Tiffany McDaniel

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On the Savage Side

Arcade and Daffodil were born one minute apart, twins that swore to always protect each other. Together, Arc and Daffy forge a world shot through with colour and wonder: a patch of grass becomes an archaeologist's dig; the toxic fumes emerging from the local paper mill are the dust rising from wild horses gallopping in the factory's basement; an abandoned 1950s convertible is a time machine that can take them and their friends anywhere. Their bond is an escape from their struggling family, their imaginations a reprieve from the failing, lusterless streets of Chillicothe, Ohio. As the legacy of addiction that has long plagued their mother tightens its grip on their lives, Arc and Daffy try to build a new life for themselves. But when a local prostitute is found tangled in the banks of the river, Arc finds herself drawn to the mystery, determined to find the truth and protect the only family she's ever known. But as more familiar bodies are found and with the killer circling closer and closer, Arc's mission to keep herself and her sister safe becomes increasingly desperate - and the powerful riptides of the savage side increasingly difficult to resist. Drawing from the true story of six women killed in her native state, acclaimed novelist and poet Tiffany McDaniel has written a haunting, singular portrait of small towen America and an elegy for missing women everywhere.