Rabbit Hole follows the traditional thriller expectation of keeping you turning pages deep into the night, but also carries an emotional punch that took me by surprise.

In many ways, it’s equal parts one woman processing grief, taking the reader along for the journey of how it affects her mental health, along with the traditional “who done it” element of whether or not her missing sister is dead or alive and who was involved either way.

As I’ve mentioned in this space countless times, I’m extremely picky with any sort of mystery or thriller. Smart, propulsive, and heavy Rabbit Hole stands out as a high recommendation.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback.

This one of those books where I felt stuck between giving it a 3 or 4 but decided on the later. Going into this book after reading the summary I expected something different then what we actually get. I was expecting the decent into madness our main character Teddy takes but the journey was not at all what I expected.

I flew through this book in 3 days and found the mystery of it all of what happened to Angie super interesting. I liked the idea behind the Reddit forums because of how interested and obsessive people become with true crime. It made the book feel so real.

I wasn’t a fan of the multiple sex scenes throughout the book and the couple incidents of animal death, especially the last one mentioned. I understand why they were added, more so the sex scenes, to show how Teddy wasn’t coping well with the grief of both losing her father and her sister. But still, there was so many. The animal scenes felt so unnecessary and I’m just not a fan of those.

The characters felt real, the story felt raw and I was left feeling emotionally heavy at the end. I think you have to go into this book with an open mind and remember that real life grief isn’t pretty. This was an emotionally heavy book that takes you through all the ugly parts grief has to offer.

This book was not like your average mystery/suspense novel. The story follows a family that is torn apart by the disappearance of the eldest daughter. The story picks up 1o years later when her father kills himself. Mother and daughter are left to pick up the pieces and continue to try and solve the disappearance. The story is told through reddit threads and narrative form. The writing is elevated, but at times the story got a bit off track for me. All in all it was a quick read, I would pick up a book by Brody again.

I've been really behind on reading since I moved in January but I'm finally back to reading again so I picked up an arc from January.

The book starts out with Theodora "Teddy" Angstrom learning that her father committed suicide on the 10-year anniversary of her sister Angie's disappearance. She's on the way to a vet appointment for her dog that has terminal cancer. There's even a childhood memory involving dead kittens. This is not an easy beginning for most readers but I continued on. If you’re expecting a typical thriller with twists, this isn’t it. It felt more like a character study on obsession and grief. There is mystery and some revelations but it’s definitely a slower burn. We spend the whole book in Teddy’s mind and it’s not an easy place to be. With her father gone, she realizes that he’s been investigating the sisters disappearance for the last 10 years. She goes down the same rabbit hole that he did and becomes obsessed with Reddit and following leads and meeting new people in her quest to know what happened to Angie. It was a pretty dark book and the ending didn’t feel satisfying. There’s also a dog death for anyone that’s triggered by that. I was a little torn how to rate this but I do think the writing is very strong and well written. It made me reflect on my childhood and what kind of memories we remember after someone dies. I’d be curious to check out the next book by this author.

Thank you to SoHo Press for an advanced copy. RABBIT HOLE is out now.

I saw this much-hyped on social media and it was a great, compelling read although not quite what I expected based on the description and reader reviews. The pacing was much slower than I expected, which ultimately worked really well, but I found Teddy very frustrating as a character and didn't find her very convincingly drawn but otherwise the writing is fantastic and the supporting characters worked really well.

This novel has a lot of things I love: beautiful writing, intriguing character development, and—a theme of my recent thriller-y reads—an exploration of the dark reality of true crime internet fandoms.

PLOT: Ten years ago, Teddy’s older sister Angie vanished. Dismissed by the police as a runway, Angie’s disappearance slowly destroyed their family. On the 10 year anniversary, Teddy’s father drives his car off a bridge, prompting Teddy to fall down the rabbit hole of his research into Angie’s disappearance, second-guessing everything she thought was true.

This is one of those books that a lot of people would call a thriller but I’m going to call literary fiction. I think if you go in looking for a super-twisty plot, you’re going to be disappointed, because this is more of a character study. The reader has a front row seat to Teddy’s grief, destructive copying strategies, and slow *expertly crafted* spiral into madness as she explores the people involved in her sister’s disappearance.

This book is a raw look at how people grieve. It made me sad and uncomfortable and sometimes even a little claustrophobic to be so stuck inside Teddy’s mind, but like… in the best way. It reminded me a lot of DARK PLACES, which if you know me, is a big compliment.

I am forever in search of smart, messy, thrilling, dark books a la Gillian Flynn and this definitely fit the bill. Read this if you liked DARK PLACES, THE GUEST, or NOTES ON AN EXECUTION.

I have a love/hate relationship with true crime, as I find a lot of it incredibly disrespectful of the victims. It tends to cross a line quite often and glorifies the predator while forgoing any honourable coverage of the people they hurt. How many serial killers can you name? How many of their victims?

I was intrigued by this as it delves into that very issue. Teddy explores a Subreddit page regarding her sister (Angie), seeing for herself the ways in which people discuss Angie and her family. Through this she developed a friendship that very much played with my head: is it instinct or paranoia?

While exploring the lore around her sister's disappearance and navigating the grief over her father’s recent death, she finds herself going down many rabbit holes determined to find answers. I was unsure about the ending at first, but it’s been a week since I finished it, and with that, I’ve come to appreciate it. If you haven’t yet, I think you should give it a try – it was a quick read, and I appreciated what Brody had to say.

A huge thank you to @netgalley and @sohopress for my copy!

After a strong start, this one fizzled for me. I loved Ms. Brody's writing style and her clear empathy for her characters. The way she entwined grief and obsession was truly masterful. However, the novel never really delivered on the central mystery.

On the ten year anniversary of her sister Angie's disappearance, Teddy Angstrom’s father commits suicide bringing back all the trauma and heartbreak it originally caused. She finds her father was involved with a Reddit community fixated on Angie, and Teddy can’t help but get caught up in it all. Teddy’s fixation leads her to Mickey, an amateur sleuth, with a resemblance to her sister and a connection to her own father and together she searches for answers. Teddy becomes consumed and acts in self destructive ways and it's easy to see how this loss has shaped her life.

I loved the premise and was excited to read the book. I found parts of it to be a bit confusing, especially towards the end. The pacing was a bit slow at times and felt like the book could have used a bit more editing. Overall, I enjoyed the story and writing.

Published by Soho Crime on January 2, 2024

The value of Rabbit Hole derives from its focus on the public’s obsessive interest in true crime (or possible crime), particularly when a pretty white girl goes missing. Speculative theories are presented as absolute fact by people who substitute their invented realities for objective truth.

Angie Angstrom disappeared shortly before she was to start classes at a community college. Angie’s half-sister, Theodora (Teddy) Angstrom, is two years younger than Angie. Teddy and Angie have the same mother, Clare Angstrom. Teddy's father is Mark Angstrom. Angie's father was Mark's brother. Clare married Mark after his brother died.

Angie attended a party on the evening of her disappearance. She told people she was getting a ride from her boyfriend. Whether Angie actually had a boyfriend and the possible boyfriend’s identity are part of the mystery. Teddy saw Angie when she briefly returned home after the party. Teddy is the last person known to have seen Angie, although she was slow to admit that fact to her parents and the police.

A subreddit is devoted to Angie’s disappearance, giving fools the opportunity to assign blame. That seems to be a favorite American pastime. Many people who comment on internet forums think Mark is creepy because he married his brother’s widow. Since they regard him as creepy, they assume he killed Angie or did something that drove her into hiding. Why anyone would think Mark’s choice of marital partners is a reason to judge him, much less evidence of murder, is a mystery equal to Angie’s disappearance.

As Rabbit Hole begins, Mark has just committed suicide by driving off a bridge on the tenth anniversary of Angie’s disappearance. He had a substance abuse problem that predated Angie’s fate.

Teddy’s father was conducting his own investigation into Angie’s disappearance. As Teddy goes through his papers, she finds some notes that apparently relate to investigative leads. One is the phone number of a landscaper who Angie thought was hot (so did Teddy, although she wouldn’t admit it to Angie). A text on Mark’s phone leads Teddy to her brother’s ex-wife. Blurry photographs might or might not prove that Angie is still alive. Examining Angie’s old social media accounts (who knew that MySpace still exists?) provides more clues but no definitive answers.

Mark was in touch with Mickey Greeley, a woman who, as an apparent hobby, investigated Angie’s disappearance. Whether Mickey resembles Angie at the age of her disappearance seems to be a matter of opinion. Maybe Mark hung out with Mickey because of that resemblance. Maybe Mark was sleeping with Mickey. Angie can’t be sure, although Angie and Mickey become attached in a clingy way that might have been similar to Mickey’s relationship with Mark.

The story is told in the third person from Teddy’s perspective. Teddy is a high school teacher. She has an empty apartment but she spends most of her time with her mother, with whom she has a strained relationship. Teddy has no boyfriend. A shrink told her that Angie’s disappearance has made her fear happy endings. She has taken herself off the dating apps again, although she knows she will return when she wants sex or a good restaurant meal.

Kate Brody does an impressive job of planting real and misleading clues to keep multiple mysteries in play throughout the novel. What happened to Angie? Which supporting characters are disguising their true stories? Did any of them play a role in Angie’s disappearance and, if so, why are they making themselves part of Teddy’s life?

Teddy is such a mess that she’s almost a sympathetic character, if only because she loves and is caring for Angie’s old and dying dog. She’s also maddening in ways that make it difficult to sustain sympathy. Teddy makes bad decisions. When she’s doxxed on Reddit, she buys a gun, starts carrying it with her, forgets she has it and brings it to school. The choices she makes about sex partners range from questionable to awful and become more dangerous (at least psychologically) as the novel nears its end.

I give high marks to the subreddit transcripts, which perfectly capture the idiocy of Reddit discussions. I also appreciated Teddy’s questions about her father when she begins to suspect he might have been a bad guy. Should she stop loving and missing him if her suspicions prove to be true? Does the part of him she loved just disappear if she learns that another part of him was creepy?

A good many readers are uncomfortable with ambiguous endings. They want all their questions answered. But like many “true crimes” that are discussed on blogs, internet forums, and bad television shows, the truth isn’t always knowable. The information Teddy acquires points to a plausible explanation of Angie’s disappearance, but definitive answers are elusive. The novel’s purpose is not to solve the mystery but to explore the impact of “true crime” speculation upon a family that has no answers. In some respects, that makes Rabbit Hole a more interesting novel than it might have been if the mystery had been neatly resolved, although I recognize that readers who demand certainty will be frustrated with the way the story ends.

RECOMMENDED

Rabbit Hole shows the dark path grief and obsession will lead you down. Brody writing is clear and haunting but it was missing a true mystery element and meandered in places.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Rabbit Hole by Kate Brody is, as the title suggests, the written depiction of what it is like to go down the rabbit hole in modern day. Teddy is dealing with some dark and challenging circumstances - her sister went missing ten years ago and now her dad has killed himself. As she explores to see what led to his death she finds that he was involved in some Reddit threads focused on Angie. This launches Teddy into the rabbit hole.

Overall, this book didn’t work for me personally. I enjoyed the premise and concept but the execution didn’t hook me. I think a lot of readers will enjoy it, though!

Thank you to NetGalley and SoHo press for the ARC. Rabbit Hole is out now!

Unfortunately, not for me. I liked the set up and don't mind dark. books, but this was bleak to the point of depression. I also hated that the dog had to die in such a sick way. I'd try the author again, but this was too much for me.

A taut, twisty novel on the vortex of grief that we must navigate, and the devastating consequences of obsession. Darkly compelling, Rabbit Hope showcases the ways in which true crime sensationalism, social media, and societal pressures place more stress on victims of loss and trauma, and how uncertainty is fueled by the whims and discretions of others. It is a chilling reminder that the subjects of theories, chat threads, video essays, were real people with real friends and families, who often push themselves to extremes in the pursuit of answers, justice. Hauntingly sad with a faint core of hope, this novel is a winding trip into the whirlpool of coping mechanisms, the chase of information, the peeling back of layers, an examination of hard truths, of crossroads.

Ten years ago Teddy’s sister Angie disappeared and the unsolved case deeply impacted her family. When her father commits suicide Teddy becomes obsessed with the Reddit rabbit hole about Angie’s disappearance her father had been reading and posting on. What happened to Angie? While I overall enjoyed reading this book it was, at times, difficult to continue as the main character slowly becomes unhinged in her investigation. There is a lot of unresolved grief for the characters and I can see the argument that her actions stem from that grief, but for me some choices felt a bit unbelievable. I also felt the ending, while unexpected, was pretty unsatisfying after the rollercoaster of the rest of the novel.

Rabbit Hole is being marketed as a twisty mystery, but that just isn’t right. This is not your average page turning thriller, or even a typical novel of suspense. This is a portrait of grief, and a deep dive into how the hole someone leaves behind can sometimes widen as the year go on.

Kate Brody is not afraid to be visceral in her descriptions; there is no looking away from the ugliness of Teddy Angstrom’s struggle as she falls down the same rabbit hole of research that ended with her father ending his own life. Teddy isn’t always likable - she makes terrible choices, steers into her own destruction, and allows herself to get carried away. I loved the rawness of her portrayal; I felt as close to her as you can get with a fictional character.

But again, this isn’t really a mystery. It is truly a character study of how Teddy copes with the disappearance of her older sister and the way that event had ripple effects throughout her family. There are elements of mystery that kept me glued to the page, and I found myself spiraling into different theories right alongside Teddy at times.

As a light trigger warning, there are some upsetting moments with animals. One of the key storylines is about an aging dog who has just been diagnosed as terminal. None of it is gratuitous, but if you’re sensitive to stuff like that tread carefully.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and will be eagerly awaiting whatever Kate Brody writes next.

If you loved THE GUEST, like me and if you are fans of EILEEN and FLEABAG you may want to add Rabbit Hole to your TBR!

This hits me in the literary fiction space with beautiful prose and the emotional downward spiral being the thrill (we all love to read/watch a crash).

RABBIT HOLE is a literary thriller about a woman who falls into a Reddit conspiracy around her sister's disappearance. Author @allierowbottom (AESTHETICA) called it “blistering, sexy, and concentric.”

Grieving the loss of her troubled father and haunted by family secrets, Teddy embarks on a journey of self-discovery, wrestling with depression and making questionable decisions. Despite her flaws, she remains a compelling protagonist, her emotional journey mirrored by the setting's blend of beauty and decay (plus a nod to Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”).

The setting, a blend of majestic Maine forests and seedier urban landscapes, mirrors Teddy's internal landscape, reflecting her struggles with darkness and redemption. Brody's keen eye for detail, particularly in capturing human movement and subtle nuances, lends an almost cinematic quality to the storytelling.

The interspersed Reddit interactions serve as a reminder of the harsh realities of online anonymity. Brody's masterful storytelling delves into the labyrinth of human emotions, creating a captivating and thought-provoking read.

I fell down the rabbit hole myself with this one. Rabbit Hole is exactly that-a very fast fall down into an obsession only to desperately try to seek answers! Kate Brody weaves a story about an unhinged, self-destructive main female character, Teddy, who becomes obsessed with her sister's murder that went completely cold and why her dad/uncle killed himself all the while making friends with a stranger that inserted herself into Teddy's life that is unstable herself. Rabbit Hole is a great read all around!