Title: The Monsters We Make by Kali White
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Historical (’80’s), Mystery, Suspense
Length: 264 pages
Book Rating: C+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
For fans of Rene Denfeld and Shari Lapena comes a rich, atmospheric family drama set in the 1980’s following the disappearances of two paperboys from a small midwestern town.
It’s August 1984, and paperboy Christopher Stewart has gone missing.
Hours later, twelve-year-old Sammy Cox hurries home from his own paper route, red-faced and out of breath, hiding a terrible secret.
Crystal, Sammy’s seventeen-year-old sister, is worried by the disappearance but she also sees opportunity: the Stewart case has echoes of an earlier unsolved disappearance of another boy, one town over. Crystal senses the makings of an award winning essay, one that could win her a scholarship – and a ticket out of their small Iowa town.
Officer Dale Goodkind can’t believe his bad luck: another town and another paperboy kidnapping. But this time he vows that it won’t go unsolved. As the abductions set in motion an unpredictable chain of violent, devastating events touching each life in unexpected ways, Dale is forced to face his own demons.
Told through interwoven perspectives–and based on the real-life Des Moines Register paperboy kidnappings in the early 1980’s–The Monsters We Make deftly explores the effects of one crime exposing another and the secrets people keep hidden from friends, families, and sometimes, even themselves.
Review:
Based on a true story, The Monsters We Make by Kali White is an intriguing mystery.
In 1984, eighteen year old Crystal Cox wants nothing more than to win an essay in order to secure a college scholarship. She is struggling to come up with a topic when tragedy strikes in her hometown. Young paperboy Christopher Stewart, vanishes while delivering his papers one early morning.
His disappearance hits close to home since Crystal’s brother, twelve year old Sammy, is also a paperboy. While the police search for Christopher, Crystal finds the topic for her essay. But will the police find Christopher or catch the person responsible for taking him?
Sammy is dealing with his own crisis as he realizes he has made a terrible mistake. Although he tried to tell his harried single mother, Tina, she did not grasp what he was saying. In addition to his fears, Sammy is failing his classes and trying to figure out a way to escape from a horrifying situation on his own.
Sergeant Dale Goodkind is deeply troubled by Christopher’s disappearance. He is haunted by the two years’ earlier case where another paperboy vanished and has never been found. Dale is desperate to find Christopher but he has few secrets that are clouding his judgment. Certain he knows what happened to the missing boy, Dale will go to any lengths to catch the person he believes is responsible.
The Monsters We Make is an interesting mystery with a disturbing storyline. The characters are well-developed and sympathetic. The investigation does not gain much traction due to a lack of evidence and witnesses. With a few clever red herrings and misdirects, Kali White brings this heartbreaking mystery to a bit of an ambiguous conclusion.
