Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead by Jenny Hollander

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Charlotte is an editor in chief at a thriving magazine and is engaged to her dream man. She has everything going her way, but the past won’t stay buried. She was a survivor of a killing spree when she was in college known as the Scarlet Christmas. When another survivor makes a movie about it, this threatens everything she’s built.

This is written from Charlotte‘s point of view with different timelines. Is a bit confusing at times, but don’t give up because it all comes together at the end! I really like the characters, the banter, and the fact that I didn’t figure out what was going on until the end! An engaging psychological thriller debut novel that was well paced and had me turning the pages from beginning to end! It’s definitely worth the read!
Thank you NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Minotaur for the advance reader copy and the chance to give my honest review!

This wasn’t my cup of tea it had a bit of a slow start and it was hard to follow for me. I honestly had to DNF it about halfway.

This debut started off a bit sluggish, with a cast that felt bloated and confusing at times, but improved as the story progressed. I struggled throughout the first half, but found that the second half read much faster and was far more engaging. I was sure that the "Scarlet Christmas" would be a whopper of a crime, but was a bit astounded by the small body count. It felt like a lot of drama over a fairly small murder. Solid plot, but the writing was a bit messy. I felt like this could have used another few reads by the editor. This one was just ok for me. 3.5/5 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was a good thriller. I enjoyed the premise and the mystery definitely kept me on my toes. I didn't love the writing style though. The constant mentioning of each character's accent and how they pronounced words got old really fast. I liked the use of the past timeline to help tie the whole plot together and the twist was very good! If you can look past the repetitive mentioning of accents I would recommend this.

This is a very twisty book. I didn’t see who the killer was. It was a total surprise. I really felt bad for Charlie. She’s lived with guilt for years. By the end of the book a lot of characters are a huge surprise, especially Cate and Stephanie. This is a book well worth reading. I voluntarily read a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through Net Galley.

Book Review 🎤

Mystery Thriller
3/5⭐️

Pub Date 2/6/24
Thank you so much @stmartinspress @netgalley & @minotaur_books for my gifted copy.

•Charlie is the last girl standing from an incident known as the “Scarlet Christmas” that changed everything. As things begin to resurface through a production based on the incident- she desperately try’s to stop it and remember what she can’t.

I was so excited to be gifted this book. Truly I did enjoy it but it just wasn’t it for me. The story line was good but the writing style was not for me. I felt like there was a few times it felt it took a lot of words to say very little. Overall I enjoyed this book but was a little let down. I will say this is an awesome debut though and I look forward to reading more by this author.

#bookreview #booktok #bookstagram #follow #love #read #readersofinstagram #minotaur #stmartins #arcreader #goodreads #earlyrelease #reading #bookstagrammers #bookish

Thank you Net Galley, to the publisher, and the author for the arc. After fantasy, this is my favorite genre. I really enjoyed how thrilling the story is, and the pacing and two timelines made this story really intriguing, and definitely worthy of being called a page turner. The ending was also so wholesome.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked this book and can definitely see it becoming a hit (tv series as well as novel). To me it’s reminiscent of Luckiest Girl Alive and a few others in the genre but it has elements that are unique and make it stand out.

Without giving too much away, Charlie has been outrunning a horrific incident from her grad school days in NYC but the giant whole in her memory of “that night” keep her from truly moving on. As the truth threatens to come out a decade later. Charlie pushes her mind past its limits to discover the truth.

DNFd in the first chapter, but had an interesting premise I guess. just left a review for netgaelly.

This book started as a slow burn but it picked up quick enough for the surprises and twists.

I was intrigued with the plot on how that was going, and I thought it was entertaining, but still tense, that was building up slowly, uncovering traumas from the past.

The author’s writing style was smooth and the character of Charlie was well developed.

It was a good read for me and I would recommend this book.

Thank you @netgalley @jennyhollander @minotaur_books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Coming out on 02/06/24.

This was not for me. I didn’t relate to any characters and the only reason I finished was because I needed to see how it ended. Plus I didn’t want my time to feel waisted. Just okay.

3+ stars
Nine years ago, Charlie was involved in a tragedy as a graduate student at Carroll University that left three people dead. She blacked out a lot of it, but told the police a story that her memory can’t verify. She’s been in therapy for years, but only now, with a movie version of the events about to come out for the tenth anniversary, does she scramble to find out what really happened that night.

She’s dealt with the aftermath of that horrible night by becoming incredibly successful. She’s the editor-in-chief of a magazine and she’s engaged to an incredibly wealthy heir in the publishing industry.

I thought the beginning of this novel was promising, in the middle Charlie was sort of whiny about her guilt and confusion with her memory, so that got irritating. I’m not sure what I think about the ending.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this book, which RELEASES FEBRUARY 6, 2024.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Feb. 6, 2024
Nine years ago, the events that took place on Christmas Eve at an elite journalism school had everyone talking. But only Charlie and her friends knew the truth and they all had their own reasons for keeping certain events a secret, Charlie more than most. Now, Charlie is engaged to the heir of a business fortune and the editor-in-chief of a major magazine, trying to put the past behind her and live the life of her dreams. But, as these things do, her past comes back to her when a former classmate plans to turn the events of “Scarlet Christmas” into a movie. Charlie knows that she must do whatever she can to keep the truth from coming out, even if she takes her entire life down in the process.
Jenny Hollander’s debut novel, “Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead”, is both gripping and entertaining. Told through Charlie’s eyes, as she experiences the whole gamut of PTSD, survivor’s guilt and debilitating loss, all while trying to plan a wedding and keep the job she loves, I was instantly pulled in.
The story is told in the present day, although we do get snippets of past events through Charlie’s recently-recalled memories. The reader experiences glimpses of the events and is forced to make assumptions, as Charlie does, until the truth is revealed. The details of what really happened remain a mystery until the final pages and the tension slowly builds until Charlie remembers what took place and, finally, the reader is caught up as well.
The ending was slightly unrealistic and a bit unbelievable, but it was a satisfying conclusion, with all the expected resolutions. Overall, I found Hollander’s debut to be a page-turner, full of appropriately intriguing twists and turns. This is my preferred genre and I’m always happy to welcome a new author into the fold. As Hollander’s writing experience grows, I can see her easily rising to the top.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is a great thriller/suspense debut.

The MC Charlie is dealing with the tenth anniversary of a deadly incident at her elite journalism school where she was one of the only ones not injured and two of her friends were killed.

This is a heavy topic and it’s done well here. I pretty much figured out the twist - big still enjoyed it and def sympathized with Charlie.

It’s best to go in somewhat blind here so no spoilers.

If you like a slow burn with emotion, this one is for you.

I will definitely be following this author. Thanks to Jenny Hollander and NetGalley for my ecopy. I also happily received a print arc so this one can live on my shelf. It’s a good read for sure.

This novel follows the story of Charlie, who survived a tragedy at her journalism school. Between past and present, more details are provided as you go along and the author did a great job of grabbing your attention to find out what happened and to who. While I enjoyed the concept and was easily able to decipher who was who, I found some of the story lines a little confusing and had to re-read to try and understand. I find the whole “selective memory loss” plot to be a bit played out: Although not one of my favorites, this was a decent read.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Solid 3.5 for this debut novel!

Imagine going to school and making friends, people who you gravitate toward, who you think will be there for you throughout this journey, but in a strange turn of events, multiple students end up dying and you think that you are to blame.

This book started off a bit slow, then picked up for sure. It’s giving dark academia mixed with a bit of a whodunnit. The story takes place with dual POVs of past and present as Charlie navigates the trauma she experienced back in school after the deaths of her classmates. A movie is being made 10 years after the event and Charlie is afraid for the truth to come out. The more work she does in therapy to find out the truth, the more she learns that her account of events may be different from what she remembers.

This book has potential. I do feel like the writing style took a while for me to adjust to, but once I got further in to the book I was able to follow better. There were definitely high and low points where I felt like things were drawn out a bit more than I would have liked. For a thriller I am all about a page turner and there were moments where I had to know more, but as the story progressed, the ending fell a bit flat for me. I wanted a bit more from it. I am thankful that I was given this advanced readers copy by Minotaur books in return for my honest review. Thanks so much again.

This book had a good premise. It is a slow burn and it was hard for me to stay focused as I so desperately wanted to know what the heck happened on campus and you really don’t find out until the end of the book. I didn’t like the neat little wrap un ending and how they handled mental health issues.

I tried reading this. I did, but I just couldn't! I don't think this book is for me. Just a chapter in and it was an immediate DNF although the writing was engaging. I just couldn't feel the character as much as I liked or the plot...

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this eARC. All opinions are my own.

While this is a well written psychological thriller, and a decent debut novel, the characters weren't particularly well crafted or sympathetic.

The author drew me in to the point where I wanted to get to the climax. The ending was disappointingly prosaic.

This author shows promise and I will happily read her future works

Intriguing mystery with all the moving parts: thrills, frights, blackouts, memory loss and slow return.
Charlie Colbert has rebuilt her life in the nine years since she witnessed and survived an attack on Christmas Eve, that saw 3 friends killed and other injured. but leaving her with little memory of the events of that horrific night. It became known as the infamous Scarlet Christmas event.
She lives in NYC now, engaged to the scion of a wealthy family and editor in chief of a renowned magazine.
Life is good again except not every day.
She sees a phycologist.to help with the blackout period and suffers recurring panic attacks.
And now a new movie based on a new expose is going to be made of that night and even though she does not know why, she does know she needs to stop the move if she possibly can.
A great story that moves along at a rapid pace, sliding back and forth between then and now, very seamlessly, at times,
The characters are well defined and the story is intriguing and quite intense as Charlie's memories flit in and out as she struggles to try to unwind the events of that night.
Good read that pulls you in and keeps you rooting for her memory return.