A historical fiction plus dark academia?! I was drawn in. The problem was that it was very very slow burn. It, unfortunately, couldn’t keep my interest and I didn’t end up finishing.

I was excited to get an advance copy of Killingly based on the description, but ultimately this book didn't work for me. I enjoyed Beutner's prose but not the storytelling.

Historical fiction in the dark academic mode. A slow burn that takes some time to find its momentum, but which builds a lot of dread while doing so.

Bertha Mellish goes missing at Mount Holyoke College. She's a strange girl who's only close to her best friend, Agnes, who might know the truth to her disappearance.

Killingly was so painfully slow. It felt like nothing happened in this book.

There was a feeling of dread for the 1st half of the book for what might have happened to Bertha. The feeling became worse as what each of these women endured or inflicted on themselves was revealed.
Well written and true to the time period.

Based on the unsolved real-life disappearance of a Mount Holyoke student in 1897, Killingly weaves a little bit of fact with a whole bunch of fiction. This book tells the story of Bertha Mellish, her dysfunctional family, her loyal roommate, a tenacious doctor, and a determined investigator. All parties have their own agendas as they search for the truth about what happened to Bertha. Was she murdered? Is she still alive? What secrets are each person holding?
The true crime book flows well. But it's not as engaging as I hoped. My attention wandered often as I read.
And the male characters are all unlikable and even evil.
I like the insights into what life was like for women in the late 1880s. The book addresses topics like friendship, love, abortion, incest, and sexual norms.
The author's notes at the end shed further light on cultural customs of the time, including racism.

DNF. I didn't read the synopsis well enough so I did not realize it's set in the 1870s and I'm just not interested in that. It did have good vibes for the little bit that I tried to read, though. I'd read from this author again.

Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Reader’s Copy. Based on the true story of a Mount Holyoke student disappears from campus in 1897. This is a very slow dark look at what happened to her. She kept to herself on campus, and has one friend. Her older sister and father are back in CT, and the father seems very sketchy. There is also a man from the hometown who wanted to marry her, but there is something mysterious about him too. We never actually find out what happened, and the story never really engaged me. #netgalley #advancedreaderscopy #basedonrealstory #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #fictionreader #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #booknerd #whattoread #readingtime #bookaddict #ilovetoread #ilovebooks #needtoread #readallday

I loved the writing style and the complex characterization. Enthralling.
Many thanks to Soho Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Such an intriguing novel and well written, if a little slow for my liking.

I was truly drawn to all of the characters - their faults and their flaws (which they had so many of). The fact that it was based on a true story was a cherry on top. Again, my only downfall for this was the slow pace of it considering it was a mystery. However, it was also historical fiction so I suppose the slow pace can be excused if you look at it from that angle!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not sure about this. The story in itself was interesting. I liked that it was based on a real story. But, it just seemed to drag in a lot of places. I feel like it could have been have as long and still told a good story. There were just so many parts that seemed very odd too. Like they alluded quite a bit to the girls having feelings for each other but never really said it. But one of the characters made it seem commonplace for the younger girls to have “crushes” on the older girls.

Not my cup of tea, but I’m sure others will find it really intriguing:

This was ok, simply wasn't for me. I skimmed a lot.

I liked the fact that it was a blend of historical fiction, horror, and mystery/thriller. I did feel like I was in the thick of the mystery.

3.75 stars

I'm torn on how to review this. This is a book that I'll think about for a while, but it ends on such a (realistically) depressing note that saying I "enjoyed" it feels insincere, despite thinking it was good. The characters were complex, the plotline compelling and well-researched, but wow was that heavy. This is a fictionalized version of the real disappearance of Bertha Mellish, a college student at Mount Holyoke in 1897 whose case was never solved and who was never found.

This story is told from 4 perspectives: Agnes, Bertha's best friend and the only one who truly knows what happened to her. Florence, Bertha's older sister who's trying to hold the family together. Dr. Hammond, the Mellish family's physician, who hopes to marry Bertha. And Detective Higham, who's investigating the case. Each POV was distinctive and evocative--I found the characters the most interesting part of this book.

This book made me never want to speak to a man again, so if that doesn't sound like your bag, this is not for you. Definitely look up trigger warnings, but I'll also go ahead and say if you're squeamish don't read this, as it closely documents some of the dissections Agnes does in her medical studies of both humans and animals.

I appreciated the author's note at the end of the book that laid out exactly what portions were embellished and which were historically accurate. This book definitely prompts reflection, particularly of women's rights and treatment, and some of the similarities depicted in 1897 vs. today are not very uplifting, but that doesn't mean we should ignore them.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, & the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a brilliant historical fiction/horror/thriller book an OMG if it just didn’t blow me away I was very impressed by Florence and couldn’t stand the damn doctor buzzing around like a fly you just wanted to squash but ultimately it is worth getting through because this was a great book and intriguing read and will definitely have you on the edge of your seat. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. If you love a good mystery that has you guessing until the very end then you will definitely enjoy Killingly although this is based on the true missing story of a college student named Bertha unlike real life they find answers and they’re not all pretty. I totally recommend this book to all my friends who love historical fiction at its best. I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for my Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Killimgly was written about a college girl that went missing on campus in 1897. The reader feels like that are actually on the campus during this time period. However her disapperance remains unsolved.

<I>“Florence had almost forgotten what this world of women was like, how it made everything seem possible when you were young, and how it did not, after all, fix the troubles as a woman. How though it was beautiful, and though she and Bertha had both loved in above all else, it was just a place. Just a school for girls. Just a noble experiment.” </I>

As a Mount Holyoke alumna I was immediately drawn to a book set there in the 1800s, especially one with a mystery disappearance at the center. I think in the end it’s more of a character piece about women’s lives in that era than really focused on the mystery at hand, but I thought the story and the characters were well drawn. The place was the most fun part of it for me, being familiar with the campus and hearing familiar names like Porter Hall, Prospect Lake, Rockefeller Hall. There are two characters who now have buildings on campus named for them, which was a fun look behind the curtain. Less mystery/thriller than historical fiction so read accordingly

Also, FYI there was a scene of animal cruelty that was difficult to sit though.

I knew it was based on a real event but I admit as I started reading I wasn’t sure if it was historical fiction or narrative non-fiction and I was glad to realize it is fiction inspired by truth. As is the case sometimes the Author’s Notes hold some stunning revelations and are not to be missed. <I>”Yet the potentially subversive elements of the campus community at the time were throughly intertwined with oppression.” </I>

<I>Many thanks to NetGalley, I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</I>

Beutner’s new novel is based hypothetically on the mystery of Bertha Mellish, a 20-year-old student of Mount Holyoke College, who disappeared from the school in the fall of 1897. Beutner writes with compelling urgency, laying out her plot in immersive detail. Her fictional student, Agnes, Bertha’s best friend, is particularly well drawn, along with the two other main characters, Dr. Hammond and Florence Mellish. Delving into secrets within dysfunctional families, the author exhibits an understanding of her subject which refrains from criticism and judgment. Her obvious dislike of the real-life Dr. Hammond comes across brilliantly, the doctor carrying with him a sense of menace which haunts the narrative from beginning to end. Considering Bertha’s disappearance has never been solved, Beutner has created a thoroughly credible fiction around well-researched facts with extraordinary skill. Knowing Agnes is involved somehow, and knowing how and why, are two very different things, and the reader is kept wondering until the very end. This is so chillingly atmospheric and so well-crafted one might think the author was there in the 1897 aftermath.

So, where do I begin. Histfic books about women trying to escape from a patriarchal world is one of my fave genres, so I’m glad that I got the chance to read Katharine Beutner’s “Killingly”.

First things first, I adored our three main characters: Agnes, Bertha and Florence. Each of them shows a different struggle of women, from intrafamilial abuse, to not wanting to conform to established roles, such as wanting to have an abortion or being queer. It is very difficult to reflect three such different realities in one book without being too overwhelming, but Beutner does it beautifully. Also, the plot is intriguing, so much so that it doesn't let you put the book down. I liked the final twist in Bertha's story, I think it's a very good way to close the book.

If I don't give the book five stars, it is precisely because of the historical part. I feel that it is a little underworked, and I feel sorry for it because I would have liked a more absorbing setting. It is an era that gives a lot of itself, so it is a pity that it is not explored a little more.

All in all, I recommend this book to anyone who wants an intriguing book with wonderful, feisty female characters.

Every once in a while I will read the description of a book and just know for certain I’m going to love it. Katherine Beutner’s novel, Killingly was one of those. It didn’t hurt that it was compared to the writing of Donna Tartt and Sarah Waters.

This is probably not a novel for everyone, but I really loved it. A slow burn historical mystery that focuses on the inner lives of its characters as much as it does the murder. Everything seems to be simmering just beneath the surface with such repression that it was inevitable that it would all eventually explode.

This book is about more than what happened to Bertha. The answer to that comes well before the end of the book. There is a lot of examination of and social commentary on the plight of women at the turn of the century and much of it is heartbreaking. And it is both interesting and appalling to see both how far we have come and how much remains the same. This is a novel that haunts in the best way. It lingers with you long after it is over and continues to occupy a corner of your mind. Beautiful writing, an intriguing historical mystery and lots to think about made this one a win for me.
Thank you to @netgalley for this e arc.

The description seems exactly like something I would enjoy but the writing was stylized in a way that I found distracting. But for another reader, it might be just right.