Jackal by Erin E. Adams

Description

It’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 day of the wedding, somewhere between dancing and dessert, the couple’s 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. Erin E. Adams is a first-generation Haitian-American writer and theatre artist.

Her debut novel, Jackal, was named one of the best of the year by Esquire, Vulture, PopSugar, Paste, and Publishers Weekly, and a best horror novel of all time by Cosmopolitan. Jackal was also a finalist for the Edgar® Award, the Bram Stoker® Award, and the Shirley Jackson Award. Her work was featured in Out There Screaming, edited by Jordan Peele.

Adams has called New York City home for the last decade. Her sophomore novel One Of You will be published by Dead Ink Books in 2025.

“Erin E. Adams makes me proud to be a psychological thriller writer…a beautifully written page turner that you will not be able to put down.” Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl
“A heady, page-turning, all-too-relevant reinvention of the return-to-home horror story–truly gut-wrenching and frightening.” Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Pallbearers Club
“A thrilling blend of detective story, turn-all-the-lights-on-in-your-house-while-reading horror, and social commentary about how often women of color, especially Black women, go missing and get little attention . .. It’s an impressive and thoughtful debut.” Megan Giddings, author of The Women Could Fly
“Real horror surrounds us in plain sight, nestled in the hearts of fiends who hide behind the barest of masks. Erin E. Adams takes you on a breathless ride with Jackal, revealing the courage it takes to stand up to monsters.”—Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor and The Hunger