Jackal

Books | Fiction / African American & Black / Mystery & Detective

3.5

(108)

Erin E. Adams

RECOMMENDED BY GILLIAN FLYNN ON THE TODAY SHOW • A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white rust belt town. But she's not the first—and she may not be the last. . . .“I read this thriller that is Get Out meets The Vanishing Half in one night.”—BuzzFeed“Extraordinary . . . A terrifying tale of fears and hatreds generated by racism and class inequality.”—Associated PressEDGAR® AWARD FINALIST • BRAM STOKER® AWARD FINALIST • SHIRLEY JACKSON AWARD NOMINEE • PHENOMENAL BOOK CLUB PICKONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Esquire, Vulture, PopSugar, Paste, Publishers Weekly • ONE OF COSMOPOLITAN’S BEST HORROR NOVELS OF ALL TIMEIt’s watching.Liz Rocher is coming home . . . reluctantly. As a Black woman, Liz doesn’t exactly have fond memories of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white town. But her best friend is getting married, so she braces herself for a weekend of awkward, passive-aggressive reunions. Liz has grown, though; she can handle whatever awaits her. But on the night of the wedding, somewhere between dancing and dessert, the newlyweds’ daughter, Caroline, disappears—and the only thing left behind is a piece of white fabric covered in blood.It’s taking.As a frantic search begins, with the police combing the trees for Caroline, Liz is the only one who notices a pattern: A summer night. A missing girl. A party in the woods. She’s seen this before. Keisha Woodson, the only other Black girl in Liz’s high school, walked into the woods with a mysterious man and was later found with her chest cavity ripped open and her heart removed. Liz shudders at the thought that it could have been her, and now, with Caroline missing, it can’t be a coincidence. As Liz starts to dig through the town’s history, she uncovers a horrifying secret about the place she once called home. Children have been going missing in these woods for years. All of them Black. All of them girls.It’s your turn.With the evil in the forest creeping closer, Liz knows what she must do: find Caroline, or be entirely consumed by the darkness.

Mystery

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Author

Erin E. Adams

Pages

336

Publisher

Random House Publishing Group

Published Date

2022-10-04

ISBN

0593499301 9780593499306

Community ReviewsSee all

"A well crafted story! So much emotions to unpack not just with Liz (the main character). This town has many secrets.."

Sandy Lopez

"This book has a lot! Definitely recommend!"

Skye Edelson-Bennett

"4.5⭐️ Intriguing plot that makes you want to keep reading to reveal where the story is trying to take you. The unveiling of the Jackal was unexpected and the brief glimpses of each Black Girl were resonant and reflective. The book reminded me of Ace of Spades, When No One is Qatching, and Monday's not coming all mixed into a story in a small town."

Maya

"3.5. Pretty slow-paced to me, but the societal discussion and the horror aspects kept me reading"

Z G

Zariah Grant

"what an incredible well, crafted novel!! Extremely Jordan Peele-esque, this novel is an incredible allegory, intriguing, poetic, and says so much about life as a Black girl. reminds me a bit of Cherie Dimaline's "Empire if Wild," I highly recommend."

Lila Sanchez

"This book was great until it had about 50 pages left and took a turn toward the sci-fi world. It was certainly disappointing to be so invested in a story and for it to have such an off-kilter reveal. I truly thought this was going to be 5 stars, but similarly to Riley Sager’s The House Across the Lake, it totally lost me. Did I hold out and finish the book? Yes. Was the majority of the book good? Yes, gripping even. I really liked how it every-so-often would highlight a victim and share her story. I enjoyed the mystery and the main character’s thoughts as she tried to be trusting but also work to figure out exactly who had taken Caroline and all the others. "

Jama Glenn

"Jackal is a story about Liz, a Black woman trying to figure out why Black girls are going missing and being brutally murdered in her small town without anyone believing what’s actually happening. These girls are rendered invisible after death and their mothers are forced to deal with the aftermath. While the book is about missing and murdered Black women and racism, Liz is also on a journey of self discovery after a lifetime of assimilating to white culture to try to fit in. She’s learning to trust herself, face her demons, and not dim her light for anyone, especially not to be seen as the “good” Black woman. The story is suspenseful and every time I thought I knew who the killer was I changed my mind and thought it was someone else. I liked the different POV’s and while it was heartbreaking, it also uplifted the voices of the Black girls who no one seemed to care enough about once they died or went missing. "