by B. M. Gill
First published 1987
Zanny looks like any other six-year-old girl. She has sweet eyes and an angelic smile that fools the adults around her. But beneath this innocent exterior lives a calculating killer without remorse. She has already murdered her young foster brother, watching him die with cold satisfaction. The bread man became her next victim, another life snuffed out by small hands that should be holding toys instead of weapons. Those who care for Zanny see only a charming child who needs love and protection. They cannot imagine that someone so young and seemingly helpless could orchestrate such brutal acts. Zanny understands this perfectly and uses their blindness to her advantage. She plans each killing with methodical precision, leaving no trace that points back to her. The girl feels no guilt about the lives she takes. Murder comes as naturally to her as playing games comes to other children. This story reveals the terrifying reality of a child who kills not from anger or fear, but from an emptiness where conscience should live.
Genres: mystery, crime, horror, thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: unreliable-narrator, villain-protagonist
194 pages · Hardcover · Scribner
Content warnings: child-abuse, child-death, murder, violence