Reviews with content warning for Violence - I Have Some Questions For You

I will read anything by this author. This is not your average mystery/thriller. A decades-old murder lies at the heart of the story, sure, but the author deftly explores adolescence and how we reflect on it in middle age, men abusing girls and young women, racism in the criminal justice system, and how true crime media plays into all
of it.

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kimveach's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book grabbed my attention from the start and held it through to the end. I loved the story of a podcaster looking into her own school history of a murder of a classmate. With her students attempting a podcast similar to Serial, she examines not only the original murder but also society as a whole in this Me Too age.

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mads_jpg's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

As someone who isn't a big fiction reader, I probably would never have read this book if it weren't for my work book club, but I'm so glad I did.

I'm also really skeptical about the true crime entertainment industry, so this book's take on the genre was incredibly refreshing. The author's frequent references to real life cases, and her deliberate choice to not name perpetrators and instead center the experiences of both victims and survivors was fantastic. This book left me angry at the injustice of the justice system and the microagressions that eventually lead to violence against women and people of colour.

Overall, it was an insightful take on true crime as a form of entertainment, and my only real critique was that the ending left me somewhat wanting.

While I'd loved the use of "you" as this ongoing mystery, I was disappointed we never had any kind of climax/closure with Mr Bloch. And while I know in reality Omar would probably never get justice, I really hoped the book would opt for a happy ending for him. Lastly, the final chapter felt like an odd way to finish the story. Aside from Bodie reflecting on Carlotta's death, it just felt like a moment of pause before the actual ending, so I was genuinely surprised when I realised it was over.

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deetabz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

When Bodie Kane was a student at a prestigious New England boarding school her roommate Thalia Keith was murdered. Now, in her 40s and a successful podcaster, Bodie is back at her alma mater to teach a two week period on podcasting. One group of students decide to focus on Thalia’s murder, which suits Bodie perfectly because she is convinced she knows who killed Thalia. And it isn’t Omar, the Black man currently in prison for the crime.

Boarding school settings hold a weird fascination for me and I typically enjoy books with a podcasting element. This book is written in the second person, a less common choice which therefore tends to capture my attention as a reader. What also really caught my attention was the way Makkai folded in real life cases of assault and murder of women, cases that have had a high profile in the news, into this book via the repeated phrase “the one where”. This really highlighted the scope of violence against women and ensures that this book is about more than the fictional story it contains. Lots of issues were raised throughout the plot - misogyny, the me too movement, cancel culture, memory, privilege, the obsession with true crime, social media, class, racism and more - and not all received the attention they deserved. Having said that I also felt the book was a little long and in places it felt like there was no real momentum. The ending was in some ways disappointing, but realistically so. At times I felt uncomfortable at the way Bodie was centering herself (rather than Thalia or Omar) but I think that’s what people tend to do, especially on their first close encounter with a major event, and even more so when that happened during their formative teenage years. I also wonder if the author is trying to make a broader point about society’s true crime obsession.

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