Full disclosure: I am a true crime fan. So this book got me with the "based on a true story" bit. However, it didn't read in the most user-friendly way. This book is NOT a true account (based on...who knows?) and isn't written as such. I feel like it tried to weave together too many elements to be a cohesive story. While reading this book, I would have to re-read portions if I was away from the book for awhile to get myself back up to speed. Even then, I was a little lost sometimes. I am 100% taking into account that I've had a difficult time reading in the months of COVID. So, while it wasn't for me, there will be an audience for this book. You'll need to be a focused reader who is diving in with intention. Then, I am sure you will love it!

This book is broken up into little stories that are all related to someone that was murdered. I really enjoyed all of the stories and wish that all of them were longer.

Nothing Can Hurt You by Nicola Maye Goldberg is a novel written in a most original fashion. At the center of the story is the brutal murder of NY college student Sara Morgan at the hands of her boyfriend Blake Campbell. Blake will be proven to have been temporarily insane at the time of the crime and therefore he was not sentenced to prison time. Each chapter is written in the voice of someone who knew the deceased victim. Each person had been influenced by Sara, before or after her murder. This novel’s many voices give the reader a different point of view and each character looks at Sara in terms of their relationship with her or knowledge of her. The novel is based on a true story and serves as a cautionary tale about violence against women, which occurs much too frequently. If you are looking for a different kind of mystery, I highly recommend Nothing Can Hurt You. Thank you to Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review,

A very different kind of read. There are murders, one a serial killer who has had many victims, the other a young woman killed by her boyfriend. One is jailed and one set free after a short stint in a mental institution. So these murders are at the center of the story, but outside the center life carries on in one way or another. Many tell their stories, people who are affected by the violence, family members, friends, etc. The murders are ever present but the focus is on what happens after.

A large challenge for a debut novel, and the crime novel presented in an original manner. How the victims names are hardly remembered, but the killers seldom forgotten. So very true, in most cases. Makes for very interesting reading, and I was drawn into this. Sometimes I couldn't quite figure where it was going, but by books end I thought, how amazingly clever. After one finishes reading and puts it all together, it becomes apparent that not only hs the author succeeded in her endeavor but that she has written something that is totally new and original.

ARC by Netgalley.

Early on the reader know that Sara Morgan was murdered by her boyfriend Blake Campbell who has a long term mental illness and also took acid on the day he killed her. He does not go to jail because he was judged to be not guilty by reason of insanity.
Author Nicola Maye Goldberg uses a unique way to write this novel. It is told in a sort of vignette form with many points of view that involve what happened before and after the murder. The crime truly had a ripple effect on a large number of people from a journalist to Sara's younger sister who was only two at the time her sister died.
This is character study type of book since the action is secondary to the many emotions brought forth by this senseless death. We often don't stop to think that so many people are "victims" when a horrific crime takes place.
This is not always an easy book to read. You have to pay close attention as the points of view change fairly quickly, but it is well worth the effort. When you hear from various characters, it makes you wonder how you would act and feel in their place.
Nicola Maye Goldberg is a new to me author. I wish her continued success as she uses her talent as a writer. Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomburg Publishers for an opportunity to read and review this novel.

In the late 1990s a college student is murdered by her boyfriend. Nothing Can Hurt You is the engrossing story about the impact of this tragedy on those whose lives were touched by this horrific act.. This haunting novel gives voice to several characters and through these voices readers can feel their anguish. Riveting and memorable, this book is well worth reading. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are my own..

OᐯᗴᖇᐯIᗴᗯ: Sara Morgan was killed in 1997 by her boyfriend, Blake Campbell. He confessed and was found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. Many people in the community were impacted by his acquittal and this book looks at how people handled it differently.

ᗰY TᕼOᑌᘜᕼTᔕ: Inspired by a true story and being interested in true crime, I was very excited to read this. I was disappointed as each new set of characters showed up, it felt like its own short story. Often it was not clear how the characters were connected to the crime, which made it difficult to become invested. Unfortunately this was a miss for me given the potential in the idea.

ᖇᗩTIᑎᘜ: ★★

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Based on a true story about the murder of a college student and the confession her boyfriend. But instead of following a straight storyline, each chapter is the viewpoint of different people who have somehow been involved or influenced by Sara’s death. Each vignette has a connection to other characters making it a more cohesive reading than one might expect. The twelve voices are all quite different and is the writing style of each story. You have to read the entire book to understand what the author was trying to get across, even then you may need to think for a while before understanding. This debut novel is unlike anything else I’ve read.

"I hate Blake much more than I loved Sara. I have no actual memories of Sara because she died when I was two years old. I know her only as a bottomless hole of sadness she left in my father's life. My third-grade circle of friends included a girl who had been adopted from Estonia. Once, at a sleepover, someone asked her how she found out she was adopted, probably expecting some kind of dramatic scene. But the girl just shrugged and said "I didn't find out. I never didn't know." It was like that with Sara. I just knew that I had a half-sister and that she was killed by her boyfriend, the same way I knew my own name,"


Nothing Can Hurt you is a fictionalized story based on an actual true crime case. Sara was murdered at the hands of her boyfriend Blake who gets off by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. This story is kind of about that, but it is more about the ripple effect the murder created by people that were connected to Sara and some who were just fascinated by her story.

Nothing Can Hurt You is told from a new perspective every chapter and you do not hear from one character more than once which I found to be so frustrating. There is such a dissatisfaction when you have followed a character's story build only to have no resolution, or to think the resolution will come in a later chapter but it never does. Structuring Nothing Can Hurt You in such a disjointed way made me confused about what specifically I was supposed to connect with. Was it the victim? Was it some girl her boyfriend interacted with in drug rehab that had never met the victim only the murderer? Was it her step sister? And if connecting to a character wasn't the point, then was I supposed to connect to a plot that had already run its course after the first chapter? The point of this book is completely lost on me. I don't get it and honestly there isn't enough of anything compelling here that makes me want to try and piece it together.

Nothing Can Hurt You spends a lot of time talking mental illness -which is fine, I wish more books would cover this topic accurately- however, I found Goldberg's perspective on mental illness to be very problematic. Yes, some people with mental illnesses have committed reprehensible crimes, but all people with mental illnesses are not reprehensible people. Every person that seemed to be mentally ill or in deep grief/depression were represented in a very negative light. This problematic pattern starts with the very first character we are introduced to and it holds fast through most of the chapters. This aspect did not enrich the book in anyway and did not paint a clearer picture of what this story was trying to convey so in my mind, it was completely unnecessary.

I am not much of a true crime buff. I used get sucked into the occasional Dateline episode but since having children I have lost the ability to be engrossed or entertained by a story that involves something awful happening to anyone's baby. Maybe motherhood is not allowing me to understand what this book is trying to say... or maybe this book really is confusing and that is the only point? Murder is confusing? Sure, we'll go with that! The theme of this book is "murder is confusing". I think I might be on to something here! All jokes aside, I do think part of what the author was trying to convey is the actions of one person -whether conscious or not- effect everyone in some way. The actions of one person have more power than we can ever fully glimpse. In this case, we found that the murder of one girl can launch a passion for justice, create a drug problem, break a family a part, or they can cause a lifetime of pain and sorrow by those that witnessed raw, senseless violence so up close they cannot help but see only shadows everywhere they look. There are a lot of books I would recommend if you enjoy true crime or even suspenseful reads before I would ever think of recommending Nothing Can Hurt You.

⭐️⭐️/5 stars

you can find Nothing Can Hurt You out on bookshelves near you NOW!

Reviewer's note: Bloomsbury Publishing provided a copy of Nothing Can Hurt You in exchange for an honest review.

Unlike most stories that are centered around a murder, Nothing Can Hurt You focuses more on the ones left behind in the aftermath. In fact, you know all the answers right from the start. Using multiple perspectives and a nonlinear time line, Nicola May Goldberg deftly creates a story that feels more like an observation of humanity in the wake of a horrible crime than a thriller.

I truly enjoyed all of the character perspectives, but somewhere along the way this novel began to feel more like a series of essays than a fully developed piece of fiction. With such a large cast of characters ranging from those directly linked to the victim, to the college roommate of the murderer, there were many times that I felt like I should be looking for connections that weren't meant to be there.

While dark and honest, and very well written, I would not recommend this title for those seeking a typical thriller.

Solid 3.89/5

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the early access to this title in exchange for my honest review.

Murdered college student. All the people involved. Definitely an interesting read. It wasn’t my favorite story but I would recommend it and I felt like it was a fast read.

Disjointed. Telling parts of how different characters relate to a college guy killing his girlfriend is fine if you're going to take the story full circle but this never did. Maybe it did with Luna and Blake but I'm not sure then why we got the background of all the other people related to the case from the woman who found the body to the reporter covering the case, etc... The story never grabbed me. Very disappointing.

This book caught my interest as it is based on a true event but written as a work of fiction.
Sara is murdered by her boyfriend but due to insanity is not punished for his crime. This novel looks at how her murder has impacted on other people’s life in the community which is a unique perspective.
I really enjoyed reading this as I liked reading the story from other points of view rather than a family point of view.
Thanks to Netgalley for the copy.

Sara Morgan, a college student was killed by her boyfriend. This book presented what happened and how it affected so many lives. Unfortunately for me, I was often confused as to who's point of view I was reading. In my opinion, I felt the book jumped around too much although I could see where the author was taking us. Everyone held a piece of the puzzle that led back to Sara Morgan, but it was difficult for me to always find the right piece and the relationship back to her.

A feminist multiple viewpoint of gender violence, focusing on a college student brutally murdered by her boyfriend, but also including assault in other forms and aspects, where it is viewed as acceptable and even apropos when occurring inter-gender.

Nothing Can Hurt You is inspired by the true story of the murder of a college student, Sara. Her body was found after she was missing for two days and her boyfriend, Blake, confessed and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The book is a collection of short stories describing how Sara’s death affected all of those around her and even those who just read about her story.

I’m not sure what I think about this book. I had trouble following and trying to connect the stories into a solid novel, until I realized that wasn’t the point. Easy to read and engaging, the stories help open my eye and realize how one murder can affect a community, not just those immediately known to her. It wasn’t brought together in a conclusion, which disappointed me.

I am a true crime junkie so I was really excited by this plot! I liked how this book was a character study and showed so much insight into the victim’s loved ones. It isn’t a straight forward whodunit or thriller, but that was okay. I can see some people being disappointed but I liked this book.

This book started out SO good. The first couple chapters I was hooked and I was shaken by the events that transpired. A college student murdered in a small town and this book was full of the point of views of those who had been in some way affected by Sara (murdered girl’s) being killed.

Nothing Can Hurt You was described as being the “Next Gone Girl” buuut.. I just didn’t see it. Had it all been written from the point of view of the housewife in the first chapter and had it led in the direction of a real true crime book where the housewife was somehow targeted next by the killer then MAYBE this book could have been turned around for me.

I did give it three stars though because the story had merit I just wish it had been written differently!

A version of this review previously appeared in Shelf Awareness and is republished here with permission.

A haunting collection of voices touched by the murder of a young college student make up the mesmerizing kaleidoscope of Nicola Maye Goldberg's astounding Nothing Can Hurt You. Goldberg begins with the discovery of Sara Morgan's body in 1997 New York by a woman recently relocated upstate to escape increasingly disturbing mental episodes. Readers are drawn into her traumas, but Goldberg has numerous other perspectives to reveal.

Sara's boyfriend, Blake Campbell, immediately confessed to the crime. He contended he loved Sara and didn't want to kill her, but had a psychotic episode while on acid. His acquittal by reason of temporary insanity ripples through the community and the families changed by the tragedy. Goldberg (Other Women; The Doll Factory) furnishes a stage to many of them, intertwining their stories in an intricate and captivating fashion. Katherine, in a recovery center with Blake, falls in love with him, perhaps even more so when she discovers he's a murderer; Tracy is Blake's prosecutor, whose life is overwhelmed by her sister's rape trauma; a teen girl Sara babysat begins corresponding with Blake in jail; and Sara's half-sister poses as a babysitter to insert herself into Blake's new life.

Based on a true story, Nothing Can Hurt You examines the way people hurt and are hurt by those they love, how trauma and violence change and sometimes attract us, even to those who are statistically most likely to murder us. Each voice is distinct and alluring, punching through the boundaries of good and bad in an unjust world.

STREET SENSE: I was assigned this book blind and ended up really happy I was able to get to it. I was really blown away by the perspectives and the insight provided. There are few better things than going into a book with few preconceptions and just letting it flow over you - when the book hits you right. This one hit the bullseye for me. The thoughts and actions of those connected to a murdered college student and the boyfriend who killed her are mined to extraordinary effect.

COVER NERD SAYS: This book is really up my alley, so I'm not sure whether I somehow passed it on the assignment list or it was a late addition. I don't remember seeing the cover, which isn't a great sign, since I am cover-driven. In this instance, I think a fantastic image is hurt by the wrong font. If the title is going to be given this much space to impress, it had better look like it wasn't typed on my computer at home. There's something to be said for plain, stark font. In this case, I think it went too far in that direction and took away from what otherwise would be a kickass cover. I also had trouble remembering the title, but that may just be me and my brain.

This book is inspired by a true story of. College student murder and the aftermath. It’s told through alternating perspectives. It was interesting but not a thriller!