Hatchet Girls

August 21, 2023
This bone-chilling speculative horror novel by Wallach, inspired by the 19th-century Lizzie Borden murders, drips with blood, gore, and engaging originality. Following an unexplained incident in her hometown, Puerto Rican high school junior Tessa Gomez, her 18-year-old half brother Vik, and their mother move to Fall River, Mass., famous for the Borden killings. Vik soon begins dating white-cued classmate Mariella, daughter of the town’s richest residents, who endures constant emotional abuse from her father. When Vik is found at the site of Mariella’s parents’ deaths covered in their blood, everyone is certain he’s the killer. But Tessa knows that Vik would never commit such an act and, aided by Mariella, vows to find the real culprit. The key to the mystery lies in the ominous local woods, where the girls must face monsters both human and demonic if they hope to survive the investigation. Present-day chapters—rendered in anticipatory-feeling prose and bursting with foreboding ambiance—follow Tessa as she seeks to absolve Vik of his crime, while alternating sections center Mariella at myriad points in time, including the night of the murders and the two months prior. Ages 12–up. Agent: Lane Heymont, Tobias Literary.