For me, this book started very slow, but once I got into it, the pace picked up and I had a change of heart on my overall rating.

To begin my review, I want to mention what was done well in the novel. The story itself I felt to be very original, it kept me on my toes, and at the end of each chapter I was wondering what would happen next. Throughout the novel, I was always trying to put the puzzle pieces together. And, like most books in this genre, I was surprised with the ending and did not see it coming. Another thing that I think Hollander did well in this novel was sticking with one perspective. I feel like this story would be one that would tempt other perspectives, but I was very pleased to learn that she only followed one perspective throughout.

Now that I have mentioned what I believe was done well, I would like to touch on areas for improvement. For starters, I found that the vocabulary used throughout the novel was overdone. Similar to other books I have read recently, it felt as if the vocabulary was used to make the author seem more intelligent than the reader, using unnecessary jargon to get a point across. In addition, Hollander would often repeat herself to make sure that a clear picture was painted, but I found this repetition to be bothersome. For example, she would have a character speak, then she would say how the character spoke, and then repeat what the character said using how it would have sounded. In these instances, I would have much rather the characters have a different dialect, rather than the way that it was approached.

At the beginning of the novel, I found it to be very dry. But, as the story continued I gained more interest in it as a whole. The ending, however, I wish was different, as it did not have that thrill factor that I was looking for throughout my reading. But, the ending was original, I will give Hollander that. Overall, an okay book. Would not necessarily recommend for others to read, but I am not disappointed that I read it, either.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For more reviews and discussions, listen to my podcast The Honest Book Reviewers with Nate and Emma.

https://open.spotify.com/show/3H3ugH4xlzvjMXuUo1Lyvh?si=ewdzfkUnSVKyDmAvHMHIPQ

DNF - While the premise sounded intriguing, I had a hard time getting into this one. Could have been my mood - or the fact it takes place in a Christmas setting, and being February I am no where near wanting to read anything Christmas time related. Perhaps a pub date November/December would have been more fitting for this book.

Thank you netgalley & publisher!

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead started out strong with the characters meeting each other in a college setting. I loved the relationship between Charlie and Cate, and then the awkwardness of Charlie’s burgeoning relationship with Jordan. I enjoyed the ease of reading the then and now labeled sections and especially the sections told through assorted media.
Charlie and Tripp just never made sense to me before the twist and definitely not after the twist. Steph remained a quandary to me. I just struggled to understand her decisions, even after all the revelations. The passages describing Charlie’s sessions with Noor were intriguing and Charlie’s perceptions/fears about what actually happened were the strength of this read.
My favorite character was Jackson.
Many thanks to Jenny Hollander, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this recently published three stars book.

This one peaked my interest from the very beginning. I knew there was more to the story and I couldn’t wait to find out what it was. I did enjoy the ending & finding out the truth about Scarlet Christmas & I’m happy with how the story unfolded for the characters.

This was a bit of a struggle for me to get into.
I didn’t dislike the story but it wasn’t a favorite read.
Others may feel differently. I encourage you to read the book to see how you feel.
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead is a slow-burn psychological thriller/mystery. Its cast of characters were fragile as they each coped with the tragic events of Scarlet Christmas. There are plenty of well-guarded secrets for self-serving purposes that play in the stories twists.

The attention grabbing prologue had me anxiously turning the pages as the tension built from those opening words. A solid debut if you can let go of your disbeliefs with some of its characters.

Thank you, Minotaur Books

This was an extremely suspenseful read that kept me turning the pages, but also a wholly unsatisfying one.

I liked the writing, especially getting to feel the protagonist's love for NYC. However, so much of the suspense came from omission (e.g. deliberately not mentioning certain characters in the present timeline) instead of skillful storytelling. It wasn't effective anyway since a lot of my guesses turned out to be correct and I didn't feel shocked at any of the 'twists' or revelations.

While the book does a good job in exploring grief and trauma, it's concerning that Noor the therapist allows Charlie to cross boundaries and rush things. At best, it's more evidence of weak storytelling to propel the plot along quickly. At worst, it's risky and dangerous behavior that does a disservice to therapy in real life.

I also never warmed to Charlie because she was detached and often unkind to people (what she herself calls "the icy way that had become my default". She was hard to empathize with despite all that she had been through.

Still, there were some themes that I really enjoyed and thought were tackled well, such as how different demographics are treated differently in the media.

While the unraveling of the plot was underwhelming, the author has talent and promise that I will eagerly watch out for.

‘Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Now Dead’ follows Charlie who has spent the past nine years rebuilding her life after it has been turned on her head when she was declared a ‘witness’ in a scandal that slandered her reputation. But when a former classmate goes digging for the truth, Charlie is forced to relive and face her past.

A blend of literary thriller and mystery this book is perfect for fans of ‘Before We Were Innocent’ and Alice Feeney (two very different books but trust me).

I listened to this on audio and I enjoyed the narration and production of the book. It had components of a story I would love, but unfortunately, I just did not find the writing compelling despite enjoying the plot and I struggled to feel invested in any of the characters.

This is one of those ‘didn’t work for me’ books that I would still recommend to the right reader.

Charlotte (Charlie) Colbert, while in graduate school, witnessed a horrific event that ended in death and injury for several classmates. The circumstances were so traumatic that Charlie blocked them out. She became a successful editor at a magazine. But now that Charlie has rebuilt her life, one of the other "survivors" of the incident decides to make a movie about it, and threatens to expose what really happened. Charlie, having blocked out much of what happened, is convinced that she may have been responsible and that her whole life will come apart.
I feel like the story was a bit all over the place. I liked the premise involving the Scarlet Christmas and the Then and Now way it was written. I didn’t love the current boyfriend and his whole family and wedding planning. I didn’t think delving into the soon to be mother in law and all that was really necessary. There was a lot of extra stuff that didn’t amount to anything d was unnecessary but overall I liked the main plot and was happy with the way everything wrapped up. 3.5 ⭐️ thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur books for an ARC copy.

**2.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads**

Thanks to Minotaur Books for the e-ARC I received via NetGalley and congrats to the author on her debut novel.

I was deciding between 2 and 3 stars for this one. Decided to be nice and give it 3. I liked Charlie’s love for her family. I liked the plot of trying to figure out what exactly happened on Scarlet Christmas. I liked Gunnar and Cate. I have to say I disliked pretty much everything else. I disliked Charlie’s extended psych and memory issues, the not knowing ANYTHING about the titular event of this entire book until the last 20%. I do not buy the reason why a certain person did that major thing to the killer, not at ALL. The ending was just meh. Well now that I’m really thinking about it and writing my review maybe I should change my review to 2 stars.

I try to never tell people not to read something. Read it and see what you think.

✨Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead by Jenny Hollander✨

Genre: Mystery
Pages: 304
Pub date: Today!

📚Nine years ago, with the world’s eyes on her, Charlie Colbert fled. The press and the police called Charlie a “witness” to the nightmarish events at her elite graduate school on Christmas Eve—events known to the public as “Scarlet Christmas”—though Charlie knows she was much more than that.

Now, Charlie has meticulously rebuilt her life: She’s the editor-in-chief of a major magazine, engaged to the golden child of the publishing industry, and hell-bent on never, ever letting her guard down again. But when a buzzy film made by one of Charlie’s former classmates threatens to shatter everything she’s worked for, Charlie realizes how much she’s changed in nine years. Now, she’s not going to let anything—not even the people she once loved most—get in her way.

📝A mystery thriller that held my attention. Our MC Charlie has spent the last decade moving on from a tragedy in her past, dubbed Scarlet Christmas. That is, until news of a movie deal commemorating the ten year anniversary reaches her.

The pacing was good, told in both past & present timelines while incorporating newspaper snippets and other media. The truth of the event is not revealed until the very end!

💫Thank you @netgalley and @minotaur_books for my #gifted copy💫

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead by Jenny Hollander

(Thank you @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the #gifted e-book)

I was immediately intrigued by the synopsis for this one and knew I had to read it. Overall, I think it’s a decent popcorn thriller and a quick read.

I loved the audiobook narrator, except for her male character voices. Idk why but they irked me 😅

I enjoyed the premise of this one, but I felt like we took 8 hours to uncover something that didn’t need to be drawn out. It was the meeting that could’ve been an email.

Rounded up from a 2.5. The long buildup, pacing, and main character were not for me. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

I knew I would have a bit of trouble with this book going into it - I'd just finished my first 5-star book of 2024, and was in a bit of a book hangover from that one. Knowing any book was going to suffer in comparison, I hoped that going to a different genre would help, and it did, to a point. I liked this one, but didn't love it. I thought maybe it was just my book hangover, so skimmed some reviews to see whether it was just me. Apparently it wasn't. Some of the things that hit me a bit wrong did the same with other reviewers. The pacing was a bit off at times - jumping back and forth in time can be tricky and there was a lot of that here. There were a lot of questions that were just left hanging for me - some of them involving some major plot points. On the other hand there are many excellent reviews from people who loved it, so maybe it actually was just me, and I definitely can see why those readers loved it. It just didn't work for me on all levels, yet I wanted to keep listening to find out what really happened on that "Scarlet Christmas" - and it worked enough that I will absolutely be on the lookout for this author's sophomore book. I did listen to it for the most part (read a bit as well) - the narration by Marisa Calin was excellent.
Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for providing copies for an unbiased review.

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Medium but does pick up to fast towards the end of the book. After the twist, it falls back to medium again.

POV: 1st person (told from Charlie’s POV in both past and present)

Trigger Warnings: There are scenes involving mental Illness (on page), murder (on and off page), alcohol (on and off page), suicidal thoughts (off page), violence (on page), blood (on page), grief (on and off page), injury and injury detail (on page), child death (off page), death (on and off page), drug use (on page for one scene and never mentioned again), self harm (on page), toxic relationship (on and off page), stalking (off and on page), and toxic friendship (on and off page). If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book.

Language: Moderate swearing is used in Skater Boy. There is also language used that could be offensive to some people.

Setting: Everyone Who Can Forgive Now Is Dead is set mainly in New York City. There is a brief scene in Nantucket when Charlie tries on wedding dresses. Charlie also remembers growing up in England.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Charlie Cobert had lived through a horrific Christmas Eve massacre at her exclusive graduate school. Dubbed “Scarlet Christmas,” several of Charlie’s friends were killed that night. Charlie herself could not remember the events up to the massacre and the actual massacre itself. Determined to lose the victim label the press gave her, Charlie slowly got her life back. Now, nine years after those events, she is the editor-in-chief of a major magazine and is engaged to the heir of a huge publishing company. But, when the twin sister of her best friend (who was killed in the massacre) decides to make a film about that night, Charlie starts to unravel. What exactly happened that night? What isn’t Charlie remembering? Will it take Charlie completely falling apart to remember?

Characters:

The main character in Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is Charlie. I am going to say this upfront: Charlie is not a reliable narrator. Let me repeat this louder for those in the back: CHARLIE IS NOT A RELIABLE NARRATOR.

I didn’t like Charlie, but I felt terrible for her. The trauma she experienced shaped her into the neurotic woman that is portrayed in the book. She kept people, including her fiancee, at arm’s length. She refused to discuss anything to do with that night with anyone. Hell, she even went as far as to get plastic surgery to change what she looked like. So, I wasn’t surprised when she began to spiral. When she started remembering the truth of that night, it broke her. It would have broken me, too.

The secondary characters weren’t as fleshed out as I would have liked them to be. They did add some extra depth to the storyline but that was it.

My review:

The main storyline in the book is split between Now (present-day) and Then (the months leading up to the massacre). The author also includes news articles about the massacre as buffers between the chapters. I was skipping over the articles until I realized that they did hold information in them. So, don’t skip them. You will miss out on stuff.

I wasn’t a fan of the dual storylines. Dual storylines and I have a love/hate relationship. Done right, they are lovely and done wrong, well, they suck. Thankfully, the author did them right in this book. There is a correlation between what Charlie was going through in the present day and what she experienced leading up to the murders. It made the transition between storylines easy, and I didn’t get lost when switching over.

As I stated above, Charlie is an unreliable narrator. Her memories of events leading up to the Scarlet Christmas were skewed. There were holes in them because of her drinking (minor spoiler: she is a blackout drunk). But, as the storyline went on, and the more Charlie’s therapy sessions uncovered the truth, I did begin to wonder if I was getting the whole, unvarnished truth. And now that I have finished the book, I still wonder that.

The mystery/thriller/suspense angle was well written. The author did a great job of building up what was going on with Charlie in the present and what was going on with her in the past. There is also a massive twist in the back half of the book that I did not see coming. Usually, there is a hint, a whisper of things to come, but not in this book. It came out of nowhere and surprised me.

The end of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead was interesting but not what I thought. I can only get into a little about what happened without spoilers, but I liked what I read. But, it was almost anti-climatic after everything that was revealed.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Jenny Hollander for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

I really enjoyed this for the most part. I thought it was very well written and the characters were well developed. The author did a nice job bouncing between the past and the present which made the story flow nicely. My one complaint without spoilers is around the 50% mark there is a detail that is revealed. That detail never really goes anywhere - I thought it was going to add more to story.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and think it’s a great debut novel for this author. I will definitely keep an eye out for their future releases! Thank you so much Minotaur Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead.

"Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead" by Jenny Hollander is a compelling and emotionally charged debut that captures the reader's attention from the outset. Narrated by Charlie, the protagonist, we are thrust into her tumultuous world as she navigates the treacherous waters of PTSD, survivor's guilt, and profound loss, all while trying to orchestrate her wedding and maintain her cherished job. The narrative's grip is immediate, drawing the reader into Charlie's complex psyche and her struggle to find equilibrium in her fractured world.

Hollander skillfully unfolds the story in the present, peppering the narrative with flashbacks triggered by Charlie's memories, which are just resurfacing. This technique cleverly immerses the reader in a state of suspense and speculation, mirroring Charlie's own process of piecing together the fragments of her past. The journey through Charlie's recollections is both haunting and riveting, keeping the truth shrouded in mystery until the narrative's climax, where all is finally laid bare.

Although the denouement ventures into territories that some might find a stretch of the imagination, it nevertheless provides a gratifying closure to the myriad threads woven throughout the story. The resolution, while perhaps veering towards the edges of plausibility, ties up the loose ends in a manner that leaves the reader content and reflective.

Hollander's foray into this genre is impressive, showcasing her ability to craft a narrative that is as enthralling as it is poignant. Her talent for creating a suspenseful and engaging tale is evident, making "Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead" a standout debut. The novel is replete with twists that are both surprising and thoughtfully executed, marking Hollander as a promising new voice in the genre.

As a fan of psychological thrillers and complex narratives, I found Hollander's novel to be a refreshing addition to the genre. Her potential is unmistakable, and it's clear that with further works, she has the capability to ascend to the forefront of contemporary fiction. Jenny Hollander's debut is a testament to her storytelling prowess and her ability to delve deep into the human psyche, making "Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead" a recommended read for those who cherish a story that stays with you long after the last page is turned.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC!

veryone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is bringing the dark academia vibes with an utterly absorbing and impossible to look away from plot that will have you questioning everything you think you know until the very last pages.

Give me well-built stories about a mysterious traumatic event and a lead character fighting to regain her memories of that night to finally know the truth of what happened any day. This book does it all exceedingly well - complicated and sometimes unlikable characters, interwoven through present day and what-happened-then flashbacks, bite sized reveals of increasingly incriminating evidence, and gasp out loud twists that upend the steady thread you think is building. Each chapter has you dying to know what’s next, and the ending comes to serve.

No spoilers of course, but with flavours of Luckiest Girl Alive, this is must read this spring for thriller and dark academia lovers alike. A dark and delicious whodunnit that will haunt you anytime you dare to pause reading.

Many thanks to @minotaur_books for the copy and to @jennyhollander for keeping me up well past my bedtime so I could finally know the unknowable secrets of Scarlet Christmas.

I had high expectations for this but had a hard time due to slowness of the development. The story plot is very familiar, tried and true.
The writing is well done but the stitching of the story line was difficult.

This was an extremely suspenseful read that kept me turning the pages, but also a wholly unsatisfying one.

I liked the writing, especially getting to feel the protagonist's love for NYC. However, so much of the suspense came from omission (e.g. deliberately not mentioning certain characters in the present timeline) instead of skillful storytelling. It wasn't effective anyway since a lot of my guesses turned out to be correct and I didn't feel shocked at any of the 'twists' or revelations.

While the book does a good job in exploring grief and trauma, it's concerning that Noor the therapist allows Charlie to cross boundaries and rush things. At best, it's more evidence of weak storytelling to propel the plot along quickly. At worst, it's risky and dangerous behavior that does a disservice to therapy in real life.

I also never warmed to Charlie because she was detached and often unkind to people (what she herself calls "the icy way that had become my default". She was hard to empathize with despite all that she had been through.

Still, there were some themes that I really enjoyed and thought were tackled well, such as how different demographics are treated differently in the media.

While the unravelling of the plot was underwhelming, the author has talent and promise that I will eagerly watch out for.