Kill Creatures

By Author / Illustrator

Rory Power

Genre

Suspense & Thrillers

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Scholastic

ISBN

9780702340277

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

05-06-2025

Synopsis

From the bestselling author of Wilder Girls and queen of twisty narratives, Rory Power, comes her highly anticipated new Young Adult thriller. An instant New York Times bestseller.

Last summer, Nan's three best friends disappeared into Saltcedar Canyon. She's spent the year since grieving their loss and avoiding questions about what happened that night. Now, on the anniversary, she's ready to say goodbye, and so are the girls' families, who have reconvened to hold a memorial. But their vigil is interrupted by the shocking return of one of the missing girls alive. Everybody is overjoyed. Everybody, that is, except Nan, who was pretty sure they were dead. After all, she's the one who killed them.

Atmospheric, fast-paced and vividly realised, Kill Creatures is a book about secrets, jealousy, violence and revenge. Perfect for fans of A Good Girls Guide to Murder and Gone Girl.

Reviews for Wilder Girls: 'Your new favourite book' Cosmopolitan. 'Wholly original and compelling' Observer. 'A staggering gut punch of a book' Kirkus. "A tense, enthralling psychological thriller." - Guardian "More than just a killer premise... a propulsive YA thriller." - Culturefly.

Rory Power lives in Rhode Island. She has an MA in prose fiction from the University of East Anglia, and is the New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls, Burn Our Bodies Down, and In a Garden Burning Gold.

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Reviews

Kimberley

It’s been a year since Nan's best friends disappeared without trace in Saltcedar Canyon. Everyone knows they must be dead and the intervening year has taken its toll on the girls' parents, on the small, resort community of Saltcedar, and on Nan herself. The community gathers by the lake for a vigil to mark the anniversary, steeling itself for the onslaught of press scrutiny into its collective grief. Suddenly, out of nowhere, there is something in the water - something that turns out to be one of the missing girls. Against all the odds, Luce has survived but has no memory of what happened to her or where she has been for the past twelve months. Nan is astonished - she knows Luce is dead because she was the one who killed her. With everything she thought she knew turned on its head, Nan has to hope that Luce’s amnesia is genuine. But can she really trust her old friend? As the narrative switches between 'then' and 'now', the truth of what happened in Saltcedar is gradually revealed.

Kill Creatures is an immersive, gripping read, which deserves to be read in one sitting if at all possible. I couldn't, and I really resented having to put it down to eat and sleep! The clues are dropped tantalisingly and will keep the reader on the edge of their seat until the very end.

The lake and canyon make a fascinating setting, and some environmental and social issues are touched on, providing an additional source of tension. Saltcedar depends on its tourists but the lake is drying up, threatening the town's very existence.

This is quite a dark read, suitable for 14 years and up. There are a number of trigger warnings in the back of the book, including alcoholism, depictions of drowning, and violence.

288 pages / Reviewed by Kimberley Lawson, school librarian