A review by kt2e56
Penance by Eliza Clark

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Holy shit. A truly blistering takedown of the true crime industrial complex with some really great digs at podcasts like My Favorite Murder, Last Podcast on the Left, and All Killer No Filler in addition to books like In Cold Blood. A great examination of the unreliable narrator and who gets to tell their own story when awful crimes like this are committed but also a surprisingly empathetic and honest look at the wide spectrum of girlhood and what happens when children are failed by the people who are supposed to protect them. There really is just so much going on here and I’ll be thinking about this book and some of the more chilling details here for a very long time.