THORNBIRD

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.