Absolutely gripping, thoughtful introduction, will have to get the novel, to see what happens next. One of our most important new young writers.

Got me hooked straight away so went and got the whole book! 5 stars! I loved the story, it felt very realistic.

An enticing book where the reader is thrown into an ongoing media frenzy about a murder of a young girl Amira. It explores how such a tragedy has on a tight-knit community and the effects that it has on those left behind.

The book explores the morality of the true crime genre and makes the reader question of how the media and public opinion can help shape the narrative of guilt and innocence, making the reader confronting their own perceptions which makes the novel thought provoking.

Elizas writing is both lyrical and precise, capturing the raw emotions of the characters while maintaining a suspenseful pace, the alternation between past and present adds a layer of complexity and keeps the reader engaged gradually revealing the truth behind the tragedy.

The book makes the reader question their own moral compass and is great for readers who enjoy true crime and mystery novels.

Please see my review on the full version of this novel.

I will say that this excerpt grabbed me and made me incredibly impatient to read the entire thing.

Made me want to read the whole book, great extract to get a sense of the story! I’m already engaged by this and will be purchasing a full copy as a result.

Classic Eliza Clark. Much like Boy Parts, this extract was immediately dark, raw, and fearless. I'm very intrigued to read the full book.

This story is slightly disturbing but also very gripping. These chosen extract paints the mood of the book and I can't wait to read the whole book. Eliza's writing is direct and candid, the scene described were vivid, felt like watching law and order.

Eliza Clark can have my first born child if she writes more books like this and Boy Parts. I ADORED this. Simply phenomenal. I do not want to say anything else because everyone needs to go in blind, but just know, you won’t be disappointed.

Generally though, this is not for the faint of heart. It was a dark exploration of humanity and you should be prepared for that. If you are though, you will love it.

An intriguing extract following a horrible crime committed by teenagers. Not so much as a whodunnit, but a whydunnit. Boy Parts wasn’t my favourite read but it was stylishly written and I’ll admit gripping. I can’t wait to read this one.

While I only got a short glimpse into this book, it is catchy. The writing seems a bit like a report submitted by a journalist, but it still managed to interest me. I will give a full review on my blog, https://booksformind.com/ once I read the whole book.
For now, I will say that it is a book that is right up me alley. Thank you for the chance to get acquainted with this exclusive extract. I cannot wait to read the whole book at some point in the future.

Penance has been one of my most anticipated reads of the year, as Boy Parts was one of my favourite books of last year. I’m not someone who is a huge true crime fan but I love Eliza Clarkes style of storytelling, excited to see how this story progresses.

Dark but fascinating, Penance takes us to the horrible depths of teenage years of a group of girls who committed an abominable crime. I was hooked from the start, and was mesmerised by the unavoidability of the act while being horrified by the way the teens thought.
The last chapters gave the book a whole new layer that caught me off guard.
Simply perfect!

I was intrigued by the extract - hoped that this would be as dark as Boy Parts, and it seems the answer is yes! The full novel is on my TBR, so I'm looking forward to getting to it!

On the night of the Brexit vote, sixteen-year-old Joan Wilson was found dead in the dilapidated Northern English seaside town of Crow-on-Sea, burned alive by three girls she considered her best friends. This book is written as the definitive account of this murder, with a journalist narrator putting all the pieces together and speaking to the girls implicated. In many ways, this is very smart and well-crafted, but in other ways I felt I had read this book a billion times before—there have been so many books exploring the personal cost of true crime that it’s pretty much as much of a cliche as true crime itself. I think other authors have pulled this off better. Clark does a very good capturing what it was like being a teenage girl in the late 2000s/early 2010s, so much so that I feel large sections of this book will feel like gibberish if you weren’t on Tumblr in those formative years.

I hadn't realised this was just an extract when I requested it, but then got accept to a full copy anyway. I found it a gripping read in some ways, but I was expecting a more literary novel. I can see why it's been a success, but a bit lacking in style for my tastes.

Extract review:

Wow. This really draws you in from the beginning. The writing style is impressive and appears to be authentic of the true crime genre. I look forward to read the book in it’s entirety

This extract had me hooked and I can’t wait to read the rest of the book. I loved Eliza Clark’s writing style and found it very engaging. The mystery of Joan Wilson’s death was set up really well and I found the commentary on the internets fascination with true crime very interesting and extremely relevant.

After reading this extract I immediately went to buy Penance because 20 pages simply wasn’t enough!

Only a sample so I can’t provide a full review but I loved what I read. I loved Boy Parts too so I was excited to read this and look forward to reading the full novel soon.

I loved this extract and will definitely be reading the whole book! What a brilliant and unique way to write a crime novel.

Three teenage girls participate in the torture and death of a fourth. This books is about how that happened.

The writing is beautiful and gripping and I was immediately drawn in and hooked through to the end of the sample chapter. I'm going to immediately read on, as I need to know more. Eliza Clark makes the three attackers come to life as individuals, without even giving them names initially: Girls, A, B & C. I got a strong sense of who they each were just through her descriptions of their voices and choices. The setting is also well-described and clearly a vital character in the narrative. As is the political climate.

The excerpt is clear as to what happened, but the why and how are yet to come. The writing is masterful, clear and precise, yet literary. I'm very much looking forward to reading the rest of the novel.