On July 15, 2022, the bestselling novel and highly anticipated film Where The Crawdads Sing will be released on Netflix. 

Where The Crawdads Sing is a mystery novel that tells the story of Kya, a young woman abandoned by her family who soon becomes the main suspect in a small-town murder investigation. The debut novel by Delia Owens quickly became a New York Times Bestseller and sold more copies in 2019 than any other adult title. 

The trailer was released on March 22 and racked up seven million views within a few weeks. Additionally, Taylor Swift wrote and sang an original song for the movie, a sneak peek of which is included in the trailer.

Normal People actress Daisy Edgar Jones is starring as Kya, alongside actors Taylor John Smith (Sharp Objects) as Tate Walker and Harris Dickinson (The King’s Man) as Chase Andrews. 

The movie takes place in a rural town in North Carolina, though it was filmed mostly in Houma, Louisiana and New Orleans. Downtown Houma was transformed into the scenery of the 1950s and 60s by the crew, attempting to make the movie as realistic as possible. Filming began in April of 2021 and concluded in July. 

The rise in popularity of the novel is due to Reese Witherspoon, who chose Where the Crawdads Sing as a selection for her wildly popular online book club in 2018. The book took off, and the sales rose enormously in the weeks that followed. Now, Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine is adapting the murder mystery. The company’s focus is for women to be both behind-the-scenes and in front of the cameras, with some of their previous productions including Gone Girl, Big Little Lies, and Little Fires Everywhere. 

Olivia Newman will direct the film. This will be her largest project to date. The script-writer is Lucy Alibar, who won an Academy Award nomination for co-writing the film Beasts of the Southern Wild. Newman will have oversight on the storyline as well, according to the Hollywood Reporter. 

With a few months to go until the movie is released, there is plenty of time for fans to start or re-read Where the Crawdads Sing.