Review by Booklist Review
If you're willing to suspend your disbelief, you'll be treated to '80s-era Silence of the Lambs, where the lead roles are held by teens. Do it. You won't be disappointed. Emma Lewis--18, white, and fiery--is approached by FBI Agent Cooper, who has an unexpected proposition. He'd like her to be part of a team conducting interviews with imprisoned teen serial killers. Though skeptical, she agrees to join Agent Cooper and teammate Travis Bell, a biracial Latinx teen, at Quantico. So why Emma and Travis? Both have personal experience with serial killers: Emma, once a near victim, and Travis, son of a murdered U.S. marshal. The stakes skyrocket when Emma and Travis' project becomes entwined with an active, potentially young killer--the Berryville Butcher. Readers entranced by Mindhunter will eat this up, and Marney provides them with layered, damaged characters, well-executed twists, skin-crawling details of murder scenes, and a brutally charged atmosphere as the story reaches its climax. All signs point to Emma and Travis working another case, which is excellent news for this thriller's inevitable fans.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Ever since she escaped from and helped to apprehend serial killer Daniel Huxton, Ohio State freshman Emma Lewis has kept her hair buzzed and her running shoes laced. When FBI agent Ed Cooper arrives to recruit her for a behavioral science unit, he offers her myriad benefits in exchange for interviewing juvenile serial offenders with a partner, 18-year-old Travis Bell, son of a U.S. Marshal killed by a serial offender. As Cooper hits a wall with an ongoing investigation--a string of teen murders in Pennsylvania by "the Butcher"--he pushes Emma to speak with Simon Gutmunsson, the artistic serial murderer responsible for Travis's father's death. Simon, intrigued by Emma's prickly demeanor and traumatic history, tries to pull her out of her shell; Emma, learning Simon's sensibilities and interest in the Burkean sublime, realizes that he may be the key to identifying the Butcher. Marney (Circus of Arts) has created a thrilling cat-and-mouse story in this taut, Silence of the Lambs--like thriller, which employs a teen behavioral psychologist's trauma and resilience against a gripping, dangerous puzzle. While the propulsive investigation takes center stage, Marney also skillfully creates engaging and complex characters as well as a budding romance that tenderly juxtaposes the overarching plot. Ages 14--up. Agent: Josh Adams, Adams Literary. (Sept.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up--Emma Lewis, a 17-year-old survivor of a violent abduction, has just been recruited by the FBI to join an elite unit tasked with creating profiles of teenage serial killers. Emma leaves her quiet town in Ohio for Quantico, VA, to join Travis Bell, another recruit, in an attempt to interview incarcerated offenders and gain insight into what made them kill. As Emma begins to interview a highly dangerous serial murderer, news of a new killer becomes known. Emma and Travis lend their knowledge to the hunt for the "butcher" and become wrapped up in the progressing investigation. While the concept is exciting and there is quite a bit of action, the narrative in this book is lacking. The speed at which Emma is recruited and joins the FBI, and is subsequently trusted as an agent is too unbelievable. VERDICT An ambitious undertaking that doesn't quite hit the mark. Not recommended for purchase.--Maryjean Riou, Hunterdon County Lib., Flemington, NJ
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two 18-year-olds with traumatic pasts become entangled in a high-stakes manhunt for a serial killer targeting teenagers. Emma Lewis isn't your average psychology undergrad (and not just because she has a buzz cut). Two and a half years ago, she escaped a serial killer's clutches and then helped the authorities apprehend him. Now a student at Ohio State, she's been recruited for her unique qualifications by an agent in the FBI's Behavioral Science department to spend the summer interviewing juvenile offenders. Alongside trainee Travis Bell, whose late father was killed while apprehending one of their subjects, Emma reluctantly ventures into the minds of teenage killers--and must confront her own past when one of the subjects offers unexpected insight into the motives of a new killer known as the Butcher. Set in the early 1980s, narrated in present tense, and told through Emma's perspective as well as others' (including the Butcher's), the tightly plotted story moves inexorably forward with shocking twists alongside clear, applicable descriptions of the cognitive behavioral strategies Emma uses to navigate her PTSD. The narrative is critical of law enforcement work, emphasizing its psychological toll, and the '80s cultural references are handled with a light touch. Emma is white while Travis is cued as biracial (Mexican American and white); although most secondary characters appear white, two key figures are people of color. Vivid, chilling, and important. (author's note) (Fiction. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
