The Killing Woods

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 16 DEC 2013

Printz honoree Christopher (Stolen) returns with another tense and nimbly crafted psychological thriller. Last summer, Emily Shepherd's father, a veteran suffering from paralyzing PTSD, returned home carrying the corpse of Emily's high school acquaintance Ashlee Parker. Now he's on trial for Ashlee's murder. Though Emily believes in her father's innocence, few others do, and Emily's association with her father leads to her ostracism. The narrative alternates between the perspectives of Emily and Damon, Ashlee's boyfriend, who awoke the morning after her death hungover and with little memory of the previous night. Embittered by the death of his own father in the war, Damon blames Emily for the added pain of losing Ashlee. Christopher gracefully explores the agony of combat-related PTSD, its effects on its sufferers and their families, and the capacity for violence, while refraining from making the novel feel issue-driven. Despite the growing attraction between Damon and Emily, they keep their secrets and memories to themselves, investigating Ashlee's death separately, which maintains an intriguing duality. Two meticulously constructed voices assemble a dark and unnerving puzzle in this immersive mystery. Ages 14 up.