Looking for a young adult book set in the South. I read it at least 10-12 years ago, and think it must’ve been published in the 2000s. It’s set in the South, male narrator with a couple close friends who are also male (high school age). I believe the story opens with another friend of theirs being found dead and the narrator is very unreliable—I believe in the end he did it! For whatever reason I remember this book being called The Hanging Tree (but I cannot find a book with that title that is what I’m looking for) with a tree on the cover. At the very least, they discuss some legend of a hanging tree in the town. I believe at some point the narrator’s friend has a chicken with its head cut off!! The book has a very eerie feeling which is why I’m curious to revisit it as an adult.
Lost Classics of Teen Lit: Name That Book! 