Jane Murphy appears to have it all in New York, excelling as a rising star at a social media marketing startup. She's made a name for Jeremy Miller, an experimental writer, by helping him create a viral internet novel using various fake social media accounts. However, beneath this success, Jane feels confined by her routines and compulsions, trapped in a cycle of self-soothing and self-punishment. She hides much of this, especially as her professional relationship with Jeremy evolves into something more intimate.

The perspectives shift when something (it's best to go in blind for the shock factors), occurs. The story is then split into three parts, all following different people with distinct voices and perspectives.

This was an interesting read for me. I went into this book blind since the synopsis doesn't really offer up much, but I was pleasantly surprised. The turn the book takes following part one was shocking and had me hooked, but I must say that like many other reviews, I enjoyed the first part the most out of the three.

The writing style of Part One hooked me immediately, and I was very impressed by the presentation of Jane's cyclic routine in writing. The second part hooked me at the start, but I lost steam near the end of the act, even though it was enjoyable to read. The third part though, is why my rating is at a 3 star. I didn't feel like the third part was very necessary to the progression of the story, and I almost feel like I would have enjoyed the book more if it ended at part 2.

That said, the writing was the stand-out for me and I'm interested in whatever else this author writes!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 20th 2024

Writing fiction about writing fiction is a tough needle to thread. Do you approach with a wink and a nod? Total earnestness? Something else? Montague makes several interesting choices with the structure of this novel, some of which would have annoyed me under different circumstances. Here, they work as a device to illustrate the writing process and how real life is often so much less satisfying than pat fictional endings. The multiple POV characters present different ways of approaching writing, from an all consuming passion, to a workaday mentality, to limitless pretension. I’m still thinking about this book several days later, which is the highest compliment I can bestow.

thank you to mulholland books and netgalley for the e-arc!

okay. super intelligent and creative read! as everyone else said, the third section was my least favourite, but it still raised some interesting points and brought a fun new format into the mix, so that was cool.

overall really really impressive for a debut, i enjoyed it :)

Hauntingly intriguing, but confusing at times. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this book and I’m still not entirely sure what I read. I loved the eating disorder representation

Thank you NetGalley, Mulholland Books, and Eugenie Montague for the ARC of Swallow the Ghost. I loved this book so much. I'm not sure if I didn't fully read the description, or if I just forgot it by the time I started reading, but I did not know what I was going into with this book and I recommend that. It's told in 3 parts - part 1 was my favorite, it is from Jane's POV. In part 2 and 3 we read more about Jane's story, but from the perspective of other characters. Like other reviewers I didn't enjoy part 3 quite as much as part 1 or 2, but it wasn't bad. I still think the whole book was amazing, Montague addresses so many hard topics throughout this book in such a beautiful way. I will definitely keep an eye out for her future work!

An incredible debut novel that pushes boundaries, makes readers think, and does what any good book should make a reader do, keep turning the pages. Montague’s dynamic writing style is the perfect fit for this story.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing a digital copy of this book.

Beautifully written & deeply felt. This was an inch away from being a total masterpiece about perspective, ritual, loss, and human connection. I loved Jane’s and Jesse’s stories, but Jeremy’s section lost me. I know there’s a deeper meaning to his intellectualization/compartmentalization/avoidance of the plot, but I’m too annoyed by his writer-bro energy to hunt for it. Other than that, it’s absolute perfection and I highly recommend being haunted by this ghost.

4.5* - rounded up.
I really liked this debut book from author Eugenie Montague. It surprised me in a lot of ways.

In the first of three sections, we meet Jane - a young woman working in an up-and-coming PR firm. She's spearheading an internet mystery to raise the visibility of an author looking for representation for his new book. On the outside, Jane is successful and confident using her creativity and knowledge of how people think on the internet to craft this intricate fictional story that has gone viral. Inside, Jane is riddled with insecurities and needs small rituals to help her get through each day.
For fear of giving things away, I won't say much about the second or third section. I found the book fascinating and I'm still thinking about the questions it raises. While Montague takes her time telling the story, I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know where it was going.

Swallow the Ghost is out August 20. Thank you to #netgalley and Mulholland Books for this ARC.

Absolutely brilliant thriller. All the characters, from the victim to the suspects to the investigator, had so much depth. I could see them as people, with their own headaches and their own joys. I find that in many modern mysteries, authors devote less to characterization and more to the plot -- they give each character one or two defining traits and wipe their hands. Montague's indirect characterization was masterful, especially her characterizations of Jane and Jesse. By the end, I could empathize with all of the characters, and I was grateful for the open-ending, I could delude myself into believing that none of them did it.

Many thanks to Mulholland Books for the eARC, all thoughts were my own.

this book was unfortunately not it for me. I saw what the author was trying to do with the Lola Rennt vibes of starting the day over again, but it just became redundant and the rest of the book was not notable.

What an amazing storytelling!

The book is divided into three parts and the first one is unhinged. A lot of show and a little tell (just the way I like it). The characters move the plot trough their decisions and we get to see the mythologization of a person when what happened to them is more important than what they are.

I don't want to give away details of the plot because I think is better if you experience it without knowing what's the big deal, because it was a big surprised for me and made this novel have one of the best plot points/plot twists that I have read in a long time.

I enjoyed all the symbolism and the parallels between creating fiction within fiction and creating fiction in the real world (what is a real world? It was amazing).

My least favorite part was the third, because although is necesary for the cohesion of the story and to know what happened next, I feel like it was a little slow and dragged down the great pace of the previous parts. Despite this, it's a great work of fiction that doesn't seem like it is (fiction). I'll definetly continue to seek out Eugenie Montague's work in every genre she decides to write about.

This was quite a ride.

The first third of the book had me hooked— especially towards the ending. I could not stop reading after the first twist. The next third was very strong as well, but unfortunately I did not enjoy the last third as much. I will admit I struggled a bit towards the end. The whole purpose of this novel is to explore different narratives and I just feel that the last one didn’t work so much for me. However, I do commend Montague’s ability to write three distinct voices and play with the narrative form like this.

Ultimately, it was enjoyable and quite interesting. I would recommend this to a friend.

Like many readers, this book was not what I was suspecting. Just when you think you've got a handle on what it is...it changes, (which makes it difficult to do justice in a review.)

The first story is about Jane and it is purposefully repetitive, echoing the rut she's in, her compulsive behaviors, and how her life feels. It also introduces the reader to Jane's work, which provides a through-line for the rest of the book.

Because I work heavily in social media, I found Jane's digital storytelling job (and the firm she works at) fascinating. She's building an imaginary story for an imaginary person online (along with a writer, Jeremy) but Jane herself feels almost as paper thin as the imaginary narrative.

Just when the repetitiveness of Jane's story starts to become tiring, the story changes entirely (a switch that I thought was both shocking and brilliant) and then changes again (a shift I was less into). The third section is through the lens of a character I didn't really like, but I found it full of the most quote-worthy writing.

I can't really go into much more detail than that.

I think this quote from earlier in the book really encapsulates this story: "how many moments do people live through together that are experienced so differently by each of them, it's almost like they didn't experience something together at all?"

This book continues to shift perspectives and add layers of "realness" to the story. Even firsthand accounts seem almost dreamlike with people plugged into the moment as different "characters" (i.e. themselves as they are on the inside, themselves as they are to the outside, their creator/seeker persona, their collaborative self etc.) With so many layers, how can we ever really know who someone actually is? How can we ever know what exactly is true?

Overall, I thought this was a highly compelling, original book (just didn't love that final third quite as much). Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

TRIGGER WARNING: Eating disorder

After struggling a bit to get into this at the beginning, I ended up really, really loving this uniquely structured book that I think ordinarily I would have not liked. The author accomplishes something difficult here - writing in an extremely disjointed way, without a clear plot line, in a way that somehow feels both purposeful and engaging.

Told in three parts, all in different distinct styles, the book is part murder mystery and part reflection on identity. Like most other reviewers, the first section was my favorite, almost exclusively because of the writing style and how the structure was used to mirror Jane's thoughts and routines and struggles. Even though the first section felt like a standout to me, the book is so strongly written that each section really shines for its own reason (even if that reason is giving us all a collective experience of HATING on Jeremey's unbearable personality for 50+ pages).

This book/story would have typically left me feeling annoyed at several points - the second section, where we spend 100-some pages feeling like we're in a whodunnit, wrapping up in a single matter-of-fact page, the last section being so focused on truly, madly, deeply, one of the most annoying male character I've ever read, the ambiguity of what we're really even supposed to be taking away from the story.

The fact that I was *not*, in fact, annoyed at any of this and could barely put this down after I got over some initial slowness speaks volumes to the quality of writing and storytelling.

I found this book a little confusing when I first started, I went in with little information about it and just let the story unfold as I read it.
The repetitiveness of the first part confused me and I had to stop and reread from the beginning to fully comprehend what was happening but in the end I found the repetitiveness and the mundane of the reading relatable. In the end, I understood it and the narrative choice. The characterization was well written, and between the three main characters I felt that I was able to connect with them. I appreciate the interconnectedness between the characters and how their relationships intertwined with one another.
I enjoyed the novel well enough, and may read it again in the future to pick up some more bits of it that I may have missed in my initial reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

Swallow The Ghost is a story told in 3 parts, making it feel fresh as no part lingers too long. I went into this book not knowing much and think that’s the way to go. The topics are heavy but the perspectives are interesting.

The ending leaves something to be desired but I also think it does that purposefully. People who love mysteries and thrillers, true crime podcasts and stories about people who are far from perfect will find Swallow The Ghost worth reading.

I don’t exactly know how to describe this book. A murder mystery? told in three parts, by three different characters, I’ve honestly never read anything like it. And you know what, it was phenomenal. A provocative take on violent crime in the age of the internet. A contemplative analysis of death in the age of the internet, where everyone gets to tell their side of the story, changing our perception with each tale.. Beautifully written and hard to put down, Swallow the Ghost was a captivating read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Mulholland Books, & Eugenie Montague for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Swallow the Ghost" is a uniquely structured novel, weaving together the lives of its characters across three distinct interconnected parts. The journey begins with Jane, an almost-writer turned content creator, whose life is an unsettling tapestry of rituals, mental illness, and intricate relationships. Jane is Extremely Online in a way that millennial and younger readers will relate to. She’s juggling two men, one of whom she works with in a co-creator/content manager capacity.

The narrative then shifts to Jesse, an investigator delving into the heart of a murder mystery. Like Jane, Jesse wanted to be a writer and has settled for a more practical career to pay the bills – he’s taking care of his mentally declining mum – while his friends judge him for selling out.

In the final act, the focus turns to Jeremy, a murder mystery author entangled in a real-life accusation of murder. In Q and A transcript format, Jeremy is interviewed about how being accused of murder caused him devastating writer’s block (in case you forgot who the real victim is * eye roll *).

In common with a lot of reviewers, I was immediately hooked on Jane’s section. The Groundhog Day section in which each day begins the same, and only the end begins to slowly change lets the reader know straight away that this novel is going to be playful and disorienting in form. It’s slowly revealed by action that Jane is suffering from an eating disorder, and this is interestingly paralleled by her use of the internet:

<blockquote> “The impulse to continue down her feed feels yawning, insatiable, like an emptiness but also a pressure. Sometimes Jane thinks this is the only feeling she recognizes. She returns for two more croissants and eats them, breaking off big chunks and stuffing each one in her mouth while she is still chewing the previous bite.” </blockquote>

I loved this recognition that what drives binge eating and what drives compulsive social media use is often the same impulse. The need to fill a metaphorical hole is so powerfully evoked here.

The abrupt switch to Jesse was shocking, but in a way that was appropriate for the subject matter, and it’s almost as engaging as the first part. Jesse has moments of being a noir-esque sleuth in the Philip Marlowe vein, with the caustic asides to match:

<blockquote> “If it was meant to distract me. If I could infer from it a certain coldness, the brutal pragmatism of the policy wonk.”

“Being around Roger was difficult. Like sleeping on top of a cheese grater, every second with him.” </blockquote>

Jeremy’s part isn’t quite as strong, but that feels intentional, as he’s not intended to be a likable or strong character. He is guilty of the classic solipsism of being the main character in your own life, and assuming you play that role in the lives of others as well. The murder? Only relevant in how it impacted him.

"Swallow the Ghost" skillfully dissects life, identity, and the blurred lines between reality and the personas we craft. The novel's exploration of social media, art, and miscommunication is particularly relevant, posing the question of where the genuine self ends and the fabricated begins. Its character studies are rich and thought-provoking, with each part of the narrative offering a unique perspective on the characters' intertwined lives.

i can sincerely say i have never read anything like this before—the POV shifts were so unbelievably smart while at the same time infuriating. i finished this novel with so many questions. which, to be fair, was most certainly the author’s intent. if you do choose to dive into this one (it’s out in august, so you have a bit of a wait) know that the opening of is structured in a strange way. i promise once you get into it, you’ll be more impressed than turned off by this seemingly redundant storytelling method. please text me once you finish because i’m dying to discuss this with someone—it’s a novel worthy of deep, literary dissection.

This book was kind of hard to get through because it was a bit confusing at times. With the different storylines going on, it was hard to follow. I also found parts to be repetitive. I understand this was because of Jane's routines but I thought it was a bit much. I was also hoping for some type of resolution in Part 3.