What a strange and enticing thriller! When one of Nan's best friends comes back from the dead, she can't be quite sure how. After all, Nan killed her. Was it something supernatural? Is Nan mistaken? Is it really her best friend? As the police zero in and clues are left behind, Nan struggles to keep up all her lies.

Told anachronistically between 'Now' and 'Then', we see both the aftermath of Luce's murder and how Nan decided to become a killer. There's plenty of small town intrigue, dark family secrets, and a setting that makes for an eerie backdrop.

I enjoyed this--I don't typically read thrillers or mysteries, but this one had me going and questioning just what the heck happened all throughout each chapter.

Being a teenager, in a small town focused on summer renters, can be so challenging.
Nan kinda lost her mind last summer - her chill group of girl friends crumbled apart. Because she killed them.
Luce kindly returns - to remind Nan what really happened that summer.
A harsh look at teenagers, self loathing and psychopathic tendencies.
Excellent summer read!

Auto Buy Author Rory Power strikes again! This was so weird and creepy and gay, it felt like I was watching a 90s summer slasher. 10/10 would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

I fell in love with reading again starting with Rory Powers’s Wilder Girls back in 2022. I loved the story and became super invested. It marked the beginning of my journey starting to read more frequently. Hearing about this book I was beyond excited.

The cover is super eye catching and I love a good mystery. While Wilder Girls relied on heavy fantasy/ body horror themes this book was very much a contemporary mystery. It is rather short and felt a little rushed for me in some places. Especially the ending. We didn’t get a lot of look into Edie, Jane, and Luce as a unit. We are thrown into the story with their disappearances. This also alternates back and forth between current day and a year before when the girls went missing. Our MC Nan is said to be best friends with the three girls and also the one who killed them a year before. She is very much an unreliable narrator and I loved seeing her story unravel.

All of our characters here are very suspicious and while we think we know the story, the reveal is very well done while also being very cut and dry. While this book was a little more straightforward, I did enjoy the twist and writing for it. Rory’s writing always sucks me in so I was so happy I got to read this a little early.

Kill Creatures is a gripping and fast-paced wild ride that will have you pulled in by the very first chapter. From the moment the news of this new Rory Power novel was released, I just knew I had to read it after enjoying her previous novels in the past.

Lately, I haven’t been wanting to pick up many YA novels, but after reading the synopsis for this specific book, I knew I would love it, and I am so glad I did. Rory Power’s writing had you feeling Nan’s pain and loss from the get-go.

The two timelines (present and past) pull you further into this world that Rory Power’s has created and allows you to learn more about the characters, especially the friendship Nan had with each of the girls in her friend group.

Even though I had a fun time with this one and found myself not wanting to put the book down when I got to the midpoint of the story, I wanted a little more when it comes to the ending, but that most definitely does not change my enjoyment or the multiple jaw dropping moments I had throughout.

Overall, Kill Creatures was a fun and jaw dropping thrill ride that had me on the edge of my seat, not wanting to put this book down, half the time. If you are the type of reader who adores YA thrillers with a dash of horror, then this book is definitely the one to put on your TBR.

THOUGHTS

The atmosphere of this book is immersive, but aside from that, this book didn't really come together for me. It had great building blocks but no coherent picture in the end. And that was a real disappointment, because I usually adore Rory Power books. Just not this one.


PROS
Unapologetic: I really do appreciate a character who makes her choices and sticks with them. And Nan has definitely made some choices. She's pretty up front, right off the bat, about the fact that she's done away with her friends. She's sat with that fact--and that secret--for a good year now, and she doesn't regret it. And I can appreciate a character that steadfast in what she resolved to do.

Sneaking Realization: The backbone of this book is a series of revelations that are not so much shocking as unsettling. They're not shocking because, as a reader, the signs and the symptoms are there, slowly building up throughout the book. It's a sneaking sense of where this book is going, but you don't want it to go to these places. You don't want these twists to happen, and so even though they're not so much a "twist" by the time you get to them, that sneaking realization of what's happening behind the scenes only adds to the atmosphere that Rory Power does so well.

Evocative Setting: As always, Rory Power is a master of evocative settings. This book is no different. Reading a Rory Power book is like being in this landscape right alongside the characters, and her landscapes are always so unique, so different from everything else on the market. This book builds a flooded canyon out of red sandstone, and it fills it with skeletons, literal and figurative. And this flooded desert landscape feels so alive for something so rotten and barren.


CONS
Too Short: I really do like a well-executed novella. Packing a punch in so few pages is a real talent. Unfortunately, this book was only hindered by its lack of pages. I don't know. I just didn't get enough on the page to get invested, to get stuck in with these characters and their twists. I hardly knew them by the time the book was over, and without that investment, I just didn't care too much about what happened and why.

Jealous Lesbian: The jealous lesbian is a trope that I don't particularly like, and unfortunately, this book toes right around the edges of that sad archetype. Though this book does contain more nuance than others that rely on this trope, I still didn't like it. Not with the current political climate toward the LGBTQ+ community. It's bad representation, representation that doesn't really represent anything based in reality, and I didn't like it. Sure, Nan's not jealous of her straight best friend here, but it gets too close for comfort, making a sapphic lead that's primarily defined by jealousy.

Twisted Twists: While I did really enjoy the creeping sense of foreboding this book toys with, of the three "twists" at the end, well, only two really worked for me. Don't get me wrong. They were all... fine. But one on top of the other, and without otherwise being invested in the characters, I just didn't really care. I don't want to spoil what twists take place (or which one didn't stick the landing for me), because here is not the place for plots to be spoiled. Just know I was uninvested and disappointed.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
6/10
Fans of Courtney Gould's Where Echoes Die will like trekking out into the desert in search of secrets better left buried. Those who enjoyed Rory Power's Burn Our Bodies Down will like a new, evocative setting from the same author.

A year ago, Nan killed her three besties. At least she thought she did, but on the eve of their disappearance, one of the girls is found alive.

The Saltcedar setting with its growing-dry lake and failed housing development showcases the disparity between the rich tourists and the poor townies.

Nan makes a fascinating protagonist. Her lack of remorse kept me turning pages to discover her motivation for the murders.

The dual timelines work well to reveal the past and display its impact on the present. The survivor creates tension as Nan tries to figure out what the girl remembers and if her crimes will be revealed.

While the ending was supremely satisfying, I would have liked a bit of a longer epilogue. To be fair, I adore a long epilogue.

This is the third YA book I’ve read by Rory Power and look forward to her next release. I loved that she thanked Scallion the cat in the acknowledgments.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalleyfor sharing Kill Creatures by Rory Power with me. I won’t lie, this one left me a bit puzzled and wanting more. It felt like there was at least another chapter missing. It may have been me, who knows. I’m eagerly looking forward to the.next book! I’d give it 3.8 stars instead of my usual five stars. Of course I rounded up to four stars to match the choices.

I couldn’t put this book down! From the very first page, I felt completely immersed in Nan’s turmoil—her grief, her guilt, and the creeping dread of secrets coming to light. I appreciated how the tension built with every chapter, making me question what really happened that night in Saltcedar Canyon. I felt deeply connected to Nan’s perspective, struggling alongside her as the past resurfaced in ways she never expected. I found myself flipping pages faster and faster, desperate to uncover the truth while also dreading what it might mean. The atmosphere was haunting, the emotions raw, and the story delivered twists that kept me on edge the entire time. By the end, I felt breathless—stunned by the revelations and moved by the complexity of guilt, friendship, and betrayal.

This book was an absolute whirlwind, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves dark, gripping mysteries that challenge everything you think you know.

This was interesting to say the least, crazy to say the most. Can't say I loved it as much as I was hoping, but glad they avoided the easy cliche twist they could've went with. Ending was cool

Thank you to NetGalley and. the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

I am a fan of Rory Power and was so excited to read this! I think this book has an awesome hook for teen readers and as a teacher, I LOVE that it packs a punch and tells a great story in under 300 pages. Kill Creatures tells the story of Nan, who killed her 3 friends (or did she?) in a duel-timeline format, which I thought worked well. Nan is an unreliable narrator and I was guessing what really happened until the very end. This book is perfect for readers who enjoy mysteries/thrillers and stories that keep you on your toes. I will definitely be adding a copy to my classroom library!

Oof. The hold this one had on me. Just when I thought I had it figured out, but it sure surprised me in a good way. I was eager to finish work today because I’d been thinking about it all day!

I haven’t read this author before, but I’m definitely going to be looking into reading more of their work. Their writing style was just chefs kiss, and this makes for a perfect summer read on the lake.

I really enjoyed the dual timeline narrative, and how the story unfolded. This was a fast paced, kept me guessing teenage thriller. It even felt a little relatable.

Nan is a girl living in a tourist town (I know what that’s like) just wanting a summer with her best girlfriends. You know, doing girl things, sleep overs, braiding hair, swimming. Until she kills them, and gets away with it. Except one year later, one of the girls shows up. It turns Nan’s world upside down because this girl is supposed to be dead, and stay dead..

𝘼 𝙗𝙞𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙋𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙣 𝙍𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝘼𝙍𝘾

Thanks to random house children's & netgalley for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gripping from start to finish. I couldn't put it down until I was finished reading. Some things were obvious, but that didn't take away from the story at all. I was shocked by the twist at the end. trust no one. I didn't know whose side I was on.

Rory Power’s Kill Creatures opens with an irresistible hook: One summer night, Nan returns from a midnight boat ride—and three girls are missing. A year later, one of them comes back. The catch? Nan is certain she killed her, along with the other two.

Set against the haunting backdrop of a dry, sun-bleached Utah town, the novel delivers an eerie, slow-burn mystery that drips with dread. It’s got strong Pretty Little Liars energy—secrets, teen girl tension, unreliable narration, and a blurred line between guilt and truth. The vibes are immaculate.

But despite the chilling premise and tense atmosphere, I found myself wanting more. The book touches on complex dynamics—especially how Nan viewed the three girls versus how they might have seen her—but never fully explores them. I felt disconnected from the other girls, who remain vague and underdeveloped. Their backstories and motivations are barely scratched at, which made the emotional stakes feel thin.

Pacing was another issue. Some parts dragged while others felt oddly rushed, especially the ending. And while the twist involving Nan’s father was unexpected, it didn’t quite land for me—it raised more questions than it answered and ultimately left me disappointed.

Overall, Kill Creatures is compelling for its mood and central mystery, but I wish it had gone deeper into character development and emotional nuance. If you're in the mood for a haunting, psychological read with a strong sense of place and a twisty premise, it's worth picking up—but don’t expect all the answers.

Rated 4.25 stars on StoryGraph. Kill Creatures is a first-person dual-timelines YA thriller. Last summer four best friends drove a boat out to a canyon where they regularly hang out and only Nan came back. The search was called off months ago, the girls presumed dead. However, at the one-year anniversary memorial, one of the girls reappear. Nan is mystified by this turn of events; she knows that none of the girls should have come back because she killed them all. Nan needs to figure out if this person is who they say they are and if it's her, how did she survive, where has she been all year, and if she going to expose Nan for her murders. The narrative occasionally flashes back to the last summer and the events that led to Nan killing her best friends.
After reading the plot of this book, I could not get it out of my head and knew I had to read it ASAP. The plot was the highlight of the book, it was fun, engaging, and I was so invested. The twists seemed to be set up well (though it would take a reread for me to truly confirm that). I liked the characters, but I wish they had been set up and delved into more, especially the three best friends. It was well written and definitely a worthwhile read.

Thanks to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

A creepy twisty YA mystery. Our 17 year old FMC has killed her other friends. A year later, one of the girls returns. The things Nan had kept from the girls are missing. Someone knows, and Nan is sure the girl who returned isn’t truly the girl. It’s haunting and keeps you incredibly hooked.

It's been a year since Nan murdered her three best friends, leaving their corpses in the canyon where they spent so many happy hours. No one has a clue, but she's still starting to unravel. Then Luce reappears, quite unbothered by her fatal bludgeoning apart from some amnesia. The narrative alternates between the last summer the girls spent together and the present, where Nan frantically tries to keep the investigation off track. In both times, the slowly increasing tension strains Nan to the breaking point. Nan is such an unreliable narrator even she doesn't know her full truth.

This was definitely something my older students would love to read in our book club! They love thrillers/horror so this would be really perfect for a summer read or fall read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

Kill Creatures by Rory Power is a first person-POV dual-timeline YA horror thriller. It’s been a year since Nan’s best friends Luce, Jane, and Edie have disappeared and been presumed dead. Nan has moved on with her life and is ready to finally put the past behind her. But then Luce rises from the dead and threatens everything Nan has done since her disappearance, including exposing Nan’s lies to cover up that she was the one who killed the three girls.

Nan’s POV is messy. It’s so messy. I loved it. I loved how stuck in her own head she is that she’s bought into the narrative that fits the reality she wants the most, that she’s incapable of accepting Edie doesn’t have feelings for her, and the things she does to be more like Luce. She lacks any real self-awareness and she’s not really interested in accepting her own flaws or that she is imperfect. And as she tries to keep her secrets covered up, we see even more of the mess and how far she’s willing to go to keep her peace of mind even if it ends up hurting other people.

I would classify this as a horror thriller because the pacing is very much what I would expect of a thriller and it keeps upping the tensions in ways I expect of the genre. The horror elements come from the tone and reveals. I think if someone really loved The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim, a horror thriller debut from last year, then there’s a high chance that they’ll also like this one.

Content warning for mentions of infidelity

I would recommend this to fans of horrors with thriller pacing and readers of YA looking for an unapologetically messy lead

This was different from the other Rory Power books that I've read. In her other novels, there is somewhat of a dreamlike uncertainty which isn't present here. I very much enjoyed this stylistic departure (although I also enjoy her other books!), as I think she was able to create an atmosphere of unease and mystery through her protagonist's mental state. Nan is a character who thinks she knows what she wants and what is happening, but as the audience experiences the "rebirth" of one of her murder victims along with her, it becomes clearer and clearer that Nan doesn't actually understand who she is or what she's done.

I found myself feeling incredibly sympathetic to Nan at the beginning of the novel, despite the fact that she confesses to murder pretty early on in the story. But as the story continued, although I empathized with her, I couldn't sympathize. This character development, from a character who you can (maybe) identify with, to a character who you feel may be getting what is coming to her is masterfully done and was such fun to read.

Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys a good (and somewhat creepy) mystery narrative!