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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
Is a great murder mystery. I love Stacy Willingham. Lucy was full of surprises. Margot needed a life of her own, and boy, did she get one.
The first 80-90% is so boring and repetitive, and not a single character is remotely likable. It does pick up at the end as the pieces come together but somehow all of the characters become even more unlikable.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book hooked me in from the beginning with writing that was so vivid not only in the descriptions of characters or setting, but in describing their emotions and desires. There were some loaded guns on the scene that may seem obvious in hindsight, but I was turning pages fast enough not to stop and ponder for too long. The ending left me a little heartbroken, to be honest. I'm not sure I feel anyone was justified in their actions. The story explores our deepest desires to not only belong to a family and a group of friends, but to feel chosen.
The following is a spoiler-summary written in case I get into a conversation later and realize I don't remember anything that happened. It's long, I know.
The story is told from Margot's POV who came to college after the death of her best friend, Eliza. She spends her first year like a recluse, but then she's targeted by an intense and popular girl in their dorms, Lucy, to come live with her and her two friends off campus. The story jumps back and forth, but we immediately know that Margot and the two others (Sloane and Nicole) are being questioned by a detective about Lucy disappearing after she was questioned about the death of a boy named Levi. You can tell the girls are hiding something, but you aren't sure how anyone is involved in anything.
The "before" story builds around Margot reconciling being chosen by Lucy who she realizes she knows less about as time goes on, but she thinks Lucy might remind her of Eliza. We learn about Levi, who is from Margot's hometown and comes to live at the frat-house their house is connected to by a shared shed. Margot tells her friends she believes Levi is responsible for the death of Eliza, which was ruled an accident. Lucy starts toying with Levi as if she's trying to get revenge for Margot, but on a visit back home, Margot sees Lucy and Levi kissing and is confused about their dynamic. On this same visit, she meets with Eliza's father who still seems to be wondering whether someone killed Eliza on purpose. Margot also discovers a wad of cash in an envelope in Eliza's dresser.
After Christmas vacation, Margot is feeling closer than ever to Lucy having spent a lot of alone time with her. The other two girls are acting weird: Sloane is voicing suspicions about who Lucy really is (having discovered Lucy isn't enrolled in school and didn't actually live in their dorms the prior year), and Nicole is a shell of herself (likely as a result of an incident on Halloween where she was left blacked out and seemingly man-handled). The final event is a frat party on an island where Levi ends up dead. Lucy was last seen following him into the woods after he drunkenly pushed her away, and Margot was seen/heard insisting she find him when she was drunk. So who dunnit?
Final reveal: Eliza's father had a one-night stand that resulted in Lucy. He bought a squalid trailer for Lucy/her mom and was paying them for silence. Lucy grew up hard, and wanted to approach her father to possibly belong, but was turned away. She became obsessed with Eliza as her sort of alter-ego (coulda-been-me?), which explains away Margot's suspicions that Levi was stalking Eliza. Those suspicions led to a fight between Eliza and Margot. Then Margot went to a party to reconcile with Eliza, and she sees Eliza and Levi having sex, resulting in another spat where Margot accidentally shrugs away Eliza who loses balance and falls out of the (old abandoned) building they're in and dies. Since Lucy was stalking Eliza, she saw the whole incident from the shadows.
So now we know Levi isn't actually responsible for Eliza's death, so there's no reason to exact revenge for Margot. Margot doesn't think she did it in her blacked out state, and just as Lucy is going to tell Margot who she thinks did it, she's stabbed. Come to find out, Levi switched shirts with Nicole's boyfriend who raped her on Halloween, and Nicole was afraid to be in a tent on the island with him so she killed him. Sloane and Nicole justify killing Lucy saying she would have ruined everyone's lives by turning them in. Margot realizes Lucy also knows Margot was quasi-responsible for Eliza's death, so she agrees to cover it up. They hide her body in a crawl space under the house and get away with it.
The following is a spoiler-summary written in case I get into a conversation later and realize I don't remember anything that happened. It's long, I know.
The "before" story builds around Margot reconciling being chosen by Lucy who she realizes she knows less about as time goes on, but she thinks Lucy might remind her of Eliza. We learn about Levi, who is from Margot's hometown and comes to live at the frat-house their house is connected to by a shared shed. Margot tells her friends she believes Levi is responsible for the death of Eliza, which was ruled an accident. Lucy starts toying with Levi as if she's trying to get revenge for Margot, but on a visit back home, Margot sees Lucy and Levi kissing and is confused about their dynamic. On this same visit, she meets with Eliza's father who still seems to be wondering whether someone killed Eliza on purpose. Margot also discovers a wad of cash in an envelope in Eliza's dresser.
After Christmas vacation, Margot is feeling closer than ever to Lucy having spent a lot of alone time with her. The other two girls are acting weird: Sloane is voicing suspicions about who Lucy really is (having discovered Lucy isn't enrolled in school and didn't actually live in their dorms the prior year), and Nicole is a shell of herself (likely as a result of an incident on Halloween where she was left blacked out and seemingly man-handled). The final event is a frat party on an island where Levi ends up dead. Lucy was last seen following him into the woods after he drunkenly pushed her away, and Margot was seen/heard insisting she find him when she was drunk. So who dunnit?
Final reveal: Eliza's father had a one-night stand that resulted in Lucy. He bought a squalid trailer for Lucy/her mom and was paying them for silence. Lucy grew up hard, and wanted to approach her father to possibly belong, but was turned away. She became obsessed with Eliza as her sort of alter-ego (coulda-been-me?), which explains away Margot's suspicions that Levi was stalking Eliza. Those suspicions led to a fight between Eliza and Margot. Then Margot went to a party to reconcile with Eliza, and she sees Eliza and Levi having sex, resulting in another spat where Margot accidentally shrugs away Eliza who loses balance and falls out of the (old abandoned) building they're in and dies. Since Lucy was stalking Eliza, she saw the whole incident from the shadows.
So now we know Levi isn't actually responsible for Eliza's death, so there's no reason to exact revenge for Margot. Margot doesn't think she did it in her blacked out state, and just as Lucy is going to tell Margot who she thinks did it, she's stabbed. Come to find out, Levi switched shirts with Nicole's boyfriend who raped her on Halloween, and Nicole was afraid to be in a tent on the island with him so she killed him. Sloane and Nicole justify killing Lucy saying she would have ruined everyone's lives by turning them in. Margot realizes Lucy also knows Margot was quasi-responsible for Eliza's death, so she agrees to cover it up. They hide her body in a crawl space under the house and get away with it.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was not the most exciting or edge of your seat mystery, but it did have a solid plot. The author leaves breadcrumbs along the way, making some of the twists predictable, but I got whiplash in the last few chapters from all the misdirections and reveals. A solid 3.75 star read for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Toxic friendship
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes