207 Book Talk

Camille Gardner has (barely) lived through every parent's worst nightmare, the loss of her fifteen year old daughter Emily five years previously. What makes Camille’s pain exponentially worse is the fact that after Emily was murdered, her killer Harris Blanchard, a local college student, not only escaped justice, but his well-connected family made Emily out to be the villain of her own tragedy. Camille learns that Harris is being given a humanitarian award at his school, and the consequences of her attendance at that ceremony makes her something of an internet celebrity, for all the wrong reasons.  The situation serves to perpetuate her anxiety, distress and rage, and Camille feels there is no one out there who truly understands the constant pain she feels knowing her daughter’s killer is not only free, but enjoying his life to the fullest. She quickly learns through mysterious means that not only are there others out there struggling with the same emotions, they are poised to do s...

  Author Julia Dahl has written a timely novel focusing on wealth and privilege and the repercussions that can come from people of that socioeconomic status feeling above it all. Being well-known and rich does not provide protection from being the victim of a crime, and it also does not mean you can get away with doing anything and everything you want… or does it? When NYU freshman and social media it-girl Claudia Castro wakes up in her dorm room over Spring Break, it is clear something is very wrong. What is much less clear is what exactly happened the night before. She is bruised and bloody, but has no memory of most of her evening out. While she slowly starts to piece together the events that may or may not have occurred, she begins to rely on another student in her dorm that has also stayed on at school over the break Trevor is a kid from Ohio with a past he is trying to move beyond, and he is soon swept up in Claudia’s life and his developing feelings for her. As it becomes cl...

Beth Hardcastle has a seemingly perfect life in a small village in England, where she lives with her husband and young daughter. Having left London behind for the suburbs, she run a pottery shop and cafe and (thinks) she has a wonderful marriage, until her husband Tom is taken in for questioning about the disappearance of a former girlfriend. As her life starts to unravel, Beth questions just how well she really knows her husband and her neighbors.  I did enjoy the story being told from multiple points of view, but I found this book less and less believable and interesting the further on I read. There were a few interesting twists, but they felt predictable and I found the main character very unlikable the more I got to know her.  Final rating: ★★☆ ☆ ☆ This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.