What a great title!
This is more of a slow burn mystery rather than a thriller. Charlotte/Charlie is one of the survivors of a tragedy at her journalism school 10 years ago. She has selective amnesia around the events so the story alternates between present time and the past as she starts to recover her memories with the help of her therapist. I was invested in finding out what really happened on the night deemed “Scarlet Christmas”, although I was getting frustrated at how slowly the past events were coming to light. The ending did eventually come together but it was less climactic than it could have been.

Overall I read this quickly and it kept me turning the pages. I would read another book by this author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books for an e-ARC of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead in exchange for an honest review.

Charlie Colbert was witness to a traumatic event in college, which the town refers to as “Scarlet Christmas,” and it took a lot of work for Charlie to take charge of her life. She is now a successful editor-in-chief with the perfect powerful fiancée. But someone wants to make a film about Scarlet Christmas, which brings up many memories and questions for Charlie. One of the most critical was just how involved she was in the deaths of her friends.

This book was a quick, immersive read for me. The characters were varied and had some depth to them. It was easy to like or hate them! The premise was interesting, and the back-and-forth storytelling provided a very engaging experience. I was genuinely questioning what happened at Scarlett Christmas. There were plenty of twists and turns and red herrings. Some red herrings felt slightly more apparent than others, and there were some twists that I didn’t predict! It concluded pretty nicely and succinctly, leaving me with no further questions.

Some side themes I enjoyed include work-life balance and how important it is in real life. The other piece I liked was how government and university institutions deal with mental health complaints. I think it’s a topic that is only just coming to light in media but needs to be discussed more.

Overall, I loved this debut and will look for other work from Jenny Hollander!

First thing I want to start with this review is to make it clear, I think this is a well thought out and written debut. It had a lot of twists and back and forth on timelines and it was perfectly executed. I didn’t find the jumping around confusing or too much. However, I felt like the story itself was lacking. It was a bit slow at times for being a thriller, which I would not categorize it as that. There is grief and trauma and navigating that along with missing memories in an unreliable narrator, which in general i loathe. This book reminded me so much of luckiest girl alive and Listen For the Lie, so I didn’t find the plot super fresh. The twists were ok, not surprising and I found I just didn’t care much when they happened. I think Jenny Hollander will give us some solid thrillers in the future and some of my friends loved this one, sadly it wasn’t for me.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It held my attention right through to the end. This is a well written story of a girl who blacked out during a traumatic event and years later is trying to remember what happened. Or maybe, not remember, because she is afraid of what she did back then and lied about it. Charlie has immersed herself in her work to forget “Scarlet Christmas” and the events as she thinks they happened. Only when she is confronted ten years later with the making of a movie about this terrible event, does she really learn about that fateful night. This is a great debut and I am looking forward to reading more from this author. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

3.5 round up to 4 for this read. I thought this book was off to a really strong start. Great plot line. Interesting. Love that we know something happened but don't really know HOW. And I think part of what kept me reading was wanting to know what happened to Charlie during the Scarlett Christmas, It was interesting enough to keep me reading. Unfortunately, I felt like the ending was a little bit of a letdown,

However, I thought the writing was good, and overall I think it was a good debut. I would definitely be interested to read any of their future work!

Charlotte "Charlie" Colbert has come a long way in the almost 10 years since 'Scarlet Christmas.' She is the editor in chief of a fashion magazine, her fiance is a golden boy heir to a publishing house, and she has put the past firmly behind her. Until an old classmate is hell-bent on "setting the record straight" for the 10 year anniversary of the tragedy that struck her journalism grad school. Although Charlie was a witness, she can't really remember what happened that fateful Christmas Eve. As Charlie explores her past through therapy and hypnosis, she descends into an anxiety-laden fugue where even she isn't sure what truly happened. But she will find out any cost.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this e-arc.*

Unfortunately it’s a no from me for this debut novel. I didn’t find it especially thrilling or exciting. It sort of just drug on and on and on with the main character becoming more and more shrill as each chapter passes. The ending wasn’t even especially worth sticking it out through the book.

While I was immediately hooked, this book ended up more on the disappointing side. I loved the combination of repressed memories, self-guilt, and having to deal with your past. But, there were a few big plot holes combined with an unsatisfactory ending that ruined what could have been a 5 star read for me. At one point, I was super excited because of something that was revealed and I thought "oh yes! here we go" but nothing went. What? A seriously missed opportunity! And why bother starting down that path if you aren't going to follow it? But really it was the ending that left me disappointed. All tied up in a neat little bow (with the exception of the plot holes) with no real fall out. If only the tension at the beginning had carried through!

I’m surprised by how much i loved this book! The beginning was especially well done. The main character, Charlotte is a very unreliable narrator spiraling into paranoia and I was right there with her. She is forced to relive the events of a tragic murder spree and the audience doesn’t really know what happened until the end of the book. I thought this book was super unsettling and even though the ending wasn’t my absolute favorite I definitely enjoyed the experience of reading it.

This was a great way to spend my weekend. A gripping story, interesting characters, and a plot that will keep you turning page after page. I can't wait to see what else Jenny Hollander comes up with!

Menacing, unpredictable, and compelling!

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is an intense, mysterious tale that transports you into the life of successful NYC magazine editor and a victim of what the press dubbed “Scarlet Christmas” Charlotte Colbert, as her life gets turned upside down when the surviving twin sister of another victim decides to make a movie to honour the ten-year reunion of the tragedy causing the past to collide with the present, memories to come flooding back, long-buried secrets to be unearthed, and what truly happened on that ill-fated night when six journalism graduate students had their lives changed forever to finally come to light.

The writing is intricate and tight. The characters are scarred, self-involved, and secretive. And the plot, using flashbacks and a back-and-forth, past/present style, intertwines and unravels effortlessly into an ominous tale of manipulation, deception, lies, drama, jealousy, secrets, revelations, obsession, misdirection, mayhem, and murder.

Overall, Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is a captivating, sinister, promising debut by Hollander that kept me guessing from the very first page and left me chilled, surprised, and highly entertained.

As this was a Debut I feel it was written really well, and I will keep an eye out for other works by the author. However, I wanted to enjoy this more I just feel it fell a tad flat for my liking or expectations of that of a thriller. It just felt, for a thriller, kinda boring at the end, like "Oh, that's it?"

The story started off really strong as we're following Charlie, who was present at the "Scarlett Christmas," which happened on Christmas Eve at her grad school. There are "THEN" and "NOW" parts, so you know when she's recounting the events and when she's back in the present trying to continue living after them.

Therapy has helped Charlie move forward in her life -a really great life at that with a rich fiancé & a position as editor in chief position at a big magazine- but when a former classmate decides to make a film of the night, her world starts to change. This could jeopardize everything, and that's not something Charlie's willing to allow; especially when the movie isn't showcasing the truth of what happened that night...

I thought this was a great debut! It was giving me major Luckiest Girl Alive vibes, and several plot points were very similar, but it also felt different enough that it was enjoyable and kept me on my toes. Charlie was witness to a tragedy while in grad school and now almost a decade later she has completely rebuilt her life. When a former classmate wants to release a film based on the events, she'll stop at nothing to keep the life she has built.

For me, I was much more invested in the plot than I was the characters. It's not that they were necessarily unlikeable, I just didn't really connect with any of them. The plot though, of figuring out what really happened that night and not knowing who to trust, kept me engaged. There were some twists at the end that took me truly by surprise. Hollander does a really nice job of casting suspicion wide. All but one thing felt logical and for Charlie it really got worse before it got better, but such is life.

Looking forward to seeing what comes next from Jenny Hollander! Thanks NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the eARC.

This debut novel by Jenny Hollander does not read like a debut. It is a solid, psychological thriller that had me guessing throughout. The best compliment that I can give it, is that I cannot wait to read what this author writes next.

Check for trigger warnings before reading this book.

Charlotte "Charlie" Colbert has suffered a great trauma. While in graduate school, she and her friends were part of an incident that came to be known as "Scarlet Christmas" because it took place on a quiet Christmas Eve. Charlie knows a lot more than she's telling the reader about what happened that night - she is the quintessential unreliable narrator. She has a tremendous amount of trauma that she has been trying to work through with her therapist. When a former classmate decides to make a film about the incident to be released on the tenth anniversary, Charlie wants to stop it at all costs. Charlie tells the story in her own way so that you will come to see exactly what happened that night.

This story moves through a now and then timeline. It really works here. The author gives the reader just enough information to keep you guessing throughout the story. Also, the supporting characters are not as they appear to be - or are they? Go into this story blind - you will appreciate it more.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for the digital and audio copies of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early! I did a tandem read of this story, and I loved it! The audiobook narrator - Marisa Calin - is incredible! I highly recommend both formats. This book releases on February 6th - preorder it now!

Charlie is living a seemingly perfect life. She is the editor-in-chief at a magazine, engaged to a rich and powerful man, and living in a large apartment in NYC. She worked hard to move beyond the tragic events that occurred while she was a graduate student. Almost 10 years later, she is forced to remember “Scarlett Christmas” even if it means discovering hard truths.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur books for an ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. This one was just ok for me.. There’s plenty of suspense but the build up just didn’t match the twist to me.

Charlie is working towards claiming a normal life years after surviving a traumatic event in college. As the 10 year anniversary approaches, talks of a film adaptation are happening, sending Charlie into a spiraling panic. To most, it looks like Charlie is triggered and struggling to cope - but what they don’t know, is her level of involvement in what happened.

This was a quick read for me! Loved the progression and how the chapters left me wanting more, This was a book where I never needed to check how long til the next chapter. I appreciated this true crime book having the perspective of the survivor, trying to cope with a documentary coming out, as I feel we don’t often get that. I liked the twists, but felt like something was missing. I was definitely expecting another twist towards the end. It was a great read!

I actually really enjoyed this! I found the story captivating, and the pacing kept giving you just enough is stay interested. I still had some questions unanswered at the end (what exactly happened to Dee???) but overall I really enjoyed it :)

Thank you Minotaur Books for sending me an ARC <3

#EveryoneWhoCanForgiveMeIsDead!

Connect with Jenny Hollander:
IG: @JennyHollander
Twitter: @_JennyHollander

Connect with Minotaur Books:
IG: @Minotaur_Books
Twitter: @MinotaurBooks
FB: @MinotaurBooks

Sadly I’m DNFing this one 53% in. I’m so bored. It feels like so many other thrillers I’ve read.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a pretty good debut novel! And the cover is pretty awesome!

I thought Charlie made a great, unreliable character, although I'm not sure I found her all that likable. I thought the plot of this book was good. However, it moved a little slow for me. It took forever to find out what really happened during the "Scarlet Christmas" event, and when we did get the whole story, I was underwhelmed. The big mystery made no sense to me. There was a decent twist halfway through the book, and I liked the way it ended. I think this author has great promise, so I'll happily read her next book!

Thank you, @netgalley, @stmartinspress, and @minotaur_books for the #gifted e-arc and physical ARC of this book!