All These Bodies

Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop


Kendare Blake delves into historical fiction with her true-crime-inspired novel All These Bodies, taking readers on an investigative journey behind a murder spree that left a fifteen-year-old girl covered in blood.

Wanted More
I am a fan of Blake’s Three Dark Crown series; let us start there. I have been sitting at this computer for hours trying to piece together what I wanted to say about All These Bodies. Although I have to admit, I am still struggling to put my thoughts and notes in order.

I knew what I was getting into when I requested an ARC from the publisher. I read the description of the novel, describing it as a true-crime-inspired tale, following a young girl who will only speak to a boy not much older than herself. I was under no illusions that this novel would have a fantasy. However, when Blake snuck in the paranormal and supernatural, I admit, I was drawn in.

However, the void created by that tidbit was never filled, leaving me a little unsatisfied.

All These Bodies is a good story, it has excellent pacing and moves in a very organic way, but the supernatural element felt like a lingering distraction.

Ultimately Gripping
I wanted to know more about Marie and her mysterious partner; I was captivated by that mystery. The friendship between Marie and Michael gives off the right amount of tension for the plot.

Furthermore, the flow and pacing of the novel were very organic. The reader can tell that this is a story Michael is telling someone. He goes back to the beginning of his story, of how he first meets Marie drenched in blood standing in a room of bodies, and it is an excellent way to break up his interviews with Marie.

As for Marie, she comes off as older than fifteen, which is to be expected given everything she has gone through. Moreover, in her story, she does not go back to the beginning. However, again, it is organic. The way she answers Michael’s questions and tells her story in a non-linear way makes the story more engaging because of how realistic it feels.

All These Bodies has a natural fluidity that captures the rising tension of the mystery, keeping the reader engaged.

Nevertheless, it did not need that supernatural element.

Final Thoughts
All These Bodies has enough mystique to keep the reader engaged. With good pacing and rising tension, the organic build between the characters captures the reader. Furthermore, while that supernatural/paranormal element keeps the reader guessing what is and is not real, it is unnecessary.

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It really kept you intrigued through the book but the ending was very disappointing. Will not read this again. Not my cup of tea

"𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒑 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝑵𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒂’𝒔 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒋𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈." 𝔸𝕝𝕝 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕤 - Kᴇɴᴅᴀᴿᴇ Bʟᴀᴋᴇ ⭐ (6.5/10) Y'all I've been reading all these books with no time to write them down till now I'm trying to keep them in my head, but a girl been busy! Anyway! This one was mysterious, kinda fun though. I thoroughly enjoyed it, til the end. Which wasn't bad. Not at all. So this book was very dark as I said I expected as much, it's called All These Bodies... The two main characters are cute. They are indeed, two children reading the same book on the same page one is starting from the top, the other is starting from the bottom. You get the sense that is Marie may have made better decisions is she had just had a friend like Michael. He's such a good boy you just want all of this to be some giant misunderstanding and they will become friends and that just doesn't happen. The book goes from a what happened noir, to a supernatural turn & quite honestly, I'm just not into it. I could have done with some other explaination. I found the reason all the bodies were as they found them to be a bit of a cop out andI may stretch enough to call it lazy writing. However, it was all well written so IDK, I DON'T KNOW. I. DON'T. KNOW! The book lost a bit of star for the supernatural spin that got thrown in there, it lost a whole star got the ending. It felt like back peddaling to me. I know it was intentional, however. It could have just ended without it. Even if you hadn't added that bit we could have still been left wondering, but it felt a like🐔💩 to ME but who am I but a mere amateur reviewer. I did love the main characters like I said. Michael was great for his patience with Marie and his attempts to get closer to her and get his job done. Marie was great at not being an average Jane, great at everything girl. She was duped maybe and lead down a horrible path and is now paying for it and she is handling it with grace while showing everyone who isin charge. The book really was great despite the ending but even if i didn't care for it, it was still well written. Pick it up. It was a fun read. 𝕄𝕦𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕤 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝘑𝘢𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘖𝘶𝘵

Well, this was unexpectedly delightful. Ironic, considering the thrilling content. I finished this pretty much in one sitting (two, actually) I was SO interested in where the story was going. My favorite is the writing and how Michael told his story - it dropped little hints of where things where going and how it would end.

I kind of dislike the ending - because it feels... unresolved? However, I also believe that is how it's meant to be, so we are able to think about whether or not what was said is true or not.

Defiantly recommend for those true crime and thriller lovers out there.

(also, true crime followers will recognize a few other famous (or infamous?) crimes mentioned.)