I really struggled to want to read this book. The premise sounded amazing, but the writing style just was not for me. It was very hard to keep up with and connect with the characters. The ending was ok only because I found out what happened.

Hmm. This isn't a straightforward mystery or thriller, but more of a literary exploration of a tragedy. That said.....it left a lot to be desired.

The time jumps, the God talk, the violence, the anticlimactic reveal of the killer....it's all there, but it was a jumbled way to tell a story.

I think if you want to take the time to slowly read and analyze everything, including an obsessive former roommate looking for the truth, then you're a better person than me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for the copy of Bright And Tender Dark by Joanna Pearson. I loved the description of the book, but for some reason, the pacing and the flow were off so I had trouble staying engaged. There were chapters that were intriguing, but I still felt like I was missing the main thread of the story. I think people will like the unexpected ending, but I’m not sure it was enough to make me love this one.

This was a tough read for me. I will start with some of the things I liked about the book. The premise really got me excited. I was engaged and invested for the first 25% off the book. The language was poetic and I would've said that it leaned more toward lit fiction than an actual thriller. My problem was there was so much going on that I couldn't focus on the main plot. I didn't feel like I knew or understood Joy as a character either. There was so much more going on it than simply diving the murder of Karlie in the 1990s. That was cool at first, I liked the use of different formats and modalities such as Reddit posts, emails, news articles, etc. But it just moved so slowly and so convalutedly. There were characters that seemed to be just there for fluff. Overall, it just didn't work for me. I lost interest quickly and it became really hard to finish. It might be better in audio if they come with an audiobook. Thank you too #Netgalley and #BloomsburyUSA for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted so much to like this book, it has a lot of elements I like, but it was too much, too many subplots, too many characters, too much going far afield. So I pushed through it but it was more work than it ended up being worth it for me. Also in my kindle edition, some of the print was so light, it was impossible to read, not the author's fault but hopefully will be fixed for the final edition

DNF at 20%. I am not sure if it fair to give this book a rating, because I did not finish it. The synopsis sounded so interesting, so I was excited to be granted an arc copy. I have to agree with the other reviewers who have said that there are too many characters and too many plot lines. I love a good thriller, and it is not the amount of characters or plots that caused me to quit….for me (and these are just my thoughts, a number of reviewers may feel differently) the amount of religion in just the beginning of the book was overwhelming. I found the story hard to follow, and did not enjoy the sidetracking of online postings about the apartment where Karlie was murdered, it’s haunted, ok I got it! In the end I just didn’t care about Karlie (sorry) or anyone else in the story to continue on. Thank you to the publisher and the author for the arc. I hope this one is a better fit for other readers.

DNF at 25%. I struggled to get into this book. Even as I read through the early chapters, I had a hard time connecting to any of the characters. The main characters the reader needs to connect with — Karlie and Joy — are too distant. Karlie is, indeed, “myth-like,” even to the reader, making it hard to fully care about her or her death. Meanwhile, Joy is not particularly likable, and her story feels all over the place. She just happens to find an old letter from Karlie, and then suddenly she is having lunch with her old professor… it’s too convenient and the sequence of events is not intuitive. This is a compelling premise that doesn’t fully deliver on execution.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Bright and Tender Dark.

If I had known what the narrative was really like, I wouldn't have requested this so my dissatisfaction with Bright and Tender Dark is on me.

Bright and Tender Dark is one of those books that has a mystery concept but it's not a thriller or a mystery.

It's definitely not suspenseful.

The narrative consists of the various characters in the life of the deceased, Karlie, the golden girl, the sweet girl, the one everyone wants and want to be, the ever popular cliche in these genres riding high here.

There are various themes including evangelicalism, which I found tiresome, plus a random urban legend.

From the various characters perspectives, readers see there are a number of suspects who could have harmed Karlie. In the end, the identity of the perp is anti-climatic and by then, I didn't care who did it.

I'm not a fan of novels exploring characters and their backstories; introducing a ton of minor and supporting characters from the past and present, blurring timelines, people I don't care or won't remember when I flip the page.

When I read a mystery and/or thriller, my expectations aren't complicated.

I expect the mystery to be resolved in some way following a standard procedure, a police procedural, perhaps; a civilian playing Nancy Drew, looking for clues, interviewing suspects or allies.

I read to be entertained; sadly, Bright and Tender Dark didn't even meet this basic expectation of mine.

Thank you NetGalley for a free e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Joanna Pearson's "Bright and Tender Dark" is a gripping and intricately woven literary mystery that explores the long-lasting impact of a tragic murder on a college campus. Set against the backdrop of the turn of the millennium and spanning two decades, Pearson's debut novel delves into themes of obsession, the distortion of memory, and the murky depths of internet culture.

The story unfolds with the brutal murder of Karlie Richards, a charismatic nineteen-year-old whose death becomes a lingering obsession for those who knew her and even those who only knew of her. Pearson masterfully navigates the narrative through various perspectives, including Karlie's freshman roommate, Joy, who becomes embroiled in a quest for truth upon discovering a two-decade-old letter. This discovery leads her into the dark world of conspiracy theorists and amateur sleuths, raising questions about the conviction of the man imprisoned for Karlie's murder.

Pearson's skill lies in her ability to weave a complex narrative that jumps between 2019 and 1999, capturing the essence of each era and its influence on the characters' perceptions and actions. The novel's exploration of the power of urban legends and the psychological complexities surrounding high-profile murder cases adds a compelling depth to the story.

The characters are intricately drawn, each with their own connection to the murder and its aftermath. The inclusion of a diverse set of perspectives, including that of KC, the trans night manager at the building where Karlie was killed, and Sheri, the mother of the convicted man, enriches the narrative, offering a multifaceted view of the tragedy's ripple effects.

However, the novel's ambitious scope and the number of perspectives can occasionally make the narrative feel overwhelming. The complexity of the plot and the depth of the themes require careful reading to fully appreciate the intricacies of Pearson's storytelling.

"Bright and Tender Dark" is a prismatic and compelling debut that successfully combines elements of a thriller with literary depth. Joanna Pearson has crafted a novel that not only provides a gripping mystery but also a thoughtful exploration of the human psyche in the face of tragedy and mystery. This book is a must-read for fans of literary mysteries and those fascinated by the psychological underpinnings of crime and obsession.

And now…..

Back to my regularly scheduled dramatic rants on my love for blood, guts, gore, twists and shrills.

Well, lookey on over here for a book that checks off every box on my twisty little soul sucking list.

Drumroll…

Bright and Tender Dark

I have read this book twice already . Repeating this read, feeds my soul . It’s beyond disturbing, twisted, dark and has given me nightmares since the first time I read it. This is will be my go to book suggestion for anyone who asks for the most traumatic book I have ever read . This is one of those books everyone says they can handle and then the minute they conclude they find their hands shaking in fear . I won’t lie to you. There was no “walks around the neighborhood” for months after this one .

So although you may call yourself a psychological thriller lover please proceed with caution, this is not the book for anyone looking for a boy meets girl and maybe gets annoyed and disappears for a bit kind of thing .

Ready for your jaw to drop?

This is a debut!!!!!

Joanna Pearson, writes with such talent and conviction you would believe she has been writing her entire life. Move over James Patterson we have a new author to idolize.

I now have not only a new favorite book but also a new author to obsess over

Check out this teaser :

Days after the dawn of Y2K, beautiful, charismatic nineteen-year-old Karlie Richards is found brutally murdered in her campus apartment. Two decades later, those who knew Karlie-and those who just knew of her-remain consumed by her death. Among them is her freshman year roommate, Joy, now middle-aged and mid-divorce, living in the same college town and desperate for a new beginning. When she stumbles upon a twenty-year-old letter from Karlie, Joy becomes convinced the man in prison for her murder was wrongfully convicted. Soon she is diving deep into the dark world of internet conspiracy theorists and amateur sleuth blogs and bouncing off others touched by the long, sensational aftermath of this crime. They include KC, the trans night manager at the building where Karlie was killed; Sheri, the mother of the intellectually disabled man serving time; and Jacob Hendrix, the charming professor with whom, Joy knows all too well, Karlie was romantically entangled before her
death.

Jumping between 2019 and 1999, Bright and Tender Dark takes us from the era of Reddit threads and online obsession to the evangelism-infused culture of the late '90s to reveal what really happened to Karlie. It is a compulsively readable, prismatic literary mystery that brilliantly mines the mythology of murder, the power of urban legend, and the psychological urge to both protect and exploit what you love but cannot have.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC to review.

Two decades ago, charming undergrad Karlie Richards was found brutally murdered in her college apartment. At the time, it seemed like a simple case to most, with the suspect quickly apprehended and convicted. However, when Karlie’s former roommate Joy finds a letter from her twenty years later, Joy finds herself questioning if the right person was punished.

Shifting back and forth between 1999 and 2019, the reader gains insight into Karlie’s complicated relationships, including her tumultuous friendship with Joy and her illicit affair with a professor. Throughout the book, it becomes clear several people had motives for killing Karlie.

While the premise of this book is solid, it falls victim to having both too many characters and too many plot points. In addition to the teacher/student affair, the storyline also includes evangelism culture in the 90s, as well as a random urban legend involving scaring realtors in 2019. With so much going on and no clear connection tying it all together, it becomes hard for the reader to gauge where the story is going. It is also frustrating to have so many characters introduced only to realize they are not at all essential to the plot. The author would have done well to kill some of her darlings.

Overall, this book will be able to find its audience, but true lovers of the genre will have a hard time with the superfluous subplots.

This book had some very interesting characters, the plot was interesting, and I was engaged in finding out what happened to Karlie. However, I did find the amount of characters and perspectives confusing at times. It was hard to keep track of who was who and some subplots detracted from the main story in my opinion. I also felt the ending was incomplete. Thank you to Joanna Pearson and Bloomsbury USA for allowing me to read this ARC.

Thank you to the publisher for my arc!

I went into this wanting a cold case being solved and learning the aftermath of what happened but this just felt like a mess.. yes I did enjoy the different perspectives but some of them added nothing to the story. It’s not bad by any means, just not for me.