Intense build-up but okay twist.

Charlie witnessed a terrible crime, 10 years ago, on Christmas Eve. Some of her friends were killed during what's now called the Scarlett Christmas. She gave a statement to the police about that night. The only problem is : she doesn't remember much and she now suffers from PTSD. Anything that reminds her of that night leads her into a spiral of anxiety and panic attack.

10 years later, some of her old friends are trying to produce a mpvie about what happened to "set the record straight". Charlier fears that what she can't remember might incriminate her, that she might have commited terrible things. So she tries to remember everything while trying to stop that production.

The novel made a good job of building up something very tense and realistic. We are far from unprobable stories. We understand how Charlie can be so scared of the truth. Unfortunately, it's so close from what could credibly happen that the twist kind of feels flat when it's revealed. "Oh. It's just that..." might come out at that point. We get almost a quarter of the ending explaining everything and tying every loop.

I kept expecting some big reveal and almost suspecting some side characters. It was almost disappointing. Also, the writing kind of makes you believe that one of the victim got more than just injured and I got so confused at the end when they reappeared.

Overall, it was enjoyable but just okay. If you're more into the build-up of the characters' and story's background regardless of the ending this might be the perfect book for you.

This was a quick read, not terrible but not the best book either. If was easy to move along with the story as the main character suffered a trauma as a college student and has lost her full memory of it and has tried to move on. She's become a successful editor and is engaged to be married when one of her previous friends sister decides it's time to set the record straight as to what happened that terrible night. The news brings back a lot of terrible buried memories and feelings, as well as her just wanting to finally know what really happened. As our protagonist struggles to reconcile her past and keep her future on the right path she starts spiraling. Some of the things that happen I found confusing but all in all an enjoyable read!

This is a twisty Thriller that kept me guessing. It’s about a woman that survived an attack on her group of friends in college. She has spent years building a life since then. Now, someone is asking questions about that day. Is her carefully built life going to be torn down?

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is a solid mystery/thriller debut by Jenny Hollander that follows Charlotte Colbert nine years after attending graduate school where an event penned Scarlet Christmas occurred. The author then uses the story to slowly reveal how Charlie has gotten to her editor-in-chief role at a magazine and became fiancee to Tripp Goodman West of "the Goodman Wests". As the story goes along and the 10 year anniversary of Scarlet Christmas approaches, everything is not as it would seem and may get revealed as a new movie is being greenlit and as twists and turns are exposed.
What really happened that night? Is Charlie an unreliable narrator? Why is her fiancee Tripp so invested in the movie being produce? All these questions are answered by the end. The reader just needs to go along for the ride.

Thanks. to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press Minotaur for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Charlie Colbert witnessed something awful in graduate school yet is all the memories she had of that tragic day true to what really happened? As the 10 year anniversary is about to hit, the talk of the tragedy, referred to as the "Scarlet Christmas" is now being rumored to become a movie. Charlie is worried some truths that weren't actually told may come out and worried that everyone may view her differently than before.

The storyline had a great flow to it as I did not want to put it down. Each time I thought I had figured out what might have happened, I found out I was so wrong and then found even that truth was a lie until the shocking events kept coming out of what actually happened! There were a lot of twists which I really enjoyed. If this is the type of read you like, I would definitely recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. Also thank you to the author, Jenny Hollander for the great read! Looking forward to reading some more of your books!

Charlie Colbert was traumatized by something terrible 9 years ago when she was in graduate school. A gruesome incident, she does not remember, that left 3 of her friends dead in what became known as “Scarlet Christmas”. Now one of her classmates wants to make a film about Scarlet Christmas. Charlie is determined to keep that film from being made at any cost. But why? The story is told by an unreliable narrator, is filled with characters who are and who are not what they seem to be and has lots of plot twists.

Charlie is a graduate student originally from London, studying in a prestigious graduate program in NYC. She survives a deadly school violence event, but doesn't remember much of it. As the 10 year anniversary of the event approaches, a movie based on the tragedy is being produced by one of her classmates. This triggers Charlie to try to unlock her blocked memories and stop the film from being made.
This was a gripping page turner that had me constantly guessing. I found it to be very fast paced, and wanted to abandon all responsibilities to get to the end and find out the truth of what happened. Please check trigger warnings for this book, as it does center deadly school violence. I personally did not find it upsetting to read, especially as it doesn't involve guns, and the actual event is not described until the end of the book. Highly recommend, especially if you liked Luckiest Girl Alive. Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC.
ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Charlie survived the Christmas Eve killings at her grad school nine years ago. Now she is a successful magazine editor about to marry a scion of NY publishing. But an old friend wants to make a movie about the events of that night, known to everyone as "Scarlet Christmas". And Charlie is afraid - because she lied about what really happened that night..."

If you've read a thriller in the last five years you know how this one will go.
Something bad happened years ago - there are secrets - someone finds out and secrets come to light - dual timeline - consequences
That's how it goes. Charlie survived - can't really remember what happened. The old timeline is Charlie working with her therapist to remember. There's a twist! People in her current life are connected to those events. And maybe everything didn't happen the way she remembers.

The twists are a nice touch. I like the little surprises from Hollander. I really like Charlie's ending.

The book is formulaic but still entertaining.

I very much enjoyed this book. Hollander crafted a narrator who was unreliable in way that endeared the reader to her as she went on a journey to remember all the details of what happened on the fateful night. I loved the few twists along the way and found the story telling with little pieces to be effective—I liked that we never knew the full story until much later, as it made for a compelling read. A strong debut work, excited to see where Hollander goes next. 3.5 stars (rounded up to four).

This was an enjoyable read. The narrator may be unreliable, the atmosphere is totally creepy, and there are little plot reveals all along the way. Just when you think you know what happened the night of ‘Scarlet Christmas,’ there will be a twist or reveal that turns it all upside down. This was an engrossing page-turner and a nice debut for Jenny Hollander.

This book has a very slow start. You don't get much information until a bit later in the book.
I found myself not caring about any of the characters and when everything was finally revealed it was just meh.
Not really anything I didn't like or had a huge problem with so I'd say this is just an average thriller.
Thank you to the publisher for the copy.

3.5 I definitely don’t have very strong feelings about this one unfortunately. The plot was dramatic and juicy but our main character was terribly frustrating for a lot of the time. She is panicking and paranoid for the majority of the book, which is understandable, but it wasn’t my favorite perspective to be in. I thought the unfolding of events leading up to present day was interesting and I had no problem picking the book back up. This just maybe didn’t feel very memorable in the long run, but was entertaining in the short term!!

This was such an amazing story! I loved Charlie and the entire cast. The writing was beautiful and ominous which made it so immersive for me. The way the alternate timelines were presented was really unique and i loved how they complimented and contrasted one another!

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead was a miss for me. At about 25% I debated whether I should continue but I was still intrigued enough I decided to see where it was headed. Unfortunately it didn’t pick up for me and I should have just stopped this one when I felt it. The story felt too similar to too many other thrillers I’ve read and I think I’ll quickly forget it entirely. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free audiobook and ebook to review.

I just finished reading "Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead" and it was a fantastic book to kick off the new year! The characters are all unique, but Charlie stands out as the main character with her originality and coping mechanisms.

The story follows Charlie as she navigates through the present timeline while having flashbacks that lead up to the tragic event on Christmas Eve, where several college students lost their lives. The writing is brilliant as the author slowly feeds us information in alternate timelines. In the present, Charlie is seen as a successful survivor who is engaged to Tripp, the son of a wealthy and influential family of publishers. The second timeline is Charlie's therapy sessions, which are extremely intriguing. Her therapist is trying to retrieve buried memories leading up to the event, and they come out as a slow drip of intense flashbacks. I chose to listen to the audiobook, and the narrator keeps the story engaging.

Overall, it is a pleasure to discover such a talented new author! I would like to thank Macmillan Audio for providing this complimentary audiobook through NetGalley. As always, all opinions are my own and are left voluntarily.

#EveryoneWhoCanForgiveMeIsDead #JennyHollander #MacmillanAudio #Debut #Minotaur #NetGalley #ARC #ReadersOfTheLateArc #TalkWordyToMe #UpcomingRelease #HonestReview #JustFinished #ComingSoon #ThrillerBookLoverPromotions ThrillerFriendsUnite #ThrillerObsessedBookishClub #LoveToRead #BookAddict #Bookstagrammer #BookReels #LoveBooks #ThrillerBookLovers #BookReview #SMPinfluencers #stmartinspress

this one was such a ride!! I binged it in the span of one night, and I still am confused about the wild ride I went on 🧐 it gave all of the luckiest girl alive vibes with an added twist at the end

charlie has all but forgotten about the worst night of her life, when she survived the “scarlet christmas” aka a massacre at her university in new york. but now, a classmate is drudging up the entire event all over again when she decides to make a movie about the event. and I … really didn’t care about any of it?

I just felt super disjointed from the story going back and forth between charlie’s current life and her recalling her past with her therapist. it didn’t feel like a normal dual timeline and instead forced the reader into the memories versus allowing it to happen organically.

and charlie herself was a world class narcissist 🤪 she truly pushed away everyone who truly loved and cared about her without a moment’s thought, while simultaneously convincing herself that she’s the key to solving the mystery. if she just took five seconds and talked to others, she would have found out the truth instead of speculating events 😕

a big thank you to minotaur for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: dry creek zinfandel

Charlotte Colbert appears to have a charmed life. She is the editor-in-chief of C, a magazine supplement of The Chronicle, the nation's fourth largest newspaper. She is in love and engaged to marry Tripp Goodman West, a very wealthy and charismatic member of a publishing family. Charlotte has worked hard, and is proud of her accomplishments; she is also a survivor of a tragic and traumatic incident that took place when she was a journalist major at Carroll University of Journalism.. She has also worked hard to heal and move on, as best as she is able, however ithe 10th anniversary is approaching and one of the students wants to make a "tell all" film to set the record straight. Charlotte has refused all opportunities to talk about the tragedy and adamantly opposes the making of the film. Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is a thought provoking and well crafted novel. It explores the effects of tragedy on the involved as well as those close to them, the commitment it takes to recover and the long lasting healing that must take place.. it's also a suspense filled story that I thoroughly enjoyed- a very good read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, St. Martin's Press and the author, Jenny Hollander for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for this candid review.

This is such a twisty story. I had all these assumptions in the beginning but as the story progressed I realized I was wrong. It is ultimately a story about a gal who is damaged and trying to cope. I loved it.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead started off very slow, but it ended up surprising me in a good way. Around the midway mark, I was invested and eager to find out what actually happened. While the bulk of the characters are unlikable, I think that worked well with the plot line. I will say, the main character, Charlie, was incredibly annoying; however, I've never experienced the level of trauma that she has so it's hard to really form an opinion on her or her actions.

The main things I liked:
- I did like how the story was wrapped up in regards to Charlie (though albeit a little too perfectly).
- One thing that stood out to me that I really appreciated was the fact that Charlie and Cate bought sought the help they needed through professional services.

The main things I didn't love:
- The revelations regarding what happened on "Scarlet Christmas" did fall a bit flat. I think I was expecting something a bit more shocking. As such, I do feel that the actual events probably could have been predicted had I not been expecting something different.
- Charlie's fiance Tripp. They seemed more to be roommates than lovers.
- It took a bit too long for something to "happen."
- I very strongly disliked Steph. She was horrible and there didn't really seem to be any growth there.

Overall, I would give this one 3.5/5 stars. Thank you to Minotaur and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange or an honest review. All opinions are my own!

🤫 M Y S T E R I O U S ❓ M O N D A Y 🤐 featuring “Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead” by Jenny Hollander!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Nine years ago, a BRUTAL nightmare happened at an elite graduate school on Christmas Eve. The murderous events that took place were dubbed the “Scarlet Christmas”.

Charlotte (Charlie) Colbert was a witness to the events and what happened to her friends. She never spoke out publicly about what happened and she fled from the school and her friends. Now in present days, with the 10th anniversary of Scarlet Christmas approaching, Charlie finds out that a movie about that night is in the works. One of her former classmates has “new information” and wants the world to know the full truth about what happened.

Charlie begins to completely SPIRAL ... after years of therapy and trying to move past the horror of that night and being harassed by journalists and paparazzi … she knows deep down that she cannot go through this again. And she must do everything in her power to stop production on this movie. AND the truth from surfacing.

THIS BOOK 🤯!! It touches on SO many things and is an intense psychological suspense story! The unreliable narrator faces such crippling effects of trauma, anxiety so debilitating that her body shuts down and gut punching twists and turns that totally shatter her world. This stunning debut novel is a mix of dark academia, mystery and suspense and I am HERE FOR IT!

Thank you kindly to @jennyhollander @stmartinspress @minotaur_books @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest reviews! This book releases on February 6, 2024!