Review: All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

This book gave me so much joy. Despite how depressing and dark it was most of the time. Which was a reason for why I loved it so. I have been a fan of Kendare for so many years now, and so of course I had to read this book as soon as I could. I do not regret it for one second. I stayed up to finish this, was so worth it.

I'm feeling a little lost for words. This book was so perfect to me. The writing was incredible, I had no issues with it. I so loved the setting of the book, taking place in 1958. I loved the town it was set in too. Most of all I loved these incredible characters. And the plot. Sigh. The feeling of not being fully safe was very awesome.

This book is from the point of view of Michael. It is written in a different way, with us reading his written down story about the murders and what happened after. It was different, and I enjoyed it so much. Michael was such an awesome character. I simply loved him to pieces. Sigh. Getting to know him was the best. He was the son of the sheriff. A good, kind boy. And I just adored him too much. His best friend was the best too. This book starts with a murder in his town. A family dead, their two-year-old surviving. All bodies free of blood. Just like all the murders that had happened in states near them for weeks now. No one knowing who did it, no leads at all. Until now. As there was a girl found at the scene. Completely covered in blood, none of it her own.

At first the police think she might be a victim. Until they learn the blood was not hers. And so she is put in a jail, where she will stay for a long time. But she is just a girl. A small, pretty girl. Innocent. And so they want her to give up the man they are sure must have committed all those sixteen murders. As there was no way this little fifteen-year-old girl could have killed them all. At least not alone. But she is not talking. Until she sees Michael at the station with his friends, being a good guy. She says she will confess to him.

Which is what starts this murder book. Michael is both nervous and excited to be interviewing her. He will try his best to find out the truth about the murders. Even though Marie makes it sound impossible. I shall not say much more about the plot. But gosh, it was amazing. Marie was such an incredible character and I loved her to pieces. She was the best. And her and Michael getting close was so good too. You know, despite her being behind bars. He just wants to free her. The world wants her dead. It was so impossible.

And that is a reason for why I loved this book so much. It was all impossible. Trying to get her free was not easy, trying to find out the truth even less so. Then there was Michael being watched and more. It was exciting and thrilling and fully creepy. I loved it so much. People were dead. Others wanted justice. Michael just wanted the truth. And to free Marie. And I just wanted the two of them together. Oops. This was a book full of blood and death. Full of great characters. An impossible story. I loved every moment.

This book is all about the mystery. And I very much loved that. Who killed all those people? Why were there no blood inside them anymore? Who did Marie work with? And I so loved trying to figure it all out. There are still some secrets left at the end of the book, hmph, but we got so many answers too. I simply loved it too much. It was all kinds of interesting and exciting. There was talk of vampires. All so awesome. And the mystery of Marie. Gosh. It was fully thrilling to read about, trying to figure out who she truly was.

There were a few side characters too. The person who tried to get Marie executed, whom I absolutely hated. Some school boys that I very much hated too. Oops. And then there was Percy. Michael's best friend. And I loved him beyond words. He was completely adorable and such a perfect and great friend. Their friendship was simply the best. I also really liked Michael's family. They were pretty awesome too. Oh, and Nancy, who worked at the police station too. She was all kinds of kind and sweet. I loved her so.

There was not really a single thing about this book that I did not love. Only a few things I wished for. More romance. It was only a hint of one, but I loved it so, and wanted even more. And that ending. My god. It was completely evil, haha. And so very perfect too. But also a little open, and I simply must know what happens next. Hmph. I know, I might never know, but oh, how I would love a sequel to this one. There is still so much that could happen. And I would love every moment of it. Fingers crossed for one day soon.

All These Bodies was every bit as perfect as I thought it would be. Stunning writing, excellent characters. Beautiful friendships and great families too. The murder mystery was all kinds of creepy and I loved that so. Simply put, it was a completely perfect murder book. Huge thank you to Quill Tree Books for the auto-approval via Edelweiss, so that I could read this book early. I very much loved it and simply cannot wait to own this beautiful book in person too. You are all going to love this one the most too. So you must read it.

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