I just finished The Rabbit Hole by Kate Brody and here are my thoughts.

Teddy has had a lot of tragedy in her life and when he father, Mark, kills himself, she finds that, 10 years on, he was still trying to figure out what happened to her sister Angie. Falling down the same rabbit hole he did.

Her investigation leads her to Mickey, someone her dad was talking to. She tries reaching out to her brother but is shunned and threatened. Mickey has skills that help Teddy dig into the who, what, where and why from the night her sister disappeared for good.

Drinking too much and sleeping too little, Teddy has trouble keeping fact from fiction while processing her grief in a way that could put her in danger.

It was a weird book. It really wasn’t what I was expecting at all. It is a lot of reddit threads and Teddy trying to piece together clues and she is following all kinds of things she is seeing online. She is the very best in unreliable narrators and that made it more interesting. The whole story surrounding her sister's disappearance was pretty interesting but the book wasn’t very fast paced and it did drag in places.

I didn’t much care for the reddit threads and there were a lot of them. I don’t use reddit because it irritates me so this really wasn’t an enjoyable format for me. It was very dark and you could feel the grief coming off the page and I am glad we discovered what happened. It felt nice to have the closure.

I’m still not 100% sure I loved it but it was definitely an entertaining read.

4 stars thank you to netgalley for my gifted copy.

#rabbithole #katebrody #darkread #bookreview #bookinfluencer #bookstagram #booknerdigans #readersunite #netgalley #ebook #kindle #mondayblues

We’ve all been down the rabbit hole of the internet. In this case, Teddy ends up on Reddit reading old threads about her sister’s death. Taking some internet trolls a bit too seriously, she restarts the hunt for answers into what really happened to her sister years ago. She meets Mickey though Reddit and begins spending a lot of time with this young girl who is also obsessed with her sister’s death. As with anytime you go digging up the past, some truths are discovered that Teddy may not have really want to know.

This book ended up being a low rating for me due to being marketed as a thriller, which it was NOT. It was more of a study in grief and how people deal with losses. It was actually quite a sad story. There was also some difficult subject matter involving animal death that I was not wholly prepared for and it made me incredibly uncomfortable. Overall, the book was well written, but it was so far from what I expected it to be that it did not meet my expectations. The ending also left me wanting something more.

Thank you to #netgalley and Soho Press for an ARC of #rabbithole in return for my honest review.

This mystery/thriller has a lot going on. Several threads of ideas are weaved in here, but ultimately, I just didn’t get into this one and did not finish.

KATE BRODY’s debut, RABBIT HOLE, is the next powerhouse book that started my 2024 reading year.

The premise of this story absolutely intrigued me - a missing sister, a study in grief and an obsessive deep dive into the true crime world of Reddit threads and chat boards. And while I expected darkness I was not wholly prepared for what a devastating and difficult, yet impactful book I had in my hands.

Ten years ago Teddy’s older sister, Angie, snuck out to a party and then vanished. Dismissed by the police as a runway, Angie’s disappearance slowly destroyed their family. And on the 10 year anniversary, Teddy’s father drives his car off a bridge, leaving Teddy and her mom to once again pick up the pieces.

Sorting through her father’s things, Teddy starts to learn his secrets, including the fact that he’s spent the past ten years investigating Angie’s disappearance — tracking down leads, looking for witnesses and spending time on the dark web. Teddy decides to pick up where her father left off and finds herself chasing the same threads and fixated on figuring out what happened to Angie.

When Teddy meets an amateur sleuth online, who is equally obsessed with Angie’s case, the two form a bond that may be the thing to save Teddy — or to destroy her.

This book is a dark descent into grief, obsession and a desperation for answers. KATE BRODY doesn’t shy away from exploring some disturbing subject matter, though it’s done in a way that so expertly suits her characters and their stories. It can be difficult at times to watch Teddy try to navigate her pain, to see the strain and hurt between her and her mother and to hope that Teddy will find the answers she needs.

This book is somber and there’s a loneliness to Teddy as she navigates her losses, seemingly in a haze that gets murkier as we go. From self-destructive choices born out a desire for the truth, we bear witness to Teddy’s descent down the proverbial rabbit hole.

The book is intense, but KATE BRODY’s writing is so evocative and puts us squarely in Teddy’s head forcing us to experience even emotion alongside her. This is a very character driven story, with an emotional punch. It lured me in and I have no doubt will stay with me for a long time to come.

Teddy’s sister, Angie, has been missing for a decade. Now her father has killed himself. These two events lead Teddy to Reddit, down a rabbit hole (hence the title) of conspiracy theories, harsh commentary, and someone who seems to know more than they’re willing to tell. Characters surround Teddy, from her new much older boyfriend, to her mother who is holding on to Angie’s aged dog, to Mickey, a nineteen year old who is more than eager to help Teddy.

This book is dark and twisted from the start. There is essentially no light. Even the dog is dying. I struggled to get through this for that reason, but kept going because the book is definitely well written. There are a ton of trigger warnings needed, and I’m hard pressed to think who I would recommend this book to because it is so dark.

When this book starts, main character Teddy's father has driven his car off a bridge - on the ten year anniversary of when her older sister Angie, who was 18 at the time, disappeared without a trace. Teddy's dad was obsessed with investigating it, and after his death, Teddy finds herself suddenly picking up his work - which leads her down the rabbit hole of the title trying to figure out what happened.

This was a really good one - not just a good mystery but a good character story tackling themes of grief and self-destructive behavior. I got totally sucked into it and went a bit down the rabbit hole of this book myself, reading the whole thing within 24 hours. I feel like this book was the weird love child of a Megan Miranda book and a Gillian Flynn book, and I was here for it.

I don't know exactly what I expected as I'm new to this author but it was nothing that I expected going in. A slow-burning mystery full of emotion, deep-rooted family trauma and history with a true-crime thriller edge. It's highly character-driver with intense narration and a lot of thought-led monologuing to create something very absorbing.

This book was not quite what I expected. It was much more of a family drama than a thriller, even though it had the "true crime" angle. The mystery took second stage to the unreliable narrator and their obsession with the older sister's disappearance and father's suicide. It had a lot more to do with dealing with grief and what that can do to a family than finding out what actually happened to the sister. Still, I was interested in the characters and their fates so it was bad a not read at all, however, I would recommend it to fans of family drama more than mystery. Thank you to Netgalley and Soho Crime for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

What an unexpected thrill ride! Rabbit Hole by Kate Brody is a well-written, completely addictive read. Maybe it’s because I am also prone to falling into internet rabbit holes, but this book hooked me immediately and wouldn’t let me go.

Teddy Angstrom has just lost her father to suicide and is living at home to help her mother cope when she discovers that her dad had been working on solving her long lost sister’s missing persons case. She gets sucked into the Reddit shaped-hole he’s left behind and in the process befriends Mickey, a younger female amateur sleuth.

From there her life falls into disarray as she takes a scary-believable hard right into the morally-grey fog and totally loses her grip. Her friendship with Mickey turns obsessively toxic and the things she’s willing to do to unravel the mystery surrounding her family veers into something dark and dangerous.

This is such a great debut, full of darkness, lots of twists and turns, and a relatably messy train-wreck of a main character I couldn’t help but find insatiably entertaining.

Looking forward to reading whatever else she comes up with!

Thanks to @soho_press for the gifted copy.

This is a difficult review to write.
 
Partly because I loved it and partly because it bothered me.
 
This is a well-intentioned, beautiful written novel about mental illness and a life derailed by internet conspiracy theories. It deals with complex female and familial relationships in the aftermath of a family tragedy.  
 
I have to note that on the outset, this not a psychological thriller, but rather a slow burn mystery and character study on grief.
 
Teddi Angstrom, 26 is a teacher at an exclusive prep school in Maine. Ten years earlier, her sister disappeared, never to be seen again. On the tenth anniversary of her sister’s disappearance, Teddies father commits suicide. Left to pick up the pieces and deal with another loss in the family are Teddi and her mom.
 
During the clean-up of her father’s belongs, Teddi comes across his private investigation into her sister’s disappearance. There is an online forum via Reddit he was heavily involved in. Through this discovery, Teddi quickly becomes entangled with the group and all their theories (some quite outlandish). It doesn’t take long for her to be swept up in the true crime community and allow her personal life to spiral out of control as she becomes obsessive about solving what happened to her sister.
 
I don’t need characters to be likeable, but in all honesty Teddi and her mom were both incredibly “out there”. Not unlikable per se, but very full on through their actions and thought processes. There was also a running narrative about the family dog that just didn’t sit well with me. (That’s probably a me thing after just losing one of my fur babies!)
 
Overall, it’s a clever and darkly compelling read that tugs at your emotional heartstrings. While I don’t think it will be for everyone, I highly recommend it for those that enjoy character driven - heavy inner monologue, dark mysteries.

Many thanks @sohopress @netgalley #rbmedia for advanced reading e-arc and ALC.

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

Ten years after her sister’s disappearance, Teddy’s father takes his own life. As she sets to work tying up his loose ends left behind, Teddy learns he was actively perusing Reddit to find out what happened to Angie and engaging with people who may have answers to her outstanding questions. As Teddy picks up where he left off, she finds herself tumbling down a rabbit hole. Will she be able to find the answers her father could not?

This book has an intriguing premise, but it falls flat in execution. The result is a complicated plot without any real resolution. It sounds like a mystery/thriller in theory, but this is an incorrect way to market the book. More of a family drama, fans of mysteries and thrillers are likely to be disappointed in this read.

Additionally, the book is not an easy read. There are several challenging and disturbing sections (the way the family dog is treated throughout the book is extremely upsetting; some of the sex scenes are not going to be easy for some) and Teddy is perhaps one of the least likable main characters I have ever read in a book. It is not simply that she is flawed or challenging; she is one of the few book characters I’ve continuously called an idiot while reading. Selfish and fancying herself as more intelligent than she is, it was hard to care what happened to her halfway through. With an ending that is less than satisfying, the fact I pushed through the book is even more frustrating.

As a dark drama, this book will have an audience. As a mystery/thriller, I would have a hard time giving my recommendation.

This book is the perfect example of what can happen when someone becomes completely obsessed. In this case, Teddy has made a life for herself. A good job, a boyfriend she loves. She hasn't let her sister's disappearance ten years ago affect her life - until her father unexpectedly commits suicide. As she sorts through his things, she finds information that lets her know she was still looking into Angie's sudden disappearance. Following the clues, Teddy gets mixed up in the lives of people she never knew, following a trail of crumbs down a rabbit hole to her own destruction.

Rebecca Quinn Robertson narrates this story beautifully. Her voice is perfect for this deep dive into true crime and how depression and other circumstances can alter someone's life forever. Although the content is dark, I easily finished this one in a day with the audio.

If you're a fan of true crime and amateur sleuths with dark themes, this book is definitely for you!

I received an advanced digital and audio copy. All thoughts are my own.

I think this is what a thriller written by Ottessa Moshfegh might be like.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024! I love a thriller and the premise of a reddit-based unsolved mysteries rabbit hole really appealed to me, as someone that's chronically online myself. Interestingly, I'd say that this book didn't turn out to be what I was originally expecting, but I ended up enjoying it just as much!

In retrospect the cover should've been the hint that it wasn't a conventional thriller that's just fast-paced and twist after twist - it was, however, so gripping, gritty, and a sort of study of grief, with just an undercurrent of a thriller. The book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, but in more of an ominous, gloomy, "when is the other shoe going to drop" kind of way. The writing itself is so strong, almost lyrical at points. The character sketches were so effective, painting very vivid pictures of various characters and what it might feel like to be in a room with them, somehow effortlessly.

In brief, this is not your standard thriller, but still very much worth the read, especially if you are a fan of My Year of Rest and Relaxation, and that kind of gritty, uneasy, very compelling tone and ambiance.

I will say that pet lovers (especially when it comes to dogs) should be wary of this one - TW for terminally ill dog and pet death.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was unlike anything I have ever read. The inclusion of Reddit seemed surreal to me. The way FMC Teddy was spiraling going down conspiracy theory rabbit holes about her sister's disappearance seemed so insane to me, but that's the reality of social media today! The author did a great job showing how badly that can affect a person. Social media addiction is real, and the message from this book seemed to say it has more negative impacts than positive ones.
Teddy has been through some tragedies, so her actions aren't exactly the best. I did not agree with everything Teddy did. Some of it seemed very over the top and not realistic at all. But again, that goes to show just how much scrolling through Reddit every night, becoming obsessed with conspiracy theories about her sister's disappearance 10 years ago, took a toll on her for the worst.
I found this story to be so captivating. Not sure if it will be the same in the print version, but the ARC did not have chapters, so it made it seem like one big stream of consciousness. Very fitting for this book, if you ask me. I was flying through the pages. This is a very character driven story, and I saw how every action Teddy made online affected her real life.
I did think some parts of this book were a little out of place. Some were gruesome. Some were confusing. This is definitely a book I want to reread in the future just so I can read it with a fresh set of eyes.
Overall, this was a good read. If you're into conspiracies and have a fascination with the internet and want to see how it affected the characters in this book, I highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book, but somewhere around the midpoint, it just unraveled for me. I did think the initial "falling down the rabbit hole" premise was well done, and reading the internet threads really added to the depth of the plot. I wish the rest of the book had gone as well.

Thank you NetGalley and SoHo press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was honestly hard for me to rate. I enjoyed a lot of the first half of the book, but it lost me a bit towards the middle and to the end.

I think a big part of my disinterest was how misleading the marketing of this book is (not the writer’s fault). The description and tags indicate that this is a thriller full of suspense, but this to me was more of a character study in how people cope with grief, mental illness, addiction, and death. It’s a very heavy read with a lot of triggering issues. To me it was similar to Rebecca Makkai’s “I Have Some Questions for You”, but a lot heavier.

I really liked the incorporation of the Reddit threads because it helped create a distortion of reality so you really felt like you were going down the “rabbit hole” with the protagonist. Her downward spiral was palpable to the reader, which was hard to read, but impactful. The characters were also intriguing and there were so many layers to unpack with all of them. This book definitely does a good job of making the reader uncomfortable, which I think was the intention.

I think I just would’ve preferred knowing what I was getting into (in terms of content & genre) before reading the book because it felt misleading, as a fan of thrillers and mysteries.

This one can be hit or miss for readers. When Teddy's father committed suicide after ten years of her sister Angie's disappearance, she spirals out of control due to her grief and made some very devastating and painful decisions. I couldn't connect with her or the other characters, didn't get the storyline. Just finished it in hope of something good. Sorry to say I was disappointed at the end. It can be great for someone, though. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the eARC.

I believe wholeheartedly that this book won’t find its true audience because it’s mislabeled as a thriller. This is more of a complicated look at grief and a character study. It was well written, but hard to read. There are long passages that I highlighted because the writing in them was profound. But then there were times when I wanted to throw my kindle because I couldn’t watch the characters continue to spiral.

Based on the synopsis I thought I’d be reading a twisty thriller with lots of online conspiracies about a cold case. This book is not that. This is closer to real life in that we don’t get the answers we want. There is a central mystery, but I think it’s important to know that the book is not focused on solving that mystery. It’s about the aftermath of losing someone you love, and how it might affect you to never know the answers you desperately want.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Soho Crime and RB Media for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the debut book by Kate Brody, the audiobook wonderfully narrated by Rebecca Quinn Robertson - 4 stars!

Ten years ago, Teddy's older sister, Angie, went missing and has never been found., Her family never recovered and now her father, Mark, has died by suicide. The family didn't know it, but Mark had been involved with a Reddit community investigating Angie's disappearance and it led him down many bad roads. Teddy now finds herself following those same roads. She gets involved with Mickey, a young girl obsessed with Angie's case, and soon her personal and professional life are in shambles.

Don't go into this one thinking it's a true crime book that will be wrapped up neatly in the end. It's more of a look into a family's grief after a tragedy and how everyone is affected. I loved the title and can only imagine how easy it would be these days to go down the online rabbit holes of social media when a family member is missing. All those theories and conspiracies from people that have no clue would drive you crazy. I thought the writing in this debut was great - I just think readers need to know better what the book is about. I can't wait to read more from this author.

Piecing together tidbits of information from Reddit, Teddy Angstrom finds herself falling down a rabbit hole of theories about her older sister’s disappearance and what could have possibly happened all those years ago. While we’re pulled along her journey, Teddy was so unlikeable that I struggled to engage more with the story, and the fact that the plot moved at a snail’s pace, it made for a very long, exhaustive reading experience.

This is the author’s debut novel, and while I struggled with it at times, I did like how she set up this dark mystery with grit and a stream-of-consciousness nature. I did wish there were more breaks, or even chapters, to help provide the reader with a little breather, but otherwise, I felt like it worked well for this story.

Thank you to Kate Brody, Soho Press and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book for an honest review.