The cover is suitably dark, but also a tad spoilerish which can work against it seeing how half of this book is a mystery. That being said, I do love the blue hues against the yellow eyes. Very eye-catching.

From the start I am going to say The Litter a very clever book. Despite the slight spoilers in the cover, it is not entirely clear how or why people are being targeted, and there is a good suspense and mystery until around the middle. I was surprised by the reveal of the antagonist so soon, but given what happens later in the story it does make sense.

Karen is a likable protagonist with several layers to her, especially with her relationship to her father, the Chief of Police. Jared, an investigative journalist, has a bit less conflict to his character, but is a believable enough protagonist. That being said, however, he also tends not to carry a camera around, and I can see that being an issue for him if people doubt his story later.

A great deal of care was also put into the descriptive language of the book, and Kevin R. Doyle paints a very detailed picture of what life is like in the homeless community aka 'the Zone'. The weakest part of the book is in the last few chapters, but only slightly when compared to the rest of the book. Without giving too much away, a key question is not actually answered in the book, and I'm not entirely sure why it isn't, unless the writer intends to write a sequel. Karen also makes some...questionable choices towards the end, and I think some more internal dialogue from her point of view at that point would have gone a long way. 

FINAL GRADE: 4.5 out of 5. There were a few nitpicks here and there, but it didn't take away from the overall enjoyment of The Litter. Overall a fantastic read.