This Wretched Valley

By Jenny Kiefer and JENNY KIEFER

2024 Bram Stoker AwardÂ(R)ï, Nominee for Superior Achievement in a First Novel

"A hallucinatory nightmare of a novel that blends adventure, horror and historical fiction, and isn't shy about violence or strangeness."--New York Times

"If you love wilderness horror, This Wretched Valley is a must-read."--Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger and The Fervor

Take only pictures. Leave only bones.

This trip is going to be Dylan's big break. Her geologist friend Clay has discovered an untouched cliff face in the Kentucky wilderness, and she is going to be the first person to climb it. Together with Clay, his research assistant Sylvia, and Dylan's boyfriend Luke, Dylan is going to document her achievement on Instagram and finally cement her place as the next rising star in rock climbing.

Seven months later, three bodies are discovered in the trees just off the highway. All are in various states of decay: one a stark, white skeleton; the second emptied of its organs; and the third a mutilated corpse with the tongue, eyes, ears, and fingers removed. But Dylan is still missing--and no trace of her, dead or alive, has been discovered.

Were the climbers murdered? Did they succumb to cannibalism? Or are their impossible bodies the work of an even more sinister force?

This dread-inducing debut builds to a bloodcurdling climax, and will leave you shocked by the final twist.

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Published Jan 16, 2024

302 pages

Average rating: 6.11

47 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

ComfyMaeve
Jul 22, 2026
4/10 stars
1. Don’t take your untrained dog into an unmarked forest 2. Don’t trust the men 3. Maybe leave at the first sight of something being off I couldn’t decide if this was a portal to hell or just a supernatural rock that was alive somehow. I really liked the premise of this book and think it would be fun to adapt to film or make into a tv show. The writing can be too much at times, where it’s overly descriptive and makes it repetitive. BUT I loved the gore and the atmosphere. Everyone made stupid decisions and everyone was unlikable at some point, but you’ll never know if it was because of the influence of the rock or because they all sucked. The blood thirsty ghosts with a supernatural environment (blood pool that’s alive?) didn’t really mesh well for me. But I think this author should write a zombie book, she’s good at writing about viscera and eating body parts. Overall, enjoyable, even though nothing was ever explained and some things introduced just didn’t make sense or lead to nothing.
Lotusbookworm247
Mar 30, 2025
6/10 stars
This book gave me everything from an annoyance to heebie-jeebies to wild factor to what the fuck am I reading and back to oh my God! Really good read! Loved the back-and-forth between times. Very descriptive writing, which is good and bad in this books case lol
Grolfe_77
Nov 01, 2024
8/10 stars
A really good debut. Great concept, some really spooky scenes, and some luscious prose sprinkled in.
Looking forward to what Kiefer offers next.
Bonus points for the rad freaking cover!!!!!
Codeliusthe2nd
Sep 04, 2024
8/10 stars
“This Wretched Valley” is a wickedly fun tale, filled with dread and terrifying atmosphere. This has been on my radar for ages now, so it’s amazing to finally have the chance to read it, and know that it was absolutely worth the wait. This novel is wild, with a lot of heavy plot details happening at once, which could be exhausting, but this book reads like butter. It’s a perfect spooky book for the fall season (even if it takes place in the spring) and is a great addition to the wilderness horror subgenre. I cannot wait to give this one another visit, since I had so much fun with it.
Hartfullofbooks
Aug 04, 2024
2/10 stars
The premise for this novel was great, the execution not so much. The story is too slow, there are alternate timelines, and the characters are forgettable. This one took me forever to finish, even listening to it on the way back from Vegas and it wasn’t enough time. I’d recommend skipping this one unless you really want a supernatural survival horror.

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