“Power presents an unreliable narrator caught in the throes of teenage crushes, friendships, and revenge with a diabolical twist that will linger long after the last page is turned.”
Luce, Edie, Jane, and Nan take the boat out for one last swim in the river on a perfect summer night.
Except it wasn’t perfect. Nan was the only one to come home that night. Edie, Jane, and Luce were gone. Nan’s story has alway been the same, she claims she has no idea what happened that night. The girls went on without her, and it was like they simply vanished into thin air.
Now, a year later, the entire town of Saltcedar gathers at the river to pay their respects with a memorial for the missing girls. Nan wants this to be special, so she even recreates the outfit she wore on that terrible night last summer.
When Luce climbs out of the water at the memorial, everyone is surprised, though no one is more surprised than Nan.
Because Nan killed her. Right before she killed Edie and Jane.
Why we’re excited about this book:
When it comes to hard-hitting, brutal YA horror fiction, Rory Power understands the assignment and delivers the goods every time. The author of Wilder Girls, Burn Our Bodies Down, and the adult speculative fiction novels In a Garden Burning Gold and In an Orchard Grown from Ash, Power has short fiction featured in Critical Role: Vox Machina–Stories Untold. Power presents an unreliable narrator caught in the throes of teenage crushes, friendships, and revenge with a diabolical twist that will linger long after the last page is turned. Nova Ren Suma (The Walls Around Us, Wake the Wild Creatures) says: “Sinister and sharpened at every edge, Kill Creatures comes at you with claws out. This eye-opener of a mystery pulses with magnetism and menace.”, and Britney S. Lewis (The Dark Place) calls Kill Creatures “A scissor-sharp portrayal of a friendship built on secrets, with a twist so deep you’ll be wounded by the end of it. This one will keep you guessing up until the last page and will haunt you for days after.”
Releasing from Delacorte Press 3 June 2025, Kill Creatures by Rory Power is available for pre-order now.
BOB PASTORELLA
