Member Reviews

This is a modern/contemporary thriller where the main character has PTSD about a big event that happened ten years in the past when she was in college. A murder. Sometimes is hard to review without telling something. We are hooked by the main character's thoughts of not wanting to reveal what actually happened, why she was the only survivor, and what is the truth. Ten years later, she is in a good place in her life but the making of a movie about the tragedy may reveal secrets and she doesn't want that she has to be taken away. We get the present narrative and the past, where the information is delivered slowly from her memories.
I didn't connect to the main character and this was not my favorite type of thriller story or ending but I recognized that was captivating in some parts and kept me intrigued about the "lie" or the "truth".
Thank you Nergalley and publisher for this e-ARC.

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I truly struggled getting into this book. I just could not focus. I felt it jumped all over the place at times. It just didn’t grasp my attention as well as I would have liked.

Charlie works well as a very unreliable MFC I will say that. I didn’t dislike her, but she got on my nerves a lot. Her friends were no cup of tea and I didn’t care for them.

I will say I felt the writing to be good, but I didn’t personally didn’t feel this was much of a thriller.

This was just an okay read. Not bad, but didn’t wow me either.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin Press, and Minotaur Books for the e arc.

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This story takes place nine years after a horrible crime. Charlotte, the main character has picked up and moved on the best she can, but when a movie based on the events of that night is announced, it is more than she can bear. Her memory of the events of that night are still a bit sketchy, but she is certain she did not tell the police all that happened. The problem is that she isn’t quite sure really what happened.

This book started off strong. I loved how the author revealed only small pieces at a time. As soon as I would think I would have it figured out, she should add a new wrinkle. I was hooked and kept thinking there would be some shocking moment when everything would become clear, but that just never happened. Sure everything was tied together, but the end just kind of fizzled for me. I did like the writing style though. This is a debut novel for this author and I will definitely check out future books.

I received a complementary advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange, for my honest review.

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Jenny Hollander offers up the best kind of murder mystery/psychological thriller - an unreliable narrator, a hungry public eager to know what REALLY happened during "Scarlet Christmas" when Charlie was a journalism grad student and survived an attack that left classmates dead, and a present day Charlotte grappling with recovered memories and the effects of trauma, as well as the demands of work and a fiancée. There are unexpected reveals, some shifting timelines, and lots of good compulsive writing that kept me reading way past my bedtime. Thank you to St. Martin's Press / Minotaur and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

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There is an intensity in the present-day scenes in Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead, as we wonder just what Charlotte is capable of. Her punishing exercise, manipulation skills, and intense work routine show discipline and calculation, and she has a horrible Unspeakable Secret relating to a murder at school, years ago. It takes a while to even figure out who was killed or why or when, partly because Charlotte’s mentally blocked out most of what happened that night in order to have her successful Manhattan life. But now that another survivor’s working on a movie telling her side of the story, Charlotte has to uncover what’s happened. In true intense, manipulative style, she convinced her therapist to help her with unblocking, on her own intense, competitive schedule.

Charlotte’s lost memories follow the Unspeakable Secret trope a bit here. I still liked it, but the hints are so dramatic that by the time we find out what actually happened, it can’t possibly be as bad as has been hinted and implied. Also — spoilers ahead! Stop now! The weirdest fakeout in Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is simply that, well, not everyone is dead. In fact, one character who’s constantly described as Charlie’s lost bestie, and discussed in the past tense, is just fine. I love a big reveal in a thriller, but when we see Cate’s alive and has been fine the whole time and has not only forgiven Charlie, but half of Charlie’s worries didn’t remotely happen, it felt more like a comic book death. I mean, one definitely could dedicate their documentary to their perfectly-fine sister, and one definitely could ask their therapist never to mention the name of a perfectly-fine old friend, but I eventually felt more jerked-around than shocked.

Without too much of a spoiler, Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead contains one of the best nickname-fakeouts I’ve read in ages. You know the name fakeout in thrillers, right? In a dramatic reveal, it turns out that sweet bestie EJ is actually Lizzie! She was really Elizabeth Jane the axe-murderer the whole time! Aaah! I loved it here, not gonna lie. There’s a double reveal, and we’ve already been carefully led to ignore the clues around this person’s connections.

The resolution of the novels is where they diverge, although I still think any reader who enjoyed one will enjoy the other. While Charlotte’s backstory continually hints that she’s a terrible person, capable of horrible deeds, the realization has more to do with being surrounded by twisted people with their own disastrous agendas. Ani, though, has told the story about being a random friend of a school shooter, and how she managed to escape being one of his many victims. The final resolutions of both show much, much more to the stories. Those layers of truth and lies, memory and manipulation, make for such great thriller reads, with an element of class and privilege behind the narrative.

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This one just didn't work for me at all. I'm glad other readers are liking it, but I won't be recommending it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity.

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Damn, this was wild! I was having trouble getting into ANY book and this was finally the one that got me hooked. From the beginning you know there was a 'massacre' but you know zero details of who did what, who died, etc. As the story unfolds there are more and more twists.

Charlie was a fun character to read from and I would definitely read more from this author!

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I read this book a while before writing this review so I've had some time to think about it and the longer I think the more I get angry at this book. Right when I finished this book I loved it and gave it a 4/5, but now I'm bumping it down to 3 because while it was written well and pretty entertaining, there was one part that annoyed me.

Starting with what was well done, I really like this author's writing style and how she got across the main character's struggle with mental health after everything that happened to her. The author did a good job with not magically making the character okay and showing how the Scarlet Christmas affected Charlie into her adult life, and the consequences her secret caused her. This book also had interesting plot twists that I didn't see coming, had a good buildup to finding out what happened, and was written in a way that made me think of several different possibilities.

Now onto the not so good. Honestly this is me being a little picky, but the whole book was building up to finding out what happened the night of Scarlet Christmas and when we finally find out what happened there was a portion of it that was so out there, and it had caused Charlie so much grief that I had to take a step back and say really??? Not such a big issue, but when something like that happens at the end of the book it tends to ruin it for me.

Either way, I can honestly say I enjoyed reading this book, and look forward to seeing more from the author in the future!

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Wow this one caught me by surprise I was not expecting to be so engrossed in this book once I started it, wasn't able to put it down. This was a solid fast moving thriller with dark academia vibes kind of The Luckiest Girl Alive mixed with In My Dreams I Hold a Knife. All the characters were well written and I always love an unreliable narrator. I went into this one mostly blind and would recommend doing the same and I don't want to spoil any of the twists that come out. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

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Solid 4 stars! Great pacing and Well written characters, even the unlikable ones. Krot me guessing and reading.

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It’s a shame when an alluring title and thrilling premise are the best parts about a book. This incredibly lackluster suspense was a chore to get through and I fully confess to throwing in the towel at the 44% mark of the e-galley. Life is too short. I do like that there was some focus on the actual traumatic impact that the Scarlet Christmas massacre had upon Charlie’s life, but it was more telling than showing, and not a deep enough psychological examination to save this bland story for me.

I am immensely grateful to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

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This was a little bit of a slow burner but I loved how everything was done in this book. The twists and turns really threw me. The character developed was great but I did feel like there were additional characters that didn’t feel super relevant. I think there’s some great life lessons in this book about trauma, guilt, and forgiving.

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I was lucky enough to win an eARC of EVERYONE WHO CAN FORGIVE ME IS DEAD by Jenny Hollander through a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and have a safe and happy autumn!

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Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and to Jenny Hollander for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!
@minotaur_books
@netgalley
@jennyhollander
@stmartinspress

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publication day: 2/6/24

Summary:
This is her debut novel and she did such an amazing job! I really got into this one. The slow burn build up definitely worked for this story and some of the twists I didn’t see coming. I really enjoyed her writing style and look forward to reading more future books of hers. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys thrillers, murder mysteries, dual timelines, and slow burns!

#read #thriller #suspense #murder #bookaddict #bookworms #bookstagram #netgalley #fiction #chilly #readmore #jennyhollander #christmas #booksbooksbooks #booksyoucantputdown #everyonewhocanforgivemeisdead #minotaurbooks #stmartinspress

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Almost 10 years ago Charlotte was in college, and survived an attack dubbed the Scarlet Christmas. She never spoke about the events that night, despite a deluge of press requests. But now, upon the 10 year anniversary, a major film is being released, and Charlotte can’t let the public find out what really happened that night. This debut novel has all the elements: a traumatic event shared by now estranged college roommates; an interesting but flawed protagonist; and a suspenseful lead up to the big reveal. However, when we finally get to the core of this story, the motive felt a bit underwhelming and deflating, leaving the reader expecting more. Overall, a good read that kept me turning the pages, and I look forward to this author’s next book. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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This book has been getting some great buzz and I needed a good drama/thriller to pull me out of my reading funk…it did the trick for the most part!

Charlie is a successful editor at a magazine but is struggling in her day to day life as she reckons with a traumatic past. In college she was part of a massacre called “Scarlet Christmas” which left her being carried out of her dorm covered in blood. The book moves back and forth from past to present where very slowly the events of that night and prior are unveiled.

This is indeed a very slow burn, and once you get to the reveal I was a little underwhelmed. However, the promise of that reveal kept me turning pages. I enjoyed how the story followed Charlie’s past and I liked an inside peak at a woman coming unraveled (the therapy sessions were well done). That said, I frankly found her backstory with her family most compelling and wish that had been talked about more. I have to imagine this being a bit tough to follow on audio as it does switch past and present pretty frequently and there are a lot of characters to follow. If you like slow burn dramas this is definitely one to pick up in Feb.
3.5 stars

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Pub date: 2/6/24
Genre: mystery/suspense
Quick summary: "Scarlet Christmas", a night of horror Charlie witnessed in graduate school, lives on in infamy. She's tried to move on, but a film made by a former classmate threatens to reveal secrets that will destroy her rebuilt life.

This title is just amazing, and I knew I had to try the book. Unfortunately, I had some trouble connecting to the story - it was a bit too much of a slow burn for me. I also had trouble following some of the more "stream of consciousness" thoughts from Charlie, as well as the large cast of characters. That being said, a lot of other reviewers have really enjoyed this one, so other thriller lovers may enjoy it more than I did!

Thank you to Minotaur Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. The build-up was nice and you didn't really know which way the story was going to go. However, the ending felt like a completely different book and I was so disappointed.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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I think my older students will get a lot from this book, it is a slower burn a, more introspective story. It was a little confusing at first and I wonder why the author chose to have so many things start with the letter C which added to the confusion but once I got past that, it was very interesting and well thought out and had a depth and understanding that I appreciated 4.5

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This is a very absorbing look at healing from trauma and living beyond it. Told in the present and the past, a young journalism student survives a massacre at her school and starts to fall apart again as her secrets threaten to come out. There are twists viewed into the plot but it is mostly a psychological about a very relatable woman dealing with horrible circumstances and questions about who she is

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