I received an ARC of Nothing Can Hurt You from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book is about a girl, Sara, who is killed by her boyfriend, and people she is connected to - either in life, or as a result of her death. There is also a parallel storyline concerning a serial murderer caught right before Sara was killed.
The story is told in a series of vignettes featuring various people. Sara’s family, Blake-the boyfriend-and his family, as well as a reporter covering the murder, others who are connected to the serial killer, and more.
I felt the stories were a little disjointed, and I had trouble keeping track of everyone, and what their connection was to the story. I also felt the story ended rather abruptly.
I did like that the book was short, East to read in one sitting, but I wished it went deeper than it did.
#NothingCanHurtYou #NicolaMayeGoldberg #NetGalley

I thought that this being based off a true story would keep me hooked. What I got instead was a muddle of voices - there were way too many POVS and I ended up losing track. I wouldn’t really call this a mystery or thriller because we already knew who the killer was the entire time and even meet him in the beginning. It’s more about the effect murder can have on people but it was too hard to distinguish who was who. The different voices just kinda flowed into another without any breaks. Some people's perspectives were very interesting and almost heart breaking as well. This was a solid 2.5 stars - it's a pretty quick read.
Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the advanced copy!

My favorite type of genre and this book doesn't disappoint. Unputdownable. Normally a lot of different views from different characters confuse me but this was so well written it's easy to follow the well written story and the different views add to the story. A definite must read. Happy reading!

Really disappointing. It's not a mystery or suspense - the murder occurred years earlier, the killer has already served his time in a psychiatric facility and is out, there is no resolution. It's just a series of reactions from various people who knew or heard about the victim. Several of them know where the killer is living and I thought one of them would take some kind of revenge, but none of them do anything but ponder on the meaning of the murder.

Inspired by a true story, this is the tale of a young college student, Sara Morgan, who was murdered by her boyfriend, Blake Campbell. Ultimately he is found not guilty as he was high on drugs and alcohol, his plea of temporary insanity leaving more questions than not.

This murder affected many others .. not only her friends and family, but also the person who found her body .... Sara's half sister, a local reporter who believes there were more deaths in Blake's wake .... a teenager Sara babysat at one time... and many, many more.

And therein lies the problem I had with this book. The concept is a good one... it's a story of love and loss, murder, violence. But there are SO many characters speaking out, the story is lost among their voices. It was difficult to follow, and frankly, I just lost interest.

Many thanks to the author / Bloomsbury Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction/psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

DNF @ 36%

I really wanted to like this book. The premise was very intriguing. But this book ia not good. I'm not sure if it's a formatting issue or intentionally written this way, but there are no chqpter breaks or headers when new characters start speaking, and there are just too many people for me to keep straight without them. Sorry, but this is a 1 star from me.

This book was hard to follow as I did not recognize any theme to this story. I understand it was based on a true story, but did not understand where this author was going.

Not really a mystery as you know who the killer is and why early on on the story. The overall concept was good but I was confused as the story jumped all over the place with multiple POVs and timelines

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for a DRC of this novel in exchange for an honest review
This book is listed as mystery / thriller and true crime, but really isn’t either .

Although the author was inspired by real events, the story isn’t, from what I can tell, tied to a “true crime” and there’s really no mystery. You know who killed Sara and where and why pretty early on in the story ..

This book is more a collection of stories of those impacted by Sara’s murder in some ways - either through a connection to her, her killer boyfriend Blake, or the crime itself. The idea still sounds good but the execution really didn’t work for me . The stories jumped back and forth in time ( kinda felt all over the place on the timeline) and there were way too many POVs to really keep track of. And anytime I was getting somewhat invested in a story, it just jumped to another one with no real closure

When someone dies in a novel, the immediate circle is usually the focus. What's most intriguing about this book is the study of the ripple effect of Sara's death. Friends, family, strangers-they are all here. The comparison to a short story collection popping up in other review is a valid one. I think if you enjoyed the book Topics of Conversation you'll enjoy this. This isn't a book about a murder but the impact of a murder, the stories that usually get overlooked. It's smart and asking questions without expecting any answers.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing, and Nicola Maye Goldberg for the opportunity to read and review this book - 4 stars for an intriguing look into how the murder of a college student affects so many lives.

Supposedly based on a true story although no information was presented about that case, this is the story of the murder of Sara by her boyfriend, Blake. Blake was a schizophrenic and was ruled temporarily insane when he committed the murder. We hear from many voices, all with ties back to either Sara or Blake, and how this death and these two people affected their lives.

This book was told in a rather unusual manner. There was no delineation between each of the stories; they all flowed together so it sometimes took awhile to figure out who the next voice was and how they related to the story. Thank goodness for my Kindle search feature because I used it many times to try and remember what role a certain person played.

This was a haunting tale. Not a thriller or mystery - you knew right away who killed Sara. Not true crime but each story felt very real. There was also the theme throughout the book of crimes committed against women by men.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed the style of this book. It read like several short stories all loosely connected by one tragic event. I loved how it took this event and cobwebbed out to people who might be barely affected by it, but are affected nonetheless, in ways you might not expect.

There were, however, a few things that left me unsatisfied. Most of the stories were not revisited, so as soon as you are invested in an auxiliary character's story, it is over and that’s that. There is no sense of closure for most of these vignettes. But I did really like that the last story portrays Sara, the victim.

A few minor, detail-y criticisms: I could be mistaken, but I believe that Sara’s stepmother’s name was Morgan, which was Sara’s last name-- editing glitch? Also, why were some stories in first person and some in third? I found this distracting.

Reflecting on the personal experience of reading this book: while I was reading this, someone close to someone close to me died unexpectedly. In processing this tragedy myself, and supporting the person close to me who was suffering from it, I read this book with a new perspective. I was one of the “minor characters,” and could appreciate this book in a unique and interesting way. I don’t wish everyone to have this experience, obviously, but the timing was such that the stories hit a bit closer to home.

This poignant and haunting novel strings together those touched by a gruesome murder and the ensuing aftermath of death, mistakes, regrets, and unanswered questions.

Highly recommended for readers longing to obtain a visceral glimpse into how senseless violence ripples through communities. Specifically, readers who want to delve into the psychosocial impact of violence against women will find this jewel of a story worth the read.

Nothing Can Hurt You by Nicola Maye Goldberg was just an okay read for me. I am giving it two and a half stars.

This is a unique book which was inspired by a true story that shows the aftermath of a college students murder. The book shows how the murder affected those who knew her, knew her boyfriend who killed her, and those in the community ranging from the woman who found her body to the journalist who senses a connection between her murder and a local convicted serial killer.

Sara Morgan was killed on a cold winter’s day in 1997. Her body was found two days later. Her boyfriend, Blake Campbell, confessed and plead temporary insanity.

This book is told through multiple character's perspectives. This book jumps around and goes from one person to the next which may work for some and may be frustrating for others. I am solidly in the middle on this one. At times, this book frustrated me, at times it was confusing, at times I really enjoyed it. I did like how the Author showed how one person's murder can affect not only direct family members and friends but how it also affects individuals in the community. What is also interesting is that this book shows how people are affected by coming into contact with Blake as well.

One thing that is confusing is how this book is classified. Having said that, I am not even sure what genre this book should be in. It is listed as Mystery &Thrillers/True crime (on NetGalley) but it really is not any of them IMO. Although inspired by a True Story - this book is not about the story it is inspired by. So, in my mind, it is not True Crime. Plus, we know who the killer is, there is no mystery, no suspense, no huge reveals, or twists and turns, etc. So, for me it is not really a mystery or suspenseful book either. It is a head scratcher. But it is unique. Either way, it kept my attention and did a good job showing the ripple effect of one woman's murder and how many were affected.

Uniquely told, interesting premise which could have done with slightly less POV's and less jumping around. t.

I received a copy of this book from Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I liked the author’s idea of following the impact of a single crime as it ripples through a community and its residents. However, the book was not totally engaging (and sometimes confusing) and I found myself drifting while reading.


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44639297

This was a great read. It centred around the murder of Sara Morgen on the grounds of her liberal arts college in New York. Her boyfriend confessed to her murder but was later acquitted after being found insane. This book veers away from the usual murder mystery format as we know it, in that rather than trying to find the killer it focuses on the effects that her murder had on many different characters encountered in the novel. There are lots of characters here so it took me a little while to become familiar with them all but they were all well written, had sufficient depth and played an integral part in the plot. It was a really enjoyable read. It intrigued me throughout. It was clever and well thought out. I look forward to reading more from Nicola Maye Goldberg

"Nothing Can Hurt You" is told as a true crime story about Sara Morgan who was brutally murdered by her boyfriend Blake Campbell. Blake is ultimately found not guilty due to reasons of insanity. This book sounded very interesting to me from the description however I struggled to finish it. The author jumps back and forth between past and present with alternating points of view/characters. I also expected a more thorough ending - I kept wondering if maybe I was missing the last few pages.

The description of this book sounded really good however it did not read as it was presented in the description. Based on real life events, a college student is murdered by her boyfriend. However the book is more of a collection of short stories of characters affected by the murder. The stories were interesting to see how they were connected but the there were so many characters that it was easy to get lost. This one was just not for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA Publishing for the ARC.

While this was an interesting read, it felt very disjointed and there were times I had to go back and figure out who was speaking and why. The sections didn't really flow together. It almost felt like a collection of separate stories.