This is one of those books where the first thing I thought upon finishing was “WTF did I just read? I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t have any idea of where this was going lol And the more that was solved, the more I knew I had to read Power’s backlist lol

OK so without me giving anything away, let me just say, DON’T TRUST ANYONE. Literally everyone is lying lol The mystery in this one was crazy. Suddenly her friend showed up again back in town after a year. And after she’s been killed. But the kicker is, Nan knew something was off because she’s the one who originally killed them .

The mystery or thriller was not exactly scary tho, And I think it was because of how it was written. They tell you immediately what she did and the way things continue to happen makes you only think of the one person who showed back up again. It didn’t start getting good again until it was like about to be over when all the secrets start coming out. But that ish always annoys me. Why do that when you’re about to end the book? Because that’s literally what happened. It was a bit annoying.

I just wish this had MORE. More creep factor because people were talking about scary this was and I thought it was something wrong with me. I thought I missed something lol I also thought there should have been more about the other characters? She was so well developed, but no one else was. And like more red herrings. This one hardly had any, but it was because we knew everything before the end, I caught every thing before the book told me and that was annoying.

This one was fun, but not what I was expecting. i thought this one was going to have me calling my momma and telling her it was incredible, Unfortunately it was not that and I am so disappointed. Apparently this author is so good that they’re people’s favorites, so I feel a little bad. Hopefully this is the only misstep for me and I’ll like the others more.

Last summer, Luce, Edie, Jane, and Nan took a boat out for one final swim in the river. Nan was the only one to return from the trip, and for a year, she continually told the others that they had gone ahead, and she lost track of them. This summer at their memorial, Luce climbs out of the water. The entire town of Saltcedar is shocked, but Nan most of all. Because she had killed Luce as well as Edie and Jane.

The entire book is a trip. There are chapters in the current timeline as well as leading up to the summer before the girls went out together. Nan had kept a control over the narrative, her parents emotionally supporting her even when she kept secrets from them. Her memories waver when Luce arrives, when the new sheriff begins to search for Edie and Jane. We learn about the relationships between the girls, with the adults in their lives, and see the cracks where Nan deliberately chose to keep to the narrative in her mind. It rapidly comes together at the end, and it's a twisty one. It is a tight, claustrophobic story with messy emotions and needs, all the way to the very end.

This book hooked me from the beginning! Edge of my seat the whole way! Humans are creatures that I just don't understand sometimes! I would highly recommend this book!

5 star

This one had me on the edge of my seat. I needed to find out what happened. It's dark, weird, and unsettling in the best sort of way. That final twist I did not see coming. A pretty perfect YA thriller.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy to form opinions from.

A missing Utah teen resurfaces to the surprise of her murderer. It’s been a year since Nan Carver’s best friends—Edie, Jane, and Luce—vanished during a moonlit trip into Saltcedar Canyon. Nan, who claims to have murdered her three best friends. As I gradually learn what happened a year ago in a series of flashbacks, I watch Nan deal with everything that is thrown at her and can only wonder at her detachment from reality. Nan knows the truth; though she told everyone she stayed with the boat while the girls went hiking, she actually accompanied them to a secret, fathomless swimming hole, where she bashed in Luce’s head before drowning Jane and Edie. Nan is attending a lakeside vigil on the anniversary of the alleged disappearance when boaters find Luce floating in the water, alive but with no recollection of what happened or where she’s been. A panicked Nan struggles to appear supportive of Luce and the newly reopened police investigation while scrambling to obscure the facts. Will Nan be successful in keeping her secrets secret? Will Luce remember what happened?

The author unfolds via Nan’s increasingly troubled—and troubling—first-person-present narration, and flashbacks provide context and offer clues surrounding the event. The examination of how trauma and desire can reshape a young mind. The author refuses to simplify her protagonist’s journey, instead creating a character study that’s as disturbing as it is compelling. By the time I reached the book’s devastating conclusion, I realize that the author has been laying traps throughout the narrative – subtle clues and misdirections that culminates in a twisted ending.

I was hooked from the beginning!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

Dark and disturbing, just like how I like my Rory Power books. She doesn't disappoint with this one either again with the creepy psychological messes that she foists upon readers.

Girls are dead. There is an insinuation that the surviving girl might have secrets. There are adults that do bad things. Adults that want to know the answers. There's mysterious findings and of course, one girl survives who shouldn't/couldn't be alive... yet is.

Some of the conclusions and understanding are cliche toward the end, but it doesn't diminish the perfectly plotted, well-timed reveal of information to screw with a reader's understanding of Nan. Even though this one just hit shelves I'm ready for the next thriller.

[arc review]
Thank you to Penguin Teen Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Kill Creatures releases June 3, 2025

2.75

Nan killed three of her best friends — or so she thought. A year later at their vigil, one of them surfaces from the lake, alive.
What really happened in the canyon last summer? And where has Luce been hiding for the past year?

This is a very straightforward and bingeable read that focuses on infidelity, revenge, and the disillusionment of teen friendship.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the eARC.

Ooh, this book was FUN. I really enjoyed the story and how Rory Power kept the reader hooked the entire time.

I really loved this premise of knowing that the main character killed her friends but not knowing why. Really added to the suspense of what was going on and wanting to know the motives for her actions. However, it felt like the ending wasn’t really planned out and some of the story concepts and plot wasn’t fully developed. Some of the reading felt clunky and juvenile (I know she’s a teenager…but still). What I liked most about the story was that it was written in a way that made me want to keep going. I wanted to know what was going on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for an eArc of this book. All opinions are my own.


It’s been awhile since I’ve read a Rory Power book and she did not disappoint. Nan lost her three friends last summer and on the anniversary, the whole town is shocked to find one of them alive. Especially Nan, because she killed them. As Nan tries to find out where she’s been this whole time, she finds answers to questions she didn’t even know she had.

This was a pleasant surprise! This was a fast paced YA mystery/thriller. Before I even had a chance to speculate, everything was laid out. I enjoyed Nan as a character, bordering on an unreliable narrator. The story presents as a thriller, but the reveal in the end had a more profound explanation/message. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast-paced YA thriller. A quick good time between your epic fantasies. I may go back and read some of other Powers’ more recent stories and will continue to pick up her books.

how in the world does rory power come up with these crazy ideas
like what in the actual world? it's kind of concerning!
so fun and quick to read, but makes me rethink humans LOL

Kill Creatures by Rory Power is a gripping young adult thriller that introduces a captivating antihero and a cast of fierce teenage girls. From the very first page, I was drawn into a world filled with tension and intrigue, culminating in an emotional twist that left a lasting impact. This novel masterfully blends suspense with complex character dynamics, making it a must-read for fans of the genre.

1 Sentence Summary: A year after Nan’s three best friends disappeared into Saltcedar canyon, one of the missing girls returns, miraculously alive, which shouldn’t be possible—after all, Nan is the one who killed them.

My Thoughts: OH. MY. GOODNESS. I don’t even know what I just read! This was soooo good and unsettling in the best way. It had such an eerie atmosphere and was very well written.

The characters were really well developed and everyone was so unhinged and insane. I loved the setting of Saltcedar, and I loved how the narrative went back and forth between past and present.

I read this whole book in one sitting because I could NOT put it down. So twisty and suspenseful and creepy and unreliable. And that ending?!?!?!

Recommend to: People who enjoy YA psychological thrillers.

(Warnings: swearing; mentioned infidelity; blood/violence; death)

Hold your friends close and your enemies closer. Kill Creatures written by Rory Power was bone chilling creepy. This book was so captivating, it had my attention captured throughout the entire book even though some parts dragged a little bit and was often repeitive, hence the four star rating. I have never read a book by this author before, but damn she gave me full body chills with this book, I will definitely have to check out her other books in the future. As many of you know by now, I'm such a sucker for those stunning covers, so of course I knew I had to get my hands on this book because just take a minute and admire that stunning cover. Kill Creatures reminded me of that case where that one girl stabbed and tried to kill her two best friends to prove that Slenderman was real. This book literally scared me to the bones, I can't even imagine being murdered by my best friend or by someone who I thought was my real friend. This is the type of book that will make you sit down and think about the people you surround yourself with or the people who you thought were your friends, but then you think damn that person is so two faced. I can't recommend Kill Creatures enough, if you are looking for a gory thriller, then look no further than Kill Creatures written by Rory Power and make sure it's on your thrilling thrillers list. This book does deal with super heavy topics, so please be mindful and check the trigger warning's before picking this one up, they will also be listed down below in my review, so be sure to check them out before you decide to pick up this gory book.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN'S FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!

TRIGGER WARNING'S
Descriptions of Physical Violence and Murder
Animal Cruelty (animals involved are NOT pets, the incidents are imagined or references rather than depictions)
Drowning
Gore/Blood
References to Underage Drinking
Implied Alcoholism in a Parent
References to Prolonged Captivity
Infidelity
Distortion and Manipulation of Memory/Perception

"My girls are the light off the water. They are heaven and high summer, they are clasped hands in the dark, and I will take whatever I can get".

"Choosing a bathing suit is an art".

"No day at the canyon will ever be as perfect as the day my best friends died".

Nan Carver is a wicked bitch and a master manipulator. Nan is a girl whose biggest fear is not losing the people she loves, but getting them back. Last summer, Nan killed her three best friends in Saltcedar Canyon- their favorite swimming hole. Nan has one truth and one truth only that she told the police, they set off on a boat ride one last time before the summer ends, only for Nan to be the only one that returned alive. The girls set off with no mooring rope and no anchor, so someone had to stay behind on the boat so it didn't disappear, only Nan never did, she went into the swimming hole to murder her three best friends. After murdering her best friends, Nan has this voice in her head telling her "somebody knows, somebody knows, somebody knows what you did". After the murder of her three best friends, Nan kept a box of treasures from that night- gold hoop earrings from Jane, silver stud earrings from Edie, but kept nothing from Luce, hmm why could that be? I didn't like Nan one bit, she was so rude, a wicked bitch, a mean girl, and a master manipulator. I find joy in rooting for characters, but I could never find myself rooting for Nan at all, I mean after all she did kill her friends and she deserves to be locked up for life. Kill Creatures is a book about secrets, revenge, jealousy, and murder. Nan, I hope you rot like a bad apple behind bars, you are completely sick and twisted in the head.

Luce Allard, Jane Bristow, and Edie Gale are three sixteen year olds that are murdered the summer before their junior year of high school. Edie, Jane, and Luce are best friends and Nan's favorite people in the world, so why did she murder them? The three girls wandered into the dark and let Saltcedar Canyon swallow them whole. During the time they were murdered, the townfolks wear t-shirts saying BRING THEM HOME with the girls faces right in the middle of the t-shirt. Luce was murdered after a rock rocked her skull, and Edie and Jane were lured into the current to drown in Devil's Eye which was their favorite swimming place. On their final summer day on the lake, these four girls had a huge fight, because Edie thinks Nan is a fourth wheel and she's obsessed with Edie, Jane, and Luce, but no one apologized for the fight and or the words they said to Nan, so she just kills them before the end of summer. Nan also had a crush on Edie, but Edie had feelings for Luce, so maybe Nan felt jealous? But still, that's not a valid reason to kill your friends. During their one year memorial anniversary on the river, Luce returns alive, but doesn't remember anything, or she's just playing stupid so Nan can talk and say what actually happened. During the memorial anniversary, Nan is wearing the same outfit she wore the night the girls were murdered- cutoff shorts, sandals, and one of her dad's old button-ups shirt hanging open over her bathing suit. Please read this book to see how this story goes and what happens after Luce returns alive and finally get the answers as to why Nan murdered her friends that she so dearly loved. My heart goes out to these young girls and their families.

In this story, we are following our MC, Nan. She is an unreliable narrator and not someone I liked, but I don't think you're meant to, as she lets us know from the beginning that she killed her friends. When Luce returns after a year missing.. dead actually. At least as far as Nan knew, everything got completely flipped. Nan is scrambling and trying to figure out what, if anything, Luce remembers. The story alternates between the past, where we follow the buildup to the events that led to the three girls' deaths, which brings a whole new element to the story, and the present, focusing on the events that unfold after Luce returns. There are plenty of twists and turns, especially at the end, that were surprising, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I've loved Rory's other YA books in the past so I was super excited to read this one, unfortunately, this one was a miss for me. I could only make it through 15% of this book and I had to force myself to even read that much. I hated Nan as a main character and just couldn't stand being in her head which is what ultimately made me not want to continue with this one. I will likely give the author another try as I liked their other books but this one was not something I enjoyed.

3 out of 5 stars.

Nan is attending a memorial for her three best friends, Luce, Edie, and Jane, who disappeared a year prior. The story went: Nan stayed behind on the boat to keep it from drifting since they didn't have a mooring rope or an anchor, while the others went to a canyon.

But when Luce seemingly walks out of the water, the whole town is abuzz. Nan didn't get to see her close up, and is certain that it is a prank because, well, Nan murdered them.

Luce claims not to know where she's been for the last year, but as time passes, Nan begins to doubt this is the case.

When her mementos from Jane and Edie - two pairs of earrings - turn up, Nan knows that someone knows. She's almost certain it's Luce, but Sheriff Marsden seems to suspect something is amiss. Is it just Nan being paranoid?

As the story unravels, Nan realizes she may not know the whole tale herself.

It was a good read. I do, however, have some complaints, but I feel like if I air them here, they will give too many spoilers. I will say, character development could have been a little better, and the ending could have been a little less tricky.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Kill Creatures follows teen Nan, whose three best friends disappeared last year (because she killed them), in the wake of her friend Luce's inexplicable return.

Rory Power always manages to grab and keep my attention, and Kill Creatures was no exception. I didn't really read the synopsis before going into this book, so I was gagged from the second Nan made it clear that she was the one who killed her three friends. The story was an absolute whirlwind from there, with twists I did and didn't see coming, and an air of supernatural mystery that was absolutely just delicious. Reading from Nan's perspective was such a treat, since her unreliable narration was still built on her confident belief in the series of events she initially laid out for us. It made the twisty reveals all the more shocking and interesting, and by the end I found myself already craving a reread so I could go back and spot the clues I missed the first time.

In all, this was a really solid, twisty YA thriller that I think is the perfect summer pick for anyone looking for a quick and engaging read.

Nan's three best friends died last summer, so when one shows up at a memorial for them all, she's stunned...because she was the one who killed them.
We alternate between past and present: last summer when Nan and her best friends had a falling out that led to their deaths, and the present as Nan and everyone in her town try to figure out what really happened that day. Nan's an unreliable narrator, and she has tricked herself into believing a version of reality that isn't quite what really happened. We get bits and pieces from her but also from the events happening around her, which should lead to some mystery and thrills but unfortunately, it was all very painfully obvious. Maybe I just had really high hopes for this because I really loved and was pulled into Powers' other books, but this just didn't grab me like I wanted it to. It had all the right ingredients: unreliable teenage girl narrator, mean girl cliques to navigate, a scenic town, a great sheriff who gave the whole thing Deputy Solverson from Fargo season 1 vibes. It was good, just not great like I expected.