If I had picked this one up, thinking it was a raw story about addiction, family, pain and how missing prostitutes don't get investigated in rural America, I might have hesitated but still grabbed this one. But this one was listed as a mystery. I thought there would be mystery, maybe even a little police procedural. Instead, there was just sadness. There is violence, abuse, animal cruelty, drug use, prostitution. There is definitely someone out there killing these women and the police are not looking for them, but that's it. I didn't learn anything about the true crime this is loosely based on. To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement. On top of all that, there is odd writing. Daffy, Thursday, Mamaw, and Arc all talk like they are writing poetry. Every single interaction with the aunt had "spittle, spittle spider, where you gonna hide her?" The words felt overly-flowery to moments that were dark and I found it distracting instead of adding an additional depth to any character. It was until Arc was mad and fighting back that she started to communicate and talk in ways that were clear.

I started this with my book club and only 2 of us continued reading because the childhood abuse was just too much. I wish we'd be warned how graphic it would be and that IT would be the focus and not a mystery at all.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. ( )

“In life, there is a savage side and a beautiful side.”

Set in Chillicothe, Ohio, On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel revolves around twin sisters Arcade ”Arc” and Farren “Daffy” Doggs. Raised by their addict mother Adelyn and their Aunt Clover both of whom are prostitutes, Arc and Daffy spend their time dreaming of a life away from the hell they call home, drawing on the cement floor of their home with markers gifted to them by their maternal grandmother Mamaw Milkweed. The time the sisters spend with her, listening to her stories full of magic, life lessons and words of wisdom is the only bright spot in their miserable childhood.

“Wings were the one gift we kept giving ourselves. Each year we would draw them with more feathers, hoping they would be big enough to be real. No matter how hard we wished, or how large we drew the wings, we never got more than a foot off the ground, the highest we could jump on any given day.”

Their childhood comes to an abrupt end after their grandmother dies in a tragic accident when they were nine years old. Sexually abused and with no one looking out for them, they are left to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, the darkness of their childhood follows them into their adult lives and what follows is a painful cycle of sexual abuse and prostitution, violence and substance abuse, and ultimately tragedy. The friends they make along the way lead into some beautiful heartfelt moments of friendship and support but with each of them struggling to step out of the darkness in their lives, the friends are unable to keep themselves and one another out of harm’s way. As evil lurks in their community, _targeting women like themselves, law enforcement turns a blind eye only compounding the tragedy in the lives of these women who have been profiled, judged and victimized their whole lives.

“When a woman disappears, how is she remembered? By her beautiful smile? Her pretty face? The drugs in her system? Or by the johns who all have dope breath and graceless desires?”

On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel is a dark, brutal, atmospheric and heartbreaking read. The narrative flits between the past and the present day when Arc and Daffy are twenty years old. The author develops her characters with meticulous detail and weaves their stories together seamlessly. I put down this book multiple times but was unable to stay away from it for too long. Exceptionally well-written, this is a compelling read that will stay with me for a long time. With consistent pacing and a tightly woven plot, featuring Arc and Daffy and their friends Thursday, Nell, Violet and Indigo the author tells an emotionally hard-hitting story inspired by the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six. This is not an easy read but a powerful one.

Many thanks to the author, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for the much-appreciated digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own, The book is due to be released on February 14, 2023.

“We humans have always been in pain. History tells us that in the artifacts civilizations have left behind. Pain is there in the broken vases, the fractured poetry, the overwhelming music we have played for centuries. We belong to grief until the engine goes out. Then we belong to the dirt, our bodies identical to other fallen things.”

⚠ child-neglect, sexual abuse of a minor, sexual violence and substance abuse. ( )

I don’t really have the right thing to say. When I read ‘Betty’ I struggled to articulate what it had meant to me, personally, but also what it had made known to me in the reading. It imprinted upon me in a way that remains, nearly as vivid as the day it was placed. Earlier this year I read ‘The Summer that Melted Everything’ and it spoke to a place and a time that I recognized, familiar and terrible and present.

As I closed the final pages of ‘On the Savage Side’, on what has been a particularly challenging day… as I collect these thoughts before they become to precious to share… as I move through the grief for things lost, real and imagined— I am in awe of the tenderness, empathy, honesty and love, with which this horrific, relentless story, was told. Stories matter for the voice they give to the voiceless. Stories matter as they navigate the uncharted.

It matters.

Based on the mystery surrounding the real life, “Chillicothe Six” we follow the story of Arc Doggs, her twin sister and friends in a very real, small town, plagued by poverty and addiction and corruption. They live life on “the savage side”, a place that people see as dark and devoid of love and meaning… but there IS love there. And these lives matter. I don’t recommend this broadly. It’s triggering in many many ways. But it is magnificent. And in light of any more of a review, I will share the names of the real women, just as Tiffany McDaniel has done. You are not forgotten.

Charlotte Trego
Tameka Lynch
Wanda Lemons
Shasta Himelrick
Timberly Claytor
Tiffany Sayre ( )

I really wanted to give this book 5 starts but there were a couple of things that lessened my enjoyment.
- I loved the Appalachian folklore, but there was just way too much of it.
- Everyone talks like a poet.
- The Daffy twist didn't make sense and was unnecessary. Took away from the focus of the book.

I did love the ending or the lack of one however! I do think I rated it higher because I am from the area she is writing about and I find nostalgia in her work. ( )

#FirstLine ~ Prologue : The locals called the river in Autumn, the eye of God.

WOW. This book was an emotional read. I was honored to read it because I feel like it gave voice to those women, to what happened to them and was told in a raw and real way. Compassion mixed with McDaniel's brilliant writing, exceptional character building and pacing lent itself to an engrossing, eye-opening and unforgettable story. What an amazing retelling of true crime. A must read! ( )