A review by arianaf
Penance by Eliza Clark

dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is a fiction book presented as a non-fiction true-crime story, written by this writer/journalist that, at the lowest point of his career, moves to a small sea-side town, to investigate the murder of a teenage girl who was kidnapped, tortured and set on fire by three of her classmates. The plot is interesting and intriguing, and it offers some strong social commentaries, mainly on society's growing obsession with true-crime. Although, I really enjoyed reading this, it has a few minor drawbacks imo. In some occasions, the slang used by certain characters doesn't seem right for the time period the story is set. Additionally, the author explores in great detail a lot of sub-themes that are not that meaningful to the main plot, making it a little longer than necessary, and that can throw some people off (but this didn't bother me, personally, that much tbh).
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