Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead follows Charlie, one of the survivors of "Scarlet Christmas," who has rebuilt her life since that horrible day. She has blocked out memories of what really happened that night but is sure she lied to the police. When one of her classmates who was the first on the scene announces that she is going to make a movie for the 10th anniversary, Charlie freaks out. She is engaged to a powerful man in the publishing industry and she imagines that the truth will come out with this movie as the public will realize it doesn't make sense and will try to put it together. She has reinvented herself to be a strong, powerful editor-in-chief and is not willing to lose that.

From the start, this book is fast-paced and intriguing. I had a hard time putting it down and sacrificed a lot of sleep! It is told from two timelines - "then" and "now," which works well as Charlie is trying to regain her memories. This was a fantastic debut novel and I'm interested to read what the author does next.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

Happy pub week to Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead by Jenny Hollander. I’m so grateful to @minotaur_books for a e-arc of this one and to @macmillan.audio for an ALC. This twisty, dual timeline thriller came out on Tuesday.

Nine years ago, Charlie Colbert was part of a nightmarish event at elite journalism school that was dubbed the Scarlet Christmas. After being interrogated by the police, she fled and rebuilt her life hoping to cut all ties with that terrible night, and she’s done a pretty good job. She’s the editor-in-chief at a major magazine and engaged to an heir to a publishing fortune. But when someone from that night decides to reopen everything by producing a movie about that horrible Christmas Eve and expose the truth once and for all, Charlie panics. Is she hiding something about what happened?

I really enjoyed the premise of this book and the twisty dual timeline, but I got a little confused about what was actually happening. Charlie is an unreliable narrator in the strongest sense of the word and there were moments in the book where I thought something was being presented as absolute fact that turned out not to be. That said, there were some fun twists that I think were handled really well, but overall the mystery didn’t work for me because it was sort of built on a house of cards. I did love the themes of friendship and perception in the book, as well as the idea that you can’t outrun who you really are.

I absolutely loved the audiobook. The narrator, Marisa Calin, did a fantastic job, not only with conveying Charlie’s panic and state of mind, but with all the different accents of the characters in the book. I was really, really impressed and will definitely keep my eye out for more books narrated by her. I was glad to have a physical copy as well because there were things I wanted to look back at to reread.

I think if you go into this one with the right mindset, it’s a lot of fun. I really enjoyed listening to it, and it’s quite possible that I missed some details that would have made the plot make more sense.

Thank you NetGalley & St Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! This book is out NOW & I suggest picking this one up 😍

Well, I haven't devoured a thriller like that in YEARS. I never wanted to put it down, even when I had to get work done. A quick 300-ish page thriller is one of my favorite things to read.

I really enjoyed this - the story was captivating, it held my attention, wondering what the hell is going on - and what could be coming next. Was it predictable? Yes. But I never mind predictable thrillers when I'm having a good time with it. I really enjoyed the writing, the twists & turns, & all of the characters.

Highly recommend if you're in the mood for a page turner with multiple timelines - and an unreliable (at times) narrator.

Normally I love a book with a gradual unveiling, it keeps me reading to find out more. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the writing style of this book and it made it really hard to look past. I found the whole plot incredibly choppy and the timeline changes were done in a way that made it hard to follow.

Thank you Netgally and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this arc.

With flavors of dark academia, dual timelines, and secrets galore, this has the makings of a great thrill. Certainly not how I saw this ending by any means, so that was a pleasant surprise. I am largely conflicted as to the rest of the plot though. Felt like focus was stressed on parts of the plot that really didn’t move the story along. While it did give us a glimpse into Charlie’s mental health, it was hard to focus on the overall purpose and drive that the plot centralizes on.

This was just “fine” for me. I think if you don’t read many mysteries or thrillers you may enjoy this book much more than I did. I felt the reliance on the red herring lasted way too long and I just didn’t become invested in any of the characters. I was interested in the plot enough to want to know how it ended…which was unsatisfying for me.

This was a bit jumbled which made it extremely hard to read. I tried. I think I’ll try the audiobook and see if I follow it better.

Overall I enjoyed this. I felt like the twist was kind of expected but still a bit of a surprise. The repressed memories theme was interesting. The ending just really dragged on and on. We also never really get much of an explanation why Steph even was making a movie. I didn’t love the characters that much - Charlie was not super relatable, and her relationship with Tripp was definitley superficial at best.

I really disliked this book. I make it a point to finish ARCs I receive but I just can't keep reading this.

I'm pretty far in and still know nothing. The Scarlet Christmas thing sounds interesting but no one is telling me about it and I'm stuck hearing a first person account from one of the most insufferable characters.

This had a lot of potential to be a great mystery but the pace is too slow and there's nothing to connect us on any way to the plight of the characters.

This one really drew me in with its provocative title, which I still think is neat, but it just couldn't get there.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read, listen, and review. Narration was terrible too.

This one had a really promising plot line. Reminded me of "Luckiest Girl Alive" . I felt like it fell flat though. I was kind of bored and was ready for it to be over. So, thank you for the advanced copy but it wasn't a favorite.

This is like a lot of thrillers, where the mystery depends on someone not remembering something important. Not knowing can be frightening, and it can influence all the relationships you have for the rest of your life.
In this story, there is one important mystery, but it appears to have been resolved. What will happen when someone does a story, years later, that can uncover the truth?
Overall, this was a satisfying read because there was a lot of tension and the characters learned a lot about themselves.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I had a bit of a hard time with this one. I don't think it was slow, but it took a long time to wrap my head around the characters and what was going on. The author did a good job with the characterization, but in trying to maintain the mystery of what happened almost 10 years ago, it seemed like something was lost in the translation. I found myself going back and forth to see who people were as random characters popped up.

However, the story was intriguing. Why has Charlie blocked out what happened that dark night at the university? And why did it happen? And why is Steph (Stephanie) eager to make a tell all movie about it for the 10-year anniversary? We (the readers) want to know just as much as Charlie does when finally, after years of therapy, she is ready to face what actually happened. But is her memory of that night faulty?

I would have liked to connect with more with this thriller that had lots of twists and turns from this debut author.

I really liked the premise: a young woman, Charlotte (Charlie) from England, while in graduate school in the U.S., witnessed a horrific event that ended in death or injury for several classmates. The circumstances were so traumatic that Charlie blocked them out. She became an editor at a magazine and is very successful. 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 liked some of the characters, including the protagonist, her boyfriend and the differences between them (his family was basically a bunch of stuffed shirts who were just as worried about what might come out as Charlie, since they were going to get married and they were wealthy).
The novel was a bit slow to start; it took awhile to become invested in the "thriller-ness" of it and the pace is a little problematic for a book of this type. It really picked up the pace about a third of the way into the book.
The story was also a bit confusing; Charlie's sister in England was affected by the notoriety of the event, but I wonder why this would have been such big news in England, nor are we told what other things contribute to her condition (she was presented as fragile). After the first third of the book, lots of things were happening but it got a bit confusing at times. I was engaged though. However, the ending is probably what reduced it for me from 3.5 to 3 stars because it did not really make sense to me.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Charlotte “Charlie” Colbert was a survivor of “Scarlet Christmas”—an event popularized by the media because it involved the deaths of several graduate students at the prestigious Carroll University School of Journalism where Charlie was also enrolled. If you’re reading this and confused about which students died, don’t worry! I went back because I wasn’t sure if I missed it, and realized it was intentionally vague at the beginning due to Charlie’s attempts to repress memories of what happened and push forward.

Which brings us to the present timeline of the book (we actually don’t visit the past storyline as it’s own narrative, but learn about it through media coverage and Charlie’s sessions with her therapist). Charlie has an incredible life in the present day! On the surface, at least… A Londoner living in New York, Charlie is the editor-in-chief of C—a popular women’s magazine linked to a broader newspaper.

Charlie is also engaged to a man named Tripp who is a handsome, filthy rich, old-money heir to a publishing magnate. More importantly, Tripp is kind and loves Charlie. When Charlie receives an email from a former classmate that one of their cohort is producing a movie based on the events of that night long ago, Charlie spirals. She has worked hard to repress memories from that night. Now she may have no choice but to relive them, as she does everything she can to prevent the movie from portraying the truth of that night.

What I liked

Told through present day timeline, media excerpts, and sessions with Charlie’s therapist where she works to uncover memories from that night, the plot is compelling and well-paced. Charlie was a great narrator. She is aware that she is unreliable, which is a departure from many novels with this general plot.

Charlie is a plucky, upbeat, and driven. From early on, Charlie mentions using her British-ness to her benefit. The posh-er she makes her accent, the more people respect her opinion and don’t question her. This is a super-power Charlie has at work and in life. It helps her gloss over questions about the trauma for the sake of British reservedness. I liked that her cageyness with the reader is part of her efforts to just push forward in life and not think about the people or events of graduate school.

Despite her trauma and obvious challenges, Charlie isn’t the typical basket case that narrates these types of novels. Her memory blackouts in the past are specific to that night. She didn’t let it break her, but it is slowly seeping into her well-curated life. Charlie knows that once the story becomes a sensation, true crime fans won’t hesitate to pick it apart and find the holes in the story she told police.

I was confused at times about which students died that night, but later realized it was kept intentionally vague. Charlie has a list of names and events she has forbidden being mentioned in her therapy sessions prior to this book. Now that she has pressure to remember everything from that night, she has the opposite approach and begins to speak about her past much more openly.

I was gripped by her story, wanting to know more and more leading up to the event. Her former boyfriend Jordan is the person who emails her about the film, so we know he is alive. Similarly Steph is creating the film, so she clearly lived as well. But some of the other deaths are more mysterious until about halfway through. I’ll be honest, at times I even questioned if Charlie really got an email from Jordan or if this was a manifestation of her survivor’s guilt.

What other readers disliked

There were more critical reviews than I expected when I went to read this book. Many liked the book until the last 30% or so, where things heat up and a lot of truths are revealed. This is the part of the novel where Charlie is honest with Tripp, her therapist, and herself about what she knows about that night. From there, things are fast-paced.

Most of the criticism I saw of this book fell towards that final third. Readers sometimes felt that the story wrapped up a bit too neatly and abruptly, leaving some plot holes. I actually agree with these points, though I didn’t think it was a bad thing. I liked that the story had a full conclusion and the plot holes really didn't bother me. I thought they were mostly explained in the final chapters.

Don’t wait for a final twist in the epilogue, it is meant to showcase what happened eighteen months after the main events of the novel. The twist comes before that and has a complex development that I absolutely loved. I was surprised to find many disliked it, because it was so delicious and satisfying, in my opinion!

Final Thoughts

I absolutely loved this book, and was surprised reading early reviews that others felt differently. I think it goes to show that for any book, we should take the reviews with a grain of salt. Know going in that not every book is for every reader. I actually loved the ending and how it came together, and the epilogue answered those typical lingering questions in psychological thrillers where we ponder “so what happened to these characters I got to know over the course of this book?”

I love books set on a campus especially when there is a mystery involved. I enjoyed this thriller and the characters. The ending felt a little too perfectly wrapped up but overall an enjoyable read.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead by Jenny Hollander is a solid psychological thriller debut.
The characters are intriguing, the plot is captivating, and the whole story kept me reading all night.
The settings come to life through convincing descriptions, allowing the reader to clearly visualise them.
The dual timeline and it’s unreliable narrator were cleverly done here.
A highly entertaining and absorbing story.
Overall, this is definitely one that kept my interest and I enjoyed reading!
Definitely one I would recommend.

Thank You NetGalley and Minotaur Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I had some mixed emotions about this book but I definitely liked it.

It kept me hooked from the beginning. The main character, Charlie, survived a violent episode at her journalism school known as Scarlet Christmas. It's haunted her ever since and she's blocked out a good portion of the night. Given that she can't solidly remember the events, she's not sure what role she may have played and now one of the other alumni wants to put out a movie about the night's events. This basically sends Charlie off the rails and she is risking everything she's worked hard to gain in her life - - he posh career as an Editor-in-Chief for a major magazine and her engagement to Tripp, the eldest son of a powerful old money New York family. She also is obsessed with her concern for her family back home in England and what the paparazzi will do to them. Especially her special needs sister, Felicia.

The story is told in two timelines - - the present day and the past leading up to Scarlet Christmas. I really enjoyed the story for the most part. I did think that Charlie's obsessive paranoia got a little excessive at times but it fit the plot.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The audiobook narration was really good. The narrator's voice did a great job with Charlie and the depiction of her emotional state. 4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for early copies of both the audiobook and ebook.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead had tons of twists and turns like you would expect from a book like this. Charlie was a very unreliable narrator which is always fun, keeps you guessing haha. At times I was a bit confused as it jumped around a lot. I think there was a bit too much going on. The first half didn't keep me super engaged but I think that was more so my busy schedule this month. Overall a good thriller but not my favorite.

3.75 stars rounded to 4, because I didn't put the book down until I finished it. I really wanted to know what happened. That's a huge plus, of course. :)
*
There are many characters thrown at us in this one, but except for one or two that I either couldn't remember or mixed with someone else, they were well developed. I liked Charlie's voice and rooted for her, although sometimes she made questionable decisions. Some twists were so unexpected; it was great.
*
But at some point, I felt that what happened during the Scarlet Christmas took a little too long to be revealed. Everything was based on it, yet Charlie refused to tell us what happened—not the secret story, but the story that has been out in public, in the news, etc. Don't get me wrong, I loved the mystery, and I did want to figure out what had happened instead of reading a full description at the beginning. But I think it took too long. Charlie withheld too much information for me to be able to guess anything, and I was just frustrated instead of feeling somewhat clever.

*Thank you, Jenny Hollander, NetGalley, and Minotaur Books for the e-ARC.*

I'm not totally sure where things went off track for me with this one.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the eARC of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead.
The Cornell School of Journalism was the site of brutal murders on Christmas Eve nine years earlier. It became known as Scarlet Christmas.
Charlotte "Charlie" Colbert was present for the events, and compartmentalized her trauma so much that she became a successful editor of a major magazine.
But when she learns that a movie is in the works detailing the fateful event, Charlie is forced to unlock her memories.
I was hooked for about the first third of the novel. Then things might have gotten a bit messy and wordy IMO, and some reveals didn't blow me away.
Still, a solid debut and I recommend!
For release on Feb. 6.