Review: This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer

Rating: 8/10

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.

An unsettling debut that has planted its gnarled roots into my brain, “This Wretched Valley,” by Jenny Kiefer reads like the unholy love child of Scott Smith’s “The Ruin,” “The Blair Witch Project,” and “The Descent.” We all know that being lost is scary, but Kiefer doesn’t disorient as much as she devours: this wretched valley has teeth, and our protagonists wander right into its gaping maw. Ecological and existential, this book serves as a reminder that we should always trust the MVP- the dog. Quite a triumph, Kiefer takes the well-worn premise of a group of friend’s lost in the woods and gives it new twisted life. Presented as a snarling antagonist, this valley may be wretched, yet the reading experience is anything but. 

We start at the end, with the decaying bodies of Clay, Luke, and Sylvia. 3 months earlier, the 3 of them, accompanied by climbing influencer Dylan, head into the Kentucky wilderness. Clay is working on his dissertation, using LIDAR to find rock faces that haven’t been discovered before, Sylvia, a foraging expert, his assistant. Dylan and her boyfriend Luke, as well as their dog Slade, are there to climb the thing, and film some content. However, the GPS begins flickering, and the group could swear they’re going in circles, Slade runs off, and the foursome hear strange noises during the night, and Dylan has a strange, magnetic attraction to the rock itself.

In “Denizens of Innsmouth,” Lovecraft writes the ocean as an antagonist. It’s my favourite niche of cosmic horror, what could possibly be more terrifying than the environment itself being your enemy? There’s no real escape. This is exactly the device that Kiefer utilises here. The valley is no passive setting; it’s almost a character in its own right, a living, breathing entity with an appetite for chaos and a grudge against our protagonists. The writing is gore-filled, but the book’s impact extends beyond a grimace every few pages- the psychological toll of the valley reverberates throughout and beyond the entire novel. A survival story in which the air feels hostile, hope is a mirage, and escape is unlikely, I’m not joking when I tell you this book is genuinely scary. 

The Dyatlov Pass Incident involved the death of nine soviet hikers in the Ural mountains. Overnight, for reasons unknown today, the hikers cut their way out of their tent in the middle of the night. 6 succumbed to hypothermia, 3 from physical trauma, namely skull damage, missing eyes, a missing tongue… missing eyebrows. In 2020, 61 years after the incident, Russia decided that they were killed by an avalanche. You decide for yourself. I digress…considering the inspirations obviously drawn from this, as well as the woodland setting, “This Wretched Valley,” is lent an almost folkloric quality. It’s a story that asks uncomfortable questions about our relationship with nature, about what we’re willing to sacrifice in the name of progress, and about the cost of ignoring the signs—whether they’re barking dogs, or blood-red sap oozing from ancient trees. I don’t know if it’s just the horror reader in me but I would be out of there SO fast… if you don’t like screaming at your protagonists, perhaps this one is not for you.

Grab a flash-light, some quality climbing gear and CERTAINLY a first aid kit- for the love of Slade, heed the warnings of the dog. Kiefer has certainly proven herself to be an author to keep both eyes on, and I am very much looking forward to seeing her on our Jumpscares TBRcon panel on January 20th. A twisted and claustrophobic reminder of the mercilessness of nature, we are taken for everything we want… and then some.