Kill Creatures

A missing Utah teen resurfaces to the surprise of her murderer in this gleefully twisted psychological thriller from Power (Burn Our Bodies Down). It’s been a year since Nan Carver’s best friends—Edie, Jane, and Luce—vanished during a moonlit trip into Saltcedar Canyon. Many think someone abducted the trio, but Nan knows the truth; though she told everyone she stayed with the boat while the girls went hiking, she actually accompanied them to a secret, fathomless swimming hole, where she bashed in Luce’s head before drowning Jane and Edie. Nan is attending a lakeside vigil on the anniversary of the alleged disappearance when boaters find Luce floating in the water, alive but with no recollection of what happened or where she’s been. A panicked Nan struggles to appear supportive of Luce and the newly reopened police investigation while scrambling to obscure the facts—or at least the facts as Nan remembers them. Power’s tale unfolds via Nan’s increasingly troubled—and troubling—first-person-present narration, and flashbacks provide context and proffer clues surrounding the event. Frantic pacing catapults readers past occasional plotting pitfalls while fostering anxiety and unease. All characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jessica Mileo and Kim Witherspoon, InkWell Management. (June)