Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - I Have Some Questions for You

a perfect meditation on the disfunction of the ‘justice’ system (particularly with regard to gender based violence and the way white men can get away with anything), #MeToo and the nuance required in examining power dynamics and abuse, the ethics of true crime storytelling, and the way high school has an unmatched and specifically fucked up impact on the psyche no matter how much therapy you go to. suggest this book to the weirdo in your life that doesn’t get why John Tory dating a staffer 30 years his senior is an abuse of power! also I’m not usually a big audiobook fan but this one is excellent; so well-narrated and very engrossing. please join my prayer circle for an Amy Adams screen adaptation starring Gillian Anderson tysm

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becca_thegrimreader's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Bodie Kane has constantly thought about the murder of her former classmate Thalia Keith while they were still at boarding school. With a man behind bars for the crime, Bodie dwells on the questions that weren’t asked and the people that weren’t investigated. After twenty three years, Bodie returns to Granby school as a guest teacher where she has to confront what she thought about the crime.

Bodie is not always terribly likeable. There are moments where you feel for her such as when she recounts the horrific bullying she suffered at school or her family’s tragic history. Then there are moments where I got incredibly angry with her as dismisses the accusations against her estranged husband, her response jarring with how she’s previously spoken about famous actresses treatment by Hollywood on her podcast. However this helps to make Bodie feel like a real person to me, though the book doesn’t delve into her hypocrisy.

Makkai focuses on many themes and issues throughout the book. We see how racial discrimination and classism played a role in the murder investigation the first time around. A prestigious school, Granby fights to protect its image as well as its staff and students leading the police to focus on a young black man. While rumours spread like wildfire through the school about Thalia sleeping with an older man, doing drugs, etc. these rumours are believed as facts. When Omar, a twenty three year old black man, is arrested and makes a confession which he later recants, no one questions it. But Bodie wonders if the real person Thalia was seeing was the music teacher Dennis Bloch. We don’t learn much about either Omar or Thalia, with the story more focused on Bodie’s experiences of everything. We don’t read of Omar’s experience in prison or the failed justice system, with very little filtered through Bodie’s voice. We also don’t learn anything of Thalia, the actual murder victim. It almost feels like a portrayal of the True Crime genre where the victims are often lost and forgotten in the noise around their cases.

I adored the writing throughout, highlighting many passages I read. I thought one of the interesting elements of this book was Makkai’s effective use of repetition. Throughout Makkai details different sexual assault/domestic abuse/murder cases all in one paragraph showing how often this happens, that it feels common place. This was a captivating read which I did enjoy, but left me questioning elements of it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for the copy of this book. My review is honest and unbiased.

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