A largely satisfying mystery that’s appealingly creepy and dark.
The daughter of a serial killer returns to her Tennessee hometown in this psychological thriller that marks Kennedy’s YA debut.
Following the death of the grandmother who raised her following her mother’s murder and her father’s incarceration 10 years ago, Gabrielle Thorn leaves Allentown, Pennsylvania. She’s back in Starling, living with her maternal aunt’s family, which includes twin teen cousins she’s never met. Aunt Maggie urges her to hide her true identity, so she’s now going by Ryan Shipley to distance herself from her notorious father, Gabriel Thorn, known as the Starling Slayer. Gabrielle also invents a backstory about having been in Switzerland at boarding school. The townspeople are vengeful and still deeply scarred by what happened; one of her classmates even hosts a popular podcast and runs an online forum about the case. Despite Gabrielle’s careful lies, living among people traumatized by her father’s crimes inevitably gets complicated. While the story’s premise never feels completely believable, readers will appreciate the banter-filled romantic tug of war Gabrielle has with two boys at her new school. The nightmarish details of her memories of her strange father, a talented artist with an avid interest in birds, are meted out in a gradual reveal that ratchets up the tension, and although it’s obvious there will be a twist, it’s effectively executed. Major characters read white.
A largely satisfying mystery that’s appealingly creepy and dark. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9798217026500
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty.
In this retelling of a classic, a drama student’s obsession with beauty leads her down a dark—and possibly deadly—path.
Eighteen-year-old Penny Paxton is beginning her first year at Dorian Drama Academy in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she hopes to follow in her starlet mother’s footsteps—and earn the love that her mother has never seemed to offer. At Dorian, Penny is mentored by Royal Shakespeare Company legend Orlagh Camran, who makes her the compelling offer of a portrait by the Masked Painter, a mysterious artist with the ability to gift his subjects everlasting youth and beauty. But shortly after Penny’s portrait is complete, several of the Masked Painter’s subjects are found murdered. Fearing that she’s made a terrible mistake and may become the next victim, Penny, who’s gay, begins to investigate the murders with the help of an unlikely ally. As she attempts to uncover the truth surrounding the Masked Painter and the murders, she’s forced to reckon with her own toxic obsession with beauty. This chilling, atmospheric novel, inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, is entertaining and full of twists, though some of the reveals feel contrived and some questions are left unanswered. The plot unravels at a leisurely pace but eventually builds to an action-packed (if somewhat convoluted) conclusion. Most characters are cued white.
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty. (content note, author’s note, bonus scene) (Fantasy thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781250346797
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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