All These Bodies Published by Quill Tree Books on September 2021
Genres: Horror
Pages: 304
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
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Sixteen bloodless bodies. Two teenagers. One impossible explanation.
Summer 1958—a string of murders plagues the Midwest. The victims are found in their cars and in their homes—even in their beds—their bodies drained, but with no blood anywhere.
September 19- the Carlson family is slaughtered in their Minnesota farmhouse, and the case gets its first lead: 15-year-old Marie Catherine Hale is found at the scene. She is covered in blood from head to toe, and at first she’s mistaken for a survivor. But not a drop of the blood is hers.
Michael Jensen, son of the local sheriff, yearns to become a journalist and escape his small-town. He never imagined that the biggest story in the country would fall into his lap, or that he would be pulled into the investigation, when Marie decides that he is the only one she will confess to.
As Marie recounts her version of the story, it falls to Michael to find the truth: What really happened the night that the Carlsons were killed? And how did one girl wind up in the middle of all these bodies?
Sixteen bloodless bodies. Two teenagers. One impossible explanation.
Summer 1958—a string of murders plagues the Midwest. The victims are found in their cars and in their homes—even in their beds—their bodies drained, but with no blood anywhere.
September 19- the Carlson family is slaughtered in their Minnesota farmhouse, and the case gets its first lead: 15-year-old Marie Catherine Hale is found at the scene. She is covered in blood from head to toe, and at first she’s mistaken for a survivor. But not a drop of the blood is hers.
Michael Jensen, son of the local sheriff, yearns to become a journalist and escape his small-town. He never imagined that the biggest story in the country would fall into his lap, or that he would be pulled into the investigation, when Marie decides that he is the only one she will confess to.
As Marie recounts her version of the story, it falls to Michael to find the truth: What really happened the night that the Carlsons were killed? And how did one girl wind up in the middle of all these bodies?
All These Bodies does really well the same thing all great mysteries do well – it leaves you guessing.
Michael Jensen, the Sheriff’s son, has always wanted to be a journalist and when a murder that ties in to a huge killing spree that shakes the country, he can’t believe that he is assigned to interview Marie Hale, the girl found at the latest crime scene.
But who is Marie? Is she the victim? Is she the killer? Or is it something darker and scarier that can be imagined?
Blake does an amazing job of slowly slowly turning the knife as every new lead raises more questions than it answers. I love how mysterious Marie is – her personality and what she says and does not say, truly reminds me of some of those terribly frightening interviews you’ve seen on some of the country’s big serial killers. What is to be believed? What has been embellished? Are they to be trusted?
I found myself having a hard time believing Marie. Is Michael being tricked? The answer?
I don’t know. I love that. I love how the story fades in and out with the truth and the reader is left to be strung along. It’s not just about this killing, but about all fo the killings. It’s not just about her guilt or her innocence. Who is she really?
One thing is for sure – the ambiguity of our main suspect is really what drew me in and kept me there through this book.
I also love love love the setting. In 1958, there were no cell phones. There were eye witnesses and town gossip and a fear that was so gripping, the country was wrapped up in finding who had committed these murders. The story and writing took me back to that time where there were no digital distractions, like texting. But also no digital help, like Wikipedia. That made the story so raw and terrible, so terrifying that this family could have been murdered in their farm house, with no struggle.
The book has stayed with me for days. I’ve double checked the locks on my house numerous times. I might adopt some dogs.
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.
