Clare L. Deming

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake is a stand-alone novel that I read in 2023 (paid links). This is the first novel that I’ve read by this author. I listened to the audiobook edition, narrated by Matt Godfrey. Read on below to see what I thought.

Here is the blurb:

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?

This isn’t the type of book I’d normally pick up, since I don’t read much horror, but it was a selection for one of my book clubs. I’m always willing to give something new a chance and found All These Bodies to be a captivating story that fit somewhere between a psychological thriller and vampire story.

One of the most compelling aspects of this book was the voice of the narrator, Michael. As a teenager and aspiring journalist, he brought the perfect mixture of innocence and passion to his investigation of the case.

This book also straddled the boundary between the speculative and the mundane. While the murder scene is strange, nothing about it requires a fantastical explanation at the outset of the story. Yet the narrative hints at a sinister presence that might be a vampire. I would have like to find more of a resolution to the story in that respect, but this was the story of Marie Catherine Hale and not what else might have occurred.

Despite this being a little off genre for my usual taste, I did enjoy the book. I’d consider picking up one of this author’s other books.

Have you read anything by Kendare Blake? Which book is your favorite? Let me know in the comments (above).

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