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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read it for a book club and I enjoyed it. It wasn’t quite as suspenseful or mysterious as I first thought it might be, in the end I think it focused more on the need to be true to yourself.
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
A slow burn. Dark and introspective.
Don’t Forget the Girl by Rebecca McKanna explores the complexities of friendship, and focuses on the lives of the victims, both direct and indirect—instead of the serial killers—who are often forgotten about. The premise was interesting and I enjoyed learning about the relationships between the three women across two timelines. The multiple POVs was engaging, and the suspense leading up to Abby’s death kept me turning the pages. It was very introspective and the use of the crime podcast, along with the online commentary, broke up the text making it easier to read. I enjoyed the online media snippets regarding the crimes and thought it was a nice creative touch, breaking up the structure of the novel, rather than through dialogue or character narration. The best part of the book (for me) was the friendship between Chelsea and Bree, and how it strengthened over the course of the story.
That being said, I definitely prefer more pulse pounding action, and I would have liked to learn about the other victims to fully understand the extent of Jon Allan Blue’s crimes without going into too much detail. An aspect of the book that didn’t work for me came at the end. After learning about Bree’s major character flaw early on—having a sexual relationship with her student—I think the final repercussions weren’t severe enough given the nature of the crime. It made for somewhat of a dissatisfying ending to her character arc.
3/5⭐️⭐️⭐️
For readers who enjoy complex characters, strong female protagonists, and dark topics.
Don’t Forget the Girl by Rebecca McKanna explores the complexities of friendship, and focuses on the lives of the victims, both direct and indirect—instead of the serial killers—who are often forgotten about. The premise was interesting and I enjoyed learning about the relationships between the three women across two timelines. The multiple POVs was engaging, and the suspense leading up to Abby’s death kept me turning the pages. It was very introspective and the use of the crime podcast, along with the online commentary, broke up the text making it easier to read. I enjoyed the online media snippets regarding the crimes and thought it was a nice creative touch, breaking up the structure of the novel, rather than through dialogue or character narration. The best part of the book (for me) was the friendship between Chelsea and Bree, and how it strengthened over the course of the story.
That being said, I definitely prefer more pulse pounding action, and I would have liked to learn about the other victims to fully understand the extent of Jon Allan Blue’s crimes without going into too much detail. An aspect of the book that didn’t work for me came at the end. After learning about Bree’s major character flaw early on—having a sexual relationship with her student—I think the final repercussions weren’t severe enough given the nature of the crime. It made for somewhat of a dissatisfying ending to her character arc.
3/5⭐️⭐️⭐️
For readers who enjoy complex characters, strong female protagonists, and dark topics.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Outing
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Stalking, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol
Minor: Blood, Abortion, Murder
I loved this book. I read a few chapters and then fell head over heels into the characters and their overlapping stories. Being able to experience each chapter in their individual voices, and experience the trauma from their unique perspectives was moving as a reader, and hit on some important feelings about true crime as a genre of entertainment and the additional trauma it inflicts on the victims and survivors of those crimes.
dark
tense
slow-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I went into thinking this would be a Thriller (it is, after all categorized as a Mystery Thriller on Goodreads). A thriller, it is not. A study into how grief affects different people would be a more accurate assessment IMO.
A fast-paced thriller with alternating timelines between the past and the present. The book features three friends, all with their own secrets, guilt, and trauma. Abby is murdered during their freshman year of college, and twelve years later, her body is found, and the man who is suspected of killing is on death row for other murders. We follow Chelsea and Bree as they struggle to cope with their friend's death and the guilt they've carried for over a decade. The story shines a light on the romanticization and glitz given to true crime podcasts and TV and tries to bring the focus back to the victim. I appreciate that the victim nor her friends are squeaky clean either because it makes the aftermath feel real. The ripples that a crime has on not just the victim but friends, family, and the community are definitely felt in this story.
it was fairly good, but it was hella slow in the beginning. loved the twist of chelsea and abby being together that was heart wrenching and lovely