Welcome to Litsy!

Thirteen year old Ava Bonney is different.
While her friends play , Ava searches for roadkill.
Then, one night, Ava sneaks out to find a fox. She instead stumbles upon the body of Mickey Grant.
Detective Seth Delahayne has never seen a murder case like this one, as though the victim was set upon by a wild animal.
Nor has he met anyone like Ava , so determines and ... unusual.
When another boy goes missing , he has no idea that Ava will help him.

“Deadly Animals“ by Marie Tierney is a chilling and unforgettable thriller set in 1980s Birmingham, England. This book had me hooked from the first page and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

The full Deep Dive review of this book can be watched from our YouTube channel…

https://youtu.be/04vJPRXeC_o

This one was slightly reminiscent of Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce series, only somewhat more gruesome and the teenage girl character in this one (Ava) is fascinated with studying the dead (a young 'Scarpetta'). I thought it was a wonderful debut novel and really enjoyed Ava. I do wish the detective Seth was better developed, but suspect that will come in subsequent books (fingers crossed). Thanks to Edelweiss+ for the digital ARC. 4.25/5!

Set in 1980 Birmingham, this mystery comes from two perspectives trying to solve a disturbing string of murders— an investigation by 14-year-old Ava, involved since a discovery during her own pursuits of her version of a Body Farm on the local roadkill, & the more official one by the police. Well-performed, I definitely found myself listening at every chance & loved that the ending interview confirms that this isn‘t the last we‘ll see of Ava!

Picked this up at the library because it looked different. Again it‘s one of those books which to me ,most of it was very obvious and I wasn‘t sure if it was meant to be obvious. I liked the main character 13 year old Ava. I learnt a lot about bones, forensic science and decaying bodies. Yes it was a bit gruesome in parts. Mixed feelings about it really. You might love it.