Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. 13-adult)Įveryone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago-except Pippa Fitz-Amobi. Slasher film fans will want to gather round the fire others should hike elsewhere.

The cast assumes a white default, but Maddie has a biracial (white/Korean) cousin. Though justified within the world of the novel, the killers’ motives border on cliché. The embedded campfire stories are clearly delineated by chapter titles but clumsily integrated into the rest of the story. Or, is there a serial killer among them? Sarles’ debut focuses heavily on plot, resulting in flat characters. As campers are mysteriously and gruesomely murdered in ways that mimic the plots of these oral tales, readers will wonder if the group is truly alone in the mountains. In one, mountain men kill intruders on their land by carving antlers into the victims’ foreheads. Each night, the group also gathers around the campfire to share spooky stories.

Soon, the quiet wilderness brings out other thrills, such as a rocky relationship between two older teens, smuggled cannabis, and underage drinking. Away from their comfortable suburban homes, Chelsea goads Maddie into chasing after the group’s attractive trail guide, Caleb. Sixteen-year-old Maddie Davenport (nicknamed “Saint Maddie” by peers who see her as a goody-goody) and her best friend, Chelsea Park, hike deep into the mountains to camp with friends and family. When fictional murders become the blueprints for actual killings, where is the line between imagination and reality?

Campfire by Shawn Sarles