This Wretched Valley, Jenny Kiefer
This Wretched Valley, Jenny Kiefer
List: $22.95 | Sale: $16.07
Club: $11.47

This Wretched Valley

Author: Jenny Kiefer

Narrator: Megan Tusing

Unabridged: 8 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/16/2024

Synopsis

Take only pictures. Leave only bones.This trip is going to be Dylan’s big break. Her geologist friend Clay has discovered an untouched cliff face in the Kentucky wilderness, and she is going to be the first person to climb it. Together with Clay, his research assistant Sylvia, and Dylan’s boyfriend Luke, Dylan is going to document her achievement on Instagram and finally cement her place as the next rising star in rock climbing.Seven months later, three bodies are discovered in the trees just off the highway. All are in various states of decay: one a stark, white skeleton; the second emptied of its organs; and the third a mutilated corpse with the tongue, eyes, ears, and fingers removed.But Dylan is still missing—and no trace of her, dead or alive, has been discovered.Were the climbers murdered? Did they succumb to cannibalism? Or are their impossible bodies the work of an even more sinister force? This dread-inducing debut builds to a bloodcurdling climax, and will leave you shocked by the final twist.

About Jenny Kiefer

Jenny Kiefer is a Kentucky native and an avid rock climber. Together with her mother, she is the owner and manager of Butcher Cabin Books, an all-horror bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky. This is her debut novel.

About Megan Tusing

Megan Tusing is an actress, known for The Beginning and the End, The Share, and Odd Jobs. She has a bachelor’s degree in theater from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. 

Reviews

Goodreads review by Brandon on January 20, 2024

This Wretched Valley follows four friends (and a dog) as they trek into the Kentucky wilderness to explore a previously undiscovered climbing rock, and when they get stranded there, some weird things start to happen. The story switches between all their POVs, and back and forth in time, as they unco......more

Goodreads review by Nina The Wandering Reader on April 01, 2024

Another suspenseful survival horror novel that validates my disdain for the harsh outdoors! I am now terrified to rock climb! (P.S. the gore in this book was fantastic!)......more

Goodreads review by Carl on September 25, 2024

There is something grate about horror stories about people going off into woods that I love! This was a lot of going though the standard beats in this stories, so if your not into being lost in a supernatural forest, this stories is not for for you. But if that is your type of story, then you won’t f......more

Goodreads review by Mikala on February 02, 2025

For a horror novel, more than any other genre, I think the setting is paramount to the tale. If done right, the setting can become its own distinct omniscient character in the story. For me personally, my very favorite horror stories are those where the setting not only becomes another character in......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on July 08, 2023

In the tradition of THE DESCENT and THE RUINS comes THIS WRETCHED VALLEY, a horror novel set in uncharted woods south of Kentucky's famed climbing and hiking paradise, Red River Gorge. The graphic descriptions of both the woods and what they find there will haunt readers. Or gross them out. And Kiefe......more

Quotes

“Megan Tusing pulls listeners into a nail-biting tale of horror inspired by the harrowing Dyatlov Pass incident in the Soviet Ural Mountains in 1959…Tusing’s patient narration heightens the tension right from the get-go.” AudioFile

“A hallucinatory nightmare of a novel that blends adventure, horror, and historical fiction.” New York Times Book Review

“The book is brilliantly crafted…An unputdownable and realistic example of survival horror at its best.” Library Journal (starred review)

“Kiefer maintains a feeling of unease and nail-biting tension throughout. Devotees of daylight horror will be entranced.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A master class in both suspense and gore.” BookPage

“Many hair-raising, nail-biting scenes occur in broad daylight…Introduces a new nightmare on every page. This book is unshakeable. Inescapable.” Cemetery Dance

“An evocative and pulse-pounding survival horror novel inspired by the Dyatlov Pass incident.” Booklist

“Twisty and brutal, Jenny Kiefer’s debut unfolds like your favorite creepy new horror flick.” Christopher Golden, author of All Hallows

“[A] propulsive, hair-raising read….with nimble pacing, scream-worthy scares, and an ever-present sense of dread.” Rachel Harrison, author of Such Sharp Teeth

“Reading This Wretched Valley, you will find malice dangling from every branch while an old hunger gathers beneath your feet.” Andrew F. Sullivan, author of The Marigold

Awards

  • Indie Next Recommendation
  • CrimeReads Pick
  • Gizmodo Pick
  • Locus Magazine Pick
  • Jump Scares Pick
  • BookRiot Pick
  • BookReporter Pick
  • New York Times Pick
  • The Week Magazine Pick
  • Duncan Banner (Oklahoma)
  • Esquire Magazine Best Book of the Year
  • Library Journal Best Book
Add to Cart
Add to Wish List