Only She Came Back

October 1, 2023
A true-crime fan on the hunt for a story connects with a former classmate who may be a killer. When 18-year-old Kiri Dunsmore becomes a suspect in her survivalist influencer boyfriend Callum Massey's murder after turning up in his bloody sweatshirt, Samara recognizes her as shy Katie Dunsmore from junior year English class. A self-professed obsessive true-crime fan, Sam is always on the lookout for a story, and realizing that Kiri could be her big break, she seizes the opportunity to strike up a friendship. Though Kiri isn't willing to talk about what happened to Callum, the diary she lets Sam read spells out how she fell prey to his manipulation and control. As rumors swirl, Sam's developing feelings for Kiri threaten to override her better judgment, even though Kiri still hasn't been cleared of the murder. Although Sam feels more like a plot device than a fully rounded character, the combination of formats--video and podcast transcripts, diary entries--plus plenty of red herrings add intrigue as the story tackles consent, grooming, emotional abuse, mental illness, survivalist culture, eating disorders, and social media. Undeniable parallels to the tragic, widely covered 2021 murder of Gabby Petito underscore the slippery nature of abusive behaviors and illuminate warning signs for readers learning to navigate romantic relationships of their own. Kiri is white; other characters are minimally described and racially ambiguous. A twisty thriller exploring important social topics. (Thriller. 14-18)

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January 1, 2024

Gr 9 Up-Callum Massey, a 24-year-old YouTuber and survival guru, disappears in New Mexico, and his girlfriend, 18-year-old Kiri Dunsmore, walks out of the desert covered in his blood. The internet goes wild analyzing the couple's videos and the content she posted after his disappearance, with the court of public opinion convinced that Kiri is a cold-blooded killer. Less convinced is aspiring true-crime podcaster Samara, who is obsessed with cases involving female killers and went to high school with Kiri in Vermont. Now working at a movie theater in Burlington, VT, and grappling with the aftermath of a breakup, Sam struggles to reconcile the glossy, erratic girl in the videos with the sweet, shy person she used to know. Determined to be the one to tell Kiri's story, Sam insinuates herself into Kiri's life-but as Kiri starts asking Sam for favors, Sam's journalistic objectivity, and increasingly her safety, is compromised. Loosely modeled after the Gabby Petito case, this is a gripping, twisty mystery with strong thematic appeal for readers, exploring the pressures of social media fame, the ethics of true-crime reporting, topics of grooming and abusive relationships, and post-climate collapse survivalism. Transcripts of YouTube videos and entries from Kiri's diary are interspersed with Sam's first-person narration. All characters are cued white; Sam is ace/demi and romantically interested in women. VERDICT An addictive, spine-tingling mystery with an of-the-moment plot, this is a book to hand to fans of Tess Sharpe or Holly Jackson.-Elizabeth Giles

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December 22, 2023
Grades 10-12 Sam is addicted to true crime, so when she learns that Kiri Dunsmore is actually Katie, the tall, quiet girl she graduated from high school with last year, she becomes obsessed with her story. Kiri and her social media-famous ""wilderness survival guru"" boyfriend, Callum Massey, walked into the New Mexican desert to hunt for treasure; only Kiri walked out, wearing a sweatshirt covered in Callum's blood. There's no body, but everyone thinks Kiri killed him. When a more or less chance encounter between the girls leads to a surprising, tentative friendship, Sam struggles with understanding the person she's beginning to know and with the harsh picture that both the news and her beloved podcasts are painting. As the news cycle heats up, Sam fights to stay silent, but Kiri is beginning to ask things of her, and there may be much more to the story than Sam is willing to see. Fans of Courtney Summers' Sadie (2018)--and there are many--will find a kindred read in this sharply incisive thriller that absolves no one but gives voice to all.

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