Nothing much happens in Black Deer Falls, and when it finally does, everyone wished it hadn’t. In 1958 there were a spree of murders between August 3 and September 18 in the US. They were gruesome enough, but the fact was there was no blood. Throats cut, legs sliced open – no blood.

Until one night in Black Deer Falls, the sheriff gets a call to the Carson family farm. There are three bodies. Mr and Mrs Carson and their teenage son Steve. Standing nearby is a small teenage girl soaked in blood from head to foot. She denies everything.

Like the rest of the town, Michael Jensen, the sheriff’s son, is coming to terms with what happened. He knew Steve from school and can’t comprehend what has happened that night in his house. The girl called Marie is questioned over and over, but refuses to say much. An over-zealous District Attorney called Pilson presses even harder.

Michael has grown up around the Sheriff’s office, in fact they even used to live in part of it, so meeting Marie just seems to happen. There is no way he can believe that she did those terrible things. She was just there… surely? When Pilson is threatening all sorts of retribution at Marie for not telling her story, she finally gives in. But she will only speak to Michael.

Michael is a budding reporter, and when he calms down enough to really think about it, knows this is a great opportunity. What she tells him is beyond any horror story he has read or seen. He shakes his head at the incredulity of it, but he’s seen things at night. He’s felt something in the woods. And it’s getting closer.

All these bodies gripped me early and just like the characters, I wanted to know Marie’s secrets. I wanted to know the truth. The setting and time is portrayed well showing the disbelief that a girl could have done something so awful. The town is full of kindness towards neighbours, teenage boys who’s morbid curiosity is pushed too far, and a well respected Sheriff who is way out of his league.

The ending is one to be interpreted, leaving me thinking that ‘things’ were far from over.

This novel for teens is an intriguing thriller inspired by actual events in 1958 after 11 people were murdered across Nebraska and Wyoming.

Author – Kendare Blake

Age – 14+

(2021, Macmillan, Blood, Murder, Cell, Small town, Serial killer, Death, Truth or Lies, What really happened? Bloodless Murders, Dracula Murders, Vampires, Reporter, Interview, District Attorney, Newspapers, Stories, Stranger, Snake, Thriller, Creepy, Intrigue, Crime, 1958, Historical, Mystery, Secret, Punishment, Sentence)