The Killing Woods

December 16, 2013
Printz honoree Christopher (Stolen) returns with another tense and nimbly crafted psychological thriller. Last summer, Emily Shepherd's father, a veteran suffering from paralyzing PTSD, returned home carrying the corpse of Emily's high school acquaintance Ashlee Parker. Now he's on trial for Ashlee's murder. Though Emily believes in her father's innocence, few others do, and Emily's association with her father leads to her ostracism. The narrative alternates between the perspectives of Emily and Damon, Ashlee's boyfriend, who awoke the morning after her death hungover and with little memory of the previous night. Embittered by the death of his own father in the war, Damon blames Emily for the added pain of losing Ashlee. Christopher gracefully explores the agony of combat-related PTSD, its effects on its sufferers and their families, and the capacity for violence, while refraining from making the novel feel issue-driven. Despite the growing attraction between Damon and Emily, they keep their secrets and memories to themselves, investigating Ashlee's death separately, which maintains an intriguing duality. Two meticulously constructed voices assemble a dark and unnerving puzzle in this immersive mystery. Ages 14âup.

May 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Emily Shepherd used to like Darkwood, the forest near her school, where her friends run cross-country and play sexier, more dangerous games at night. When Emily's father emerges from the woods carrying Ashlee Parker's dead body, he becomes the prime suspect in her death. Emily finds it hard to believe, even though he suffers from PTSD and has a hidden bunker filled with disturbing drawings. Damon, Ashlee's boyfriend, was with her that night, but so addled by drugs that he can't remember what happened. Damon returns to the woods to recreate their last hours and maybe find evidence to soothe his troubled conscience. Fiona Hardingham and Shaun Grindell voice Emily and Damon in alternating chapters and capture the disturbing qualities of this mystery/thriller. The conclusion satisfies, though some may guess what happened before it is revealed. Listeners who like their stories dark but not hopeless will likely enjoy this reading.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.