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bisexualbookshelf's review
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
In Jackal, Erin E. Adams weaves a haunting narrative of suspense, identity, and unresolved trauma set against the eerie backdrop of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Liz, our narrator, is a Black woman reluctantly returning to her predominantly white Rust Belt hometown for a friend’s wedding. What begins as a weekend marked by tense reunions quickly unravels into a nightmarish hunt for answers after her goddaughter, Caroline, vanishes. The disappearance drags Liz into the heart of Johnstown’s sinister past, where young Black girls have been mysteriously vanishing for decades. Adams’s writing is richly atmospheric and unsettling, capturing both the literal and metaphorical shadows that haunt Liz’s journey as she delves into the chilling history of this town.
At its core, Jackal explores the complex intersections of race, class, and systemic erasure, particularly through Liz’s lens as a Black woman with a fraught relationship to her roots. Johnstown’s history of socioeconomic disparity and geographic segregation looms over the narrative, with Adams using the town’s recurring floods as a metaphor for how racial and economic divides continually wash over yet shape the lives of its residents. Liz’s inner conflict, shaped by impostor syndrome and a yearning to escape her small-town origins, reflects a common struggle among marginalized individuals seeking to break free from places and histories that feel confining or even dangerous. Adams’s exploration of Johnstown’s dark underbelly not only tackles the trauma inflicted on Black families but also questions the ease with which society allows certain histories and people to be forgotten.
Through unsettling interludes and supernatural elements, Adams blurs the lines between real and imagined horror, suggesting that the violence visited upon these young Black girls is both societal and supernatural in nature. Shadows, literal and metaphorical, stalk Liz, underscoring the sense of ever-present danger Black individuals face in predominantly white spaces. This supernatural mystery symbolically ties into the larger theme of erasure, portraying Blackness as both a target and a source of resilience amid pervasive hostility.
While Jackal maintains a tense, introspective tone that grips readers, the climax’s twist on why the girls went missing felt slightly disconnected from the broader narrative, leaving some aspects underexplored. However, Adams’s immersive prose and powerful themes of resistance and survival make Jackal a memorable read. This chilling story earns a 4.75-star rating for its evocative portrayal of Black womanhood within spaces determined to overlook it, even if some elements of the ending left me wanting more.
📖 Recommended For: Readers who enjoy atmospheric, suspenseful prose; those interested in the intersection of horror and social critique; fans of stories that confront racial trauma and explore Black identity in predominantly white spaces; and anyone drawn to narratives of resilience and mystery.
🔑 Key Themes: Systemic Erasure and Racial Injustice, Intergenerational Trauma, Identity and Alienation, The Power of Community, Visibility and Survival in Hostile Spaces.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Gore, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Alcohol
kurumipanda's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Racism, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Rape, and Alcohol
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Vomit
Misogynoir. Missing person/child. Descriptions of corpses (human and animal).minimicropup's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Main POVs 👌:
- A New Yorker returning to their PA hometown for their childhood best friend’s wedding and staying with their Haitian mother, with whom they have a complicated relationship. There’s a reluctance about returning due to trauma, shame, and fear from the past and a recent relationship break-up.
- An unknown narrator describing the circumstances of each of the missing Black girls over the town’s history.
Atmosphere 👍: Confusing, jarring, pensive. The writing holds the undercurrents of tension without drowning you in it.
- Set in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in different eras, with the main action being present day
Cred Rating 👍: Supernatural true crime realism
- Realistic IRL horrors from our world merged with those of another realm.
Growls and Howls 🐺:
- Can we please have everyone describe characters the way this author does from now on? I loved getting the descriptions of the characters’ skin, hair, and style. It wasn’t overly detailed, and it helped bring the characters to life.
- The writing was jarring at times in a way that knocked me out of the story. I wasn’t skimming and yet I found that I had to re-read lines or go back a few pages to figure out what was going on occasionally. I especially struggled with this during the final action fight-for-your-life scenes.
- I have biases I’m not even aware of. This book helped me with that. I identified so much with our MC because of the author’s skill at gradually placing you in someone else’s mind and body. I don’t know how to say this in a way that isn’t cringey, but I came away from this story having more empathy about the pressures and experiences unique to young Black men and women in America. Like, insight into those subtle paper-cut-type wounds from how one is treated because of appearance and ancestry, and how they accumulate and harm how we view ourselves and others.
Reading Journey 😵💫: All the ups and downs, twists and turns of an IRL drive through hilly Pennsylvania. Sometimes I got spun around, took a wrong turn, ended up going in circles, but it was worth it for the views.
Mood Reading Match-Up:
- Cerebral suspense/mystery
- Occult/supernatural entities, “stay out of the woods!” energy
- Subtle horror using metaphor, allegory, and personification to explore IRL horrors of racism, classism, and generational and regional trauma.
- Subjective, poetic type writing
Vibes: 🫢😵🤔
Content Heads-Up: Missing and murdered children. Prejudice and discrimination due to race and social status.
Format: Library Digital via Libby
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Fatphobia
animal deaths are not of pets and are related to hunting in the woodsmaddiearthur's review
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia
edgaranjapoe's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Racism, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A thriller with multiple red herrings and possibly corrupt cops. So just another Tuesday, eh? Liz is a flawed character the reader can empathize with. Returning home for her best friend's wedding Liz faces the judgment and complicated feelings of being back but single for reasons she doesn't want to explain. Her boyfriend and her were very toxic with each other. The relationship ended due to a domestic dispute incident. This is revealed that the supernatural element smashed her boyfriend in the back of the head with a lamp.
Many of the elements within the book are well done. This is including the guilty party being surrounded by equally suspicious characters. There is one character that was not fleshed out as well as most of the others. The brother of the bride. He is revealed to be violent and racist during Liz's high school years and he is sarcastic or otherwise plainly showing his distaste for Liz. Other than that he is not exhibiting any suspicious behavior and is removed from the final confrontation rather easily. It just felt like a waste for him to be so close to being a main person in this case only for him to get a quick off page redemption arc and then get written out until the wrap up.It is revealed that while the police and guilty party are setting up the case against Liz due to her involvement he tells them to back off her because she is just trying to help.
The revelation of the supernatural element was jarring despite allusions made to it throughout the pages.It was written like it was a man until the big reveal during the final confrontation. Even when the perspective switches to the guilty side of the coin you may mistake foreshadowing for metaphor or symbolism. If the intent was to keep the reader in the dark about the true nature of all of the elements this is masterfully done.
Many of the elements within the book are well done. This is including the guilty party being surrounded by equally suspicious characters. There is one character that was not fleshed out as well as most of the others. The brother of the bride. He is revealed to be violent and racist during Liz's high school years and he is sarcastic or otherwise plainly showing his distaste for Liz. Other than that he is not exhibiting any suspicious behavior and is removed from the final confrontation rather easily. It just felt like a waste for him to be so close to being a main person in this case only for him to get a quick off page redemption arc and then get written out until the wrap up.
The revelation of the supernatural element was jarring despite allusions made to it throughout the pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, and Violence
Minor: Stalking
The rape and some of the violence happen off the page. Violence towards children is tagged as child abuse to cover bases. It is not presented as a classic depiction of child abuse.melodyseestrees's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Sandra Okuboyeho and William DeMeritt do fantastic narrations of their story sections. You will stay firmly on the edge of your seat hoping for the safe return of the missing girl and justice for the other girls. This story takes a twist towards the fantastical so if you don't like fantastical elements in your thrillers this will not necessarily be for you. If you go in knowing to expect the element towards the conclusion you will be less disappointed though as it is well done, just not very realistic. The spoiler tag reveals the unrealistic element solidly so click at your own risk. The Jackal is a possibly demonic entity encouraging this random white family to murder black little girls and feed him the girls' hearts so he can become real. The white family is a father, a son, and the son's wife. The father taught the son to kill only little girls as the blame can be more easily spread out amongst the populace. The son wanted to kill specifically Liz out of jealousy over her mother being a doctor when he is unable to afford the education needed to become a doctor. It is racially motivated hatred and jealousy. The wife supports her husband unquestiongly and directly participates in at least one crime, the kidnapping of Caroline. The Jackal wanted to team up with Liz instead of Doug because of her 'pure heart' as he wants to become a God and knew Doug's hatred would burn up the body too fast.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, and Violence
Much of the specifics within the tags happen off page but the implications can be intense. If you see your triggers listed proceed with caution. A character gets their leg broken pretty descriptively. Some of the details around hearts are visceral. At two points there is a heavily described deer carcass. One of those points involves popcorn kernels. I couldn't tag violence against children so I tagged it as child abuse.ezismythical's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Holy cow this book is amazing. It kept me guessing until the very end. The story is heartbreaking and challenging. It’s absolutely worth the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicide
krys_kilz's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was blown away by this book! It was so well done - the writing kept me invested, the atmosphere was tense with a constant tinge of dread below the surface, the setting was perfectly laid out and the characters were complex and not always trustworthy. I found it really interesting how Adams set the novel in her own hometown of Johnstown, PA and drew on actual historical events when writing this book. It was incredibly effective and illustrated that while this is a work of fiction, the horror it contains is very real.
I did not predict the twist, which made it all the more shocking. I agree with some other reviewers that the ending did feel a bit rushed, but I disagree that the paranormal element didn't work.The imagery of the jackal and his desire to become a god by taking over a Black woman's body felt incredibly poignant to me. The additional metaphors around shadows, scavenging, the consumption of the girls' hearts and Anabis, the Egyptian god of death, were also potent. I am still teasing apart the metaphors meanings, but I do think they were incredibly intentional and not something random that Adams threw in at the last second. Perhaps they could have been explained more, but also maybe it's up to the reader to do their own digging. I also don't feel like the paranormal element diminished the horrors perpetuated by humans. As Jack said himself, he never forced anyone to do anything they didn't want to do, he simply gave them permission. And that alone feels like a lot to chew on about what Jack represents in the story.
I am very excited to read whatever Erin E. Adams publishes next!
tw: anti-Blackness, misogynoir, white supremacy, abduction and targeted killing of Black girls
I did not predict the twist, which made it all the more shocking. I agree with some other reviewers that the ending did feel a bit rushed, but I disagree that the paranormal element didn't work.
I am very excited to read whatever Erin E. Adams publishes next!
tw: anti-Blackness, misogynoir, white supremacy, abduction and targeted killing of Black girls
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Racism, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Fatphobia