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daybreakreads's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
This is what I get for skimming reviews before reading…I was under the impression when I started the audiobook that the narrator is the killer because someone had used “serial killer” and “autobiography” in a review (it’s hard for me to keep names straight when I begin an audiobook, so I kept waiting for the big revelation that never was.)
No. The story is told from a fictionalized version of the author’s childhood, but in a way that feels like a true crime novel. The author is an innocent observer and bystander in his hometown during a summer where a (fictional) serial killer is attacking women in the night.
I must say, confusion aside, I enjoyed this. It has mixed reviews, but the storytelling was so compelling it was difficult to put down. I also appreciated that it wasn’t overly or unnecessarily graphic. The worst it gets is a brief description of some injuries (but as far as the SA stuff goes, it literally just said, “the body had been SA-ed” and nothing more). I was worried that it would be grotesque (I had to DNF “The Chestnut Man” by Soren Sveistrup and Stephen King’s “The Outsiders” for unnecessarily graphic descriptions of corpses) but thankfully that was not the case.
Eventually the killer is caught decades later, and the author includes the “interview” he has with him. Apparently the physical book has staged photos that were included — I think that would’ve added to the experience.
I’m tempted to reread it now that I know where my confusion was, but I rather enjoyed it regardless.
No. The story is told from a fictionalized version of the author’s childhood, but in a way that feels like a true crime novel. The author is an innocent observer and bystander in his hometown during a summer where a (fictional) serial killer is attacking women in the night.
I must say, confusion aside, I enjoyed this. It has mixed reviews, but the storytelling was so compelling it was difficult to put down. I also appreciated that it wasn’t overly or unnecessarily graphic. The worst it gets is a brief description of some injuries (but as far as the SA stuff goes, it literally just said, “the body had been SA-ed” and nothing more). I was worried that it would be grotesque (I had to DNF “The Chestnut Man” by Soren Sveistrup and Stephen King’s “The Outsiders” for unnecessarily graphic descriptions of corpses) but thankfully that was not the case.
Eventually the killer is caught decades later, and the author includes the “interview” he has with him. Apparently the physical book has staged photos that were included — I think that would’ve added to the experience.
I’m tempted to reread it now that I know where my confusion was, but I rather enjoyed it regardless.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Suicide
minimicropup's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Setting the Scene: 🇺🇸 The town of Edgewood, Maryland
POV: We are reading a true crime and memoir from the author’s perspective as they revisit their youth and the dark events that unfolded in their hometown.
Mood Reading Match-Up:
-Metafiction memoir (in a non-fiction style)
-Coming of age nostalgia, friendship, serial killer whodunnit, not all was as it seemed
-True crime alternative history
-Exploring themes around nostalgia, memory, growing up, self-preservation, true crime consumption, community, life experience, investigation, motivations, and mystery
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🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕
🗣️ Tale-Telling: This was a cool narrative style I haven’t read before – it’s part memoir, part fiction, but it’s meant to be read as a true crime book pretending it covers real cases. It was like a high-end meta approach that initially sounded self-centered, but nope. The first-person narrative from the author’s perspective added a personal touch that didn’t feel narcissistic so the events felt more intimate and impactful. It is part memoir (and some of the memoir is truth since it’s the author writing themselves into this alternate universe). The audio was great, although the narrator didn't have a wide range for doing the voices so everyone sounded the same in voice (not in dialogue). Also, if you’re here for crime fiction only, then some parts could feel a bit like when podcast hosts chat a lot ahead of their topic.
👥 Characters: The characters felt like real people. The book had photographs of the victims, the author, their friends, and family, and the crime scene photos (nothing graphic) after each chapter the way a true crime non-fiction would. I sometimes forget this was blurring the line between fiction and reality because it felt so vivid and lifelike.
🗺️ Ambiance: Edgewood felt real (okay, it is, but you know what I mean) and some of the places you could look up on Google Earth if you want to enhance the immersiveness. But it isn’t necessary to do that to get a sense of the atmosphere and layout of different places. It also didn’t have info-dumping of street names or routes etc.
🔥 Fuel: The mystery of the serial killer’s identity is the driving force and their ability to get away with the crimes made it especially unnerving. It felt like a true crime investigative podcast with extra filler (kind of like CBC or Wondery style) where we get to know the host and their opinions along the way. There is lots of guessing and second-guessing throughout about who (or what) is committing these crimes and I wanted to re-read it when I found out at the end.
🎬 Scenes: The pacing starts off slow, primarily focused on the author’s childhood and hometown dynamics. The slow burn was okay for me since it laid the groundwork for the story and characters. When we aren’t getting facts or memoir bits, we get background on the victims and where they were prior to going missing. The storytelling captured the essence of the 1980s without being heavy-handed. The later parts of the book avoided common crime fiction tropes and had a grounded and realistic view of investigative work.
🤓 Random Thoughts: If you don’t mind slow burn character studies alongside a serial killer crime fiction mystery, I think this will be enjoyable. The character study is not of the victims or the serial killer though, and sometimes I felt like I was losing interest a little bit in the day-to-day life of the author or his journalist friend when I was desperate to know more about the evidence or what is going on with the case. But ultimately the blend of personal narrative and mystery was creative and captivating. I hope more authors will play with metafiction this way.
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Content Heads-Up: Serial murder. Gender-based violence (against teen girls). Body decomposition. Medical (cancer; recall, quick mention). Death of a parent. Death of a child. Grief.
Rep: Cis-gender. Heterosexual. White American experience and characters. Black American characters. Ecuadorian ancestry.
👀 Format: Everand Digital and Audio
The audio was so annoying to pair with text because there are chapter breaks that are titled, then within each chapter there is a sub chapter 1, 2, 3 etc. The audio chapter numbers don't match the text chapter numbers.
The audio was so annoying to pair with text because there are chapter breaks that are titled, then within each chapter there is a sub chapter 1, 2, 3 etc. The audio chapter numbers don't match the text chapter numbers.
“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death, and Murder
Minor: Medical content and Cancer
courtneykatzmeyer's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Grief
nickcallebs's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Death, Child death, Rape, and Grief
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