I had it all figured out.

I enjoyed this book. I thought the characters and the narrative structure were very interesting. I would recommend this book to those interested in this genre. I would be interested in reading more from this author.