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

It's hard to rate this book because there are some compelling things happening here, but it's hard to tell from the description that this novel is mostly about the realities of women who are assaulted and/or murdered, the men who more often than not get away with it, and the deeply flawed and racist judicial system. These are not tangential things- these are the main focus of the plot more than any mysterious aspect finding the real killer.
All evidence thus far does paint a bleak picture for women in America- and there's value to that being explored, I just don't know how I feel about it being hung on this mystery scaffolding. The main character's actions do prompt some questions about whether or not there's nuance when it comes to believing women, to penalizing men for the actions of the past and assessing whether there's a spectrum of behaviors that might warrant different actions, and what kind of justice or truth can be found in the court of public opinion in a time when anyone can have a podcast or YouTube channel.
There is some great writing here- little concise sentences here are there that completely capture the feeling of being young, or being lost, or a person struggling in the world.
The pacing is a little slow in the beginning, and Bode felt a little incomplete as a character. There are little pieces of things dropped in and abandoned that I was uncertain as to whether they were meant to serve as mini red herrings or if they were underdeveloped plot additions. The last quarter of the book did move a lot faster and I find myself eager to sit down and read for an hour straight, which I hadn't been as eager to do before.
I think it might be helpful for people to know going into this that this is a story that feels true in that justice is rarely found in white patriarchal contexts, vigilante justice while potentially satisfying isn't always accurate or successful, and there are ripples of grief and shame that impact family and friends because of the choices of one person that are inescapable. There's no real high note to end on here, which is real, but rare in a fictional mystery.

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mreags92's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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hellocath's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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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sarahsbookss's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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leoniekross's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
Recap:
Boarding school crime mystery is a genre I enjoy a lot. In this, Bodie Kane, a successful podcaster, comes back to her old high school under the guise of holding a class about podcasting while sorting through her memories about a murder that took place there her junior year. The investigation was famously botched and Bodie questions whether the real perpetrator is in jail.

The book is divided into 2 parts, the first dealing with her arrival at her old school and creating a podcast with students to explore questions about the case. The second part deals with

the retrial of the convicted suspect

. Mixed into the narrative are sections showing flashbacks to Bodie's school days as well as lists of similar, publicly known, often casually brushed aside instances of misogyny and sexism in the American justice system and in the everyday lives of women - often concluding in their murder.

Review:
After reading a few books with the same boarding school setting, I was excited to start this one, hoping it would go heavier on the sleuthing and lighter on the trauma. Well, better luck next time. I wish Makkai had leaned wayyyy more into the detectiving aspect. I wanted old secrets burried in the walls, sneaky interviews with old staff, an actual amateur investigation. What I got was Bodie extensively internally ruminating on what other people had discovered. Throughout, she remained a passive onlooker who gave unimportant, drawn-out context about her peers from back in their school days. That was her whole role in this.

I think the author should have done away with Part 1 entirely and have Bodie be confronted with her old biases and assumptions about people during the court hearing. Her old classmates would have been in town for that, we could have had flashbacks triggered by run-ins w her former peers and we would have gotten a far better sense of their relationships and prejudices against one another. We didn't need Bodie to be at school and walk w her step by step as she inspires a student podcast abt the case. This was so irrelevant and could have easily been background info given in a couple of pages. That way the book would have had a much clearer direction. As is, it feels muddled.

While the writing style is mostly easy and engaging, there is simply too much of it. 100 pages could have been cut easily.
I did like the cast of characters though. Most of them were only superficially explored but they were likable and believable.

The book tried to discuss the issues of crime/punishment/innocence/the court of public opinion by looking at it from a few different angles. And as commendable as that effort is, it bloated the story. The storyline abt

Bodie's ex husband

, for example, added little, had no relevant consequences and only managed to take away from the main plot, thus uncomfortably (unnecessarily) centering white feminism.

I wished there had also been a conclusion to the gimmick of Bodie narrating the whole story to a specific character. Maybe the end would have revealed it was all a podcast episode or a post-court private conversation. But no, there was seemingly no reason other than

to clunkily misdirect the reader's suspicions

.

Generally, I was missing a conclusion to some plotlines. But I have a feeling that was a deliberate choice. Many of the plotlines begin somewhere, intertwine, stay for a bit, fade out. Sort of like the book was mimicing how these events go in real life. I enjoyed that when it came to friendships & relationships. Not so much the main story (the court hearing, the misdirect, the actual reveal) though. The endings of those were too open and unfinished for it to be a satisfying read.

Tl;dr:
A mixed bag.
Would recommend for people who enjoy ruminations on their teen years and fucked up high school reunions.

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