My Review with Spoilers of Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney is a story set in 1980s Birmingham that featured an intrepid teen detective who helps the police capture a killer. What did I think of this story with a unique main character? I will reveal all.
Jen’s Quick Take: Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney
- Set in 1981 in Birmingham, England
- Narrated by fourteen-year old Ava Bonney, a precocious teen with an interest in death
- DS Seth Delahaye is investigating a missing child and receives a tip from a mysterious informant
- Discusses the (at that time) new phenomenon of serial killers, some of the history of which is discussed in my post on Best Serial Killer fiction
- NOT for a squeamish reader, with a lot of descriptions of decomposition
- Won the Harrogate Theakston Val McDermid debut award
- Published on November 12, 2024 by Henry Holt. 368 pages. Thanks to the publisher for the advance review copy.
- Out in paperback for November 2025!
Review of Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney
As the first chapter of this contained a lot of decomposing animals, I continued reading with some trepidation.
But I was completely enthralled by main character Ava Bonney, a peculiar fourteen year-old with a fascination with death. When she stumbles on a dead human body, she anonymously reports it to the police (so they won’t find her collection of road kill.)
Enter DS Seth Delahaye, a detective investigating the disappearance of a local boy and a suspicion that Ava knows more than she’s saying.
I don’t know if it was just me, but
I felt that the book was hinting pretty hard at who the killer was.
That doesn’t always bother me, as a) I might be wrong (I wasn’t) and b) that can set up a cat and mouse dynamic that can be very suspenseful.
Overall, I really enjoyed the 1980s feel of this in both setting and topic.
Spoilers for Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney
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I agree with a lot of what you said. I thought Ava was a great main character and I enjoyed the book leaning into the macabre.
(Spoilers below!)
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But I thought the killer was very obvious – so obvious that I was curious if there was an actual twist. Even early on there was the poem about the killer’s eyes, then a discussion about N’s eyes in the next scene. The police talked about the killer wearing gloves, then Ava took N’s gloves. Same with N’s strength, the bike as transport, the glasses, the head injury, the lack of discussion about N’s family, the roadkill, the hints of abuse.
I’m wondering if the point is to be looking in, watching to see when the characters figure out what is obvious to the reader (and if they do so in time to avoid further deaths!).
I agree with you! At first I was convinced he had to be a red herring as the clues were so strong. And yes, I do think that sometimes when we know (or suspect) who the killer is, it makes the book all the more suspenseful!