In Jackal, Erin E. Adams weaves a haunting narrative of suspense, identity, and unresolved trauma set against the eerie backdrop of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Liz, our narrator, is a Black woman reluctantly returning to her predominantly white Rust Belt hometown for a friend’s wedding. What begins as a weekend marked by tense reunions quickly unravels into a nightmarish hunt for answers after her goddaughter, Caroline, vanishes. The disappearance drags Liz into the heart of Johnstown’s sinister past, where young Black girls have been mysteriously vanishing for decades. Adams’s writing is richly atmospheric and unsettling, capturing both the literal and metaphorical shadows that haunt Liz’s journey as she delves into the chilling history of this town.

At its core, Jackal explores the complex intersections of race, class, and systemic erasure, particularly through Liz’s lens as a Black woman with a fraught relationship to her roots. Johnstown’s history of socioeconomic disparity and geographic segregation looms over the narrative, with Adams using the town’s recurring floods as a metaphor for how racial and economic divides continually wash over yet shape the lives of its residents. Liz’s inner conflict, shaped by impostor syndrome and a yearning to escape her small-town origins, reflects a common struggle among marginalized individuals seeking to break free from places and histories that feel confining or even dangerous. Adams’s exploration of Johnstown’s dark underbelly not only tackles the trauma inflicted on Black families but also questions the ease with which society allows certain histories and people to be forgotten.

Through unsettling interludes and supernatural elements, Adams blurs the lines between real and imagined horror, suggesting that the violence visited upon these young Black girls is both societal and supernatural in nature. Shadows, literal and metaphorical, stalk Liz, underscoring the sense of ever-present danger Black individuals face in predominantly white spaces. This supernatural mystery symbolically ties into the larger theme of erasure, portraying Blackness as both a target and a source of resilience amid pervasive hostility.

While Jackal maintains a tense, introspective tone that grips readers, the climax’s twist on why the girls went missing felt slightly disconnected from the broader narrative, leaving some aspects underexplored. However, Adams’s immersive prose and powerful themes of resistance and survival make Jackal a memorable read. This chilling story earns a 4.75-star rating for its evocative portrayal of Black womanhood within spaces determined to overlook it, even if some elements of the ending left me wanting more.

📖 Recommended For: Readers who enjoy atmospheric, suspenseful prose; those interested in the intersection of horror and social critique; fans of stories that confront racial trauma and explore Black identity in predominantly white spaces; and anyone drawn to narratives of resilience and mystery.

🔑 Key Themes: Systemic Erasure and Racial Injustice, Intergenerational Trauma, Identity and Alienation, The Power of Community, Visibility and Survival in Hostile Spaces.