Book Review: Thornbird by E. Kennedy
Elle Kennedy is best known for her Off Campus books but her new novel, Thornbird, sees the author swap New Adult romance for dark YA thrills as a serial killer’s daughter is forced to confront her father’s shocking crimes. At the heart of the story is Ryan Shipley, who’s spent the past ten years living under a new name in Pennsylvania. But when her grandmother dies, Ryan must return to her childhood hometown of Starling, Tennessee to live with the only family she has left. It’s hard enough starting over when you’ve lost everything, harder still when you’re hiding who you are in a town that blames your whole family for one man’s deplorable actions.
As Ryan tries to keep her real identity a secret from her friends and classmates, the ten-year anniversary of her father’s capture – and his imminent execution – sparks a fresh interest in the case. The families of the victims want answers and they’re willing to pay for it. With a reward offered for anyone who can help find the remains of their loved ones, suddenly everyone wants to play detective. But there’s someone in town who doesn’t want the bodies to be found, and as cryptic texts and eerie coincidences threaten to reveal her true identity, the pressure on Ryan mounts. Because in a town full of secrets, she might be the only one who can unravel the mystery of her father’s crimes.
The best YA thrillers are the ones that make you genuinely care about the fate of the characters, whilst at the same time building a twisty mystery that keeps you guessing right up until the end. Kennedy’s Thornbird does exactly that with its troubled protagonist, stifling small-town dynamics and the chilling crime that haunts the story like a spectre nobody can outrun. It’s a story of loss, love and forgiveness that’s full of dark family secrets and lingering traumas. But what makes it so addictively thought provoking is how it ponders victimhood and the notion of inherited guilt, and how people can be blamed by association.
Kennedy also weaves in modern society’s macabre obsession with true crime and how it can often be more detrimental than helpful to high profile cases and the victims involved. It’s a marvel that with such a morbid subject matter, Kennedy manages to balance the unsettling thriller storyline with an unexpected romantic subplot that offers heart and hope amidst the darkness. The love triangle fell out of fashion for a while but this book is a reminder that when the trope is written the right way – with a delicious dose of yearning, jealousy and regret – you’ll always leave readers clamouring for more.
Written for a YA audience but twisty and compelling enough to appeal to adults too, Thornbird will lure you in with its creeping atmosphere and emotional stakes. It’s a keep-you-up-at-night story that holds its secrets tight to its chest until the end, wherein it unravels with a satisfying domino effect. If you enjoy the high school drama and suspenseful mysteries found in Holly Jackson’s and Karen M. McManus’s books, you’ll love this.
★★★★
Thornbird was published by Electric Monkey on 2 July 2026
