What a great debut novel! This story is centered around a girl named Charlie, who was the only survivor of a Christmas Eve tragedy that happened 10 years ago. She is left wounded and broken, but builds her life back up until she is an editor at a great magazine and is engaged to a very wealthy man. She does not remember all of the events from the night, and now the sister to one of the victims is going to make a movie about what happened, Charlie must figure out her blackout memories and try to stop the movie from being made, making her unravel and threatening to destroy the life she has tried so hard to make.
This book drew me in immediately and had me wondering what happened during Charlie's black out periods. While I thought the ending was leaving me wanting just a little more, I really did enjoy this book and recommend if you like stories involving the unreliable narrator. 4 Stars!

Charlie Colbert was part of Scarlet Christmas....a witness to a terrible event at an elite journalism graduate school. Now, 9 years later, she's the editor of The C, the Sunday insert of one of the most-read papers in New York. She's also engaged to Tripp, the son and heir to a publishing giants.

But now, everything that she built might come falling down when one of her classmates wants to make a movie about that Christmas Eve.

Charlie must do any and everything to stop the truth from coming out.
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This had all of the potential in the world to be amazing but kind of petered out in the last quarter. I found Charlie to be an interesting character and I was rooting for her. But then, a million side characters started to pop up and I got confused.

I found the 'then' and 'now' sections to be compelling and they helped the narrative, however, when...well, when it's revealed that [blank] it kind of spirals out of control for me. I just didn't care anymore. It just didn't matter. It felt juvenile and like a romance novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

3.75 sweaty pits stars!!!

Charlie is doing well for herself with a high-level job and perfect fiancé, and is on her way to wedded bliss when a blast from the past threatens to ruin everything. Said blast being a film based off of “Scarlet Christmas”, a traumatic event that left her and a few other survivors. An event that has secrets and lies attached, that would destroy Charlie’s soon to be perfect life.

I stayed up into the wee hours reading through this because I just HAD to know wtf was going on.

Also, I was getting secondhand stress from Charlie, this was so intense. There were so many interesting twists and turns. I mean, there were some real WTF moments in there.

I liked the back and forth in time story-telling, it kept things interesting, it kind of dragged in the middle, I feel like Charlie could’ve had a few less freak outs over nothing. I was also kind of let down with the big reveal at the end… it just made everything seem very melodramatic. I did enjoy the ending though.

Overall I would recommend this for thrill seekers and mystery readers!

Check it out, when it hits shelves, 2/6/24!
A big thanks to the Publisher & NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was good, but moved slowly at times. I figured out a few pieces of the puzzle, but there were some twists I didn't expect that kept me reading.

Well, WOW!! Stellar debut! I really enjoyed this one. This was a different take on the "final girl" type storyline. Charlie survives the multiple murders of her classmates and does not remember what happened. Who did it? Was she a part of it? We don't know. The story is about another survivor wanting to make a movie of the event years later after Charlie has found a nice, "normal" life. She has secrets and does not want them to come to light. We learn what happened through flashbacks, present day events and current therapy sessions. I finished this one pretty quickly and look forward to more from this author!

A rare novel that both keeps the twists coming without giving too much away or making it predictable. Hollander leads the reader to the conclusion with a series of present and past flashbacks, slowly putting together the timeline of a tragic and grisly evening. We see it all through the eyes of one very torn character, fighting between the life she had and the life she built after the incident -- and the secrets she still holds. An engrossing and entertaining read.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this book.

In this book we are following our main character, Charlie. When Charlie was in grad school at Carroll University there was a tragedy where three people died and three were injured. Charlie has been going to therapy since "Scarlet Christmas" happened about ten years ago. Stephanie, who went to the same university as Charlie and is the twin sister of Cate, one of the survivors of "Scarlet Christmas" throughout the story its kind of alluding to the fact that Cate died until almost the end when Cate and Gunner turn up to help Charlie, decides to make a movie about what truly happened during Scarlet Christmas and the big cover up. Charlie believes that she killed Elsie and Dee by accident. Elsie attacked Cate and Micheal by accident with a knife after Cate goes off because Elsie was flirting with Jordan, Charlie's boyfriend. This story is told through past and present timelines. Charlie doesn't remember what happened and then finally reveals why she didn't stay in touch with her fellow Carroll graduates and finally makes changes to her life. Charlie calls off her engagement to Tripp and makes changes to her job giving others more responsibility and not shouldering things herself. I found this story very interesting from start to finish.

A solid debut! I thoroughly enjoyed this intriguing psychological thriller. As the synopsis states, Charlie is a woman who went through a traumatic experience at her school. Her mind has blocked out the details of that night to protect her and she's done her best to move on with her life. But she still deals with anxiety and being triggered by certain things.

A former classmate upends her fragile existence by wanting to make a movie that will tell the real truth of that night. Charlie needs to make it go away and she also decides with the help of her therapist to remember everything she has repressed. Charlie is an unreliable narrator so she just might have her own reasons for not wanting the movie made.

What happened that Christmas Eve? Charlie is clearly traumatized but is she more involved in what happened than she's let on? I love that I never knew what to expect and the twists were shocking. Go into this with an open mind and enjoy the ride. I was impressed and I will definitely read whatever Jenny Hollander writes next!

Thank you St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging debut novel that had me intrigued from the start. This psychological thriller follows Charlotte, a powerful magazine editor-in -chief, who has rebuilt herself over the previous 10 years after she and her friends were part of a deadly Christmas Eve incident at their elite school of journalism.

Charlotte has spent a decade trying to keep the incident buried, having little memory of the events that transpired. She is uncertain of her role in the events, and remembers only lying to the police, which implicates her in the events of the evening. A new movie that is billed as 'ready to set the record straight' threatens to unearth her secrets. How far will Charlotte go to protect her new image?

The story is told from the protagonist's point of view with a 'then' and 'now' timeframe, and with the perfect amount of foreboding. I enjoyed the slow release of information and the numerous red herrings. The twists and turns are plentiful and the ending was a shock.

I will certainly be looking for future works this author. Thank you to the author, NetGally, and Minotaur Books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a really fun thriller. And I will devour anything set in NYC. Highly recommend if you enjoy literary thrillers/university settings.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the arc.

(4.75)
Everyone say thank you Netgalley for this ARC.
Not gonna lie, I was in a slump when I started reading this. BUT that no longer seems to be the case, this novel was just what I needed! Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead is full of twists and turns and confusion that makes for a near perfect thriller!
EWCFMIS comes out on my birthday in 2024, and I will eagerly be awaiting a physical copy in February.

Thank you kindly to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the gifted eARC to read and review.

This one was a bit slow for my taste, and then almost rushed toward the end. I liked the prose and the first person narrative, but the motive and pacing were a bit of dealbreaker for me. I struggled to finish this one.

This books starts out really strong. Charlie, a victim of Scarlet Christmas- a deadly murder spree at a journalism school, is trying to live her life years later, away from the speculation and drama surrounding the spree. However, when someone decides to make a film out of that fateful night, she begins unraveling; she can't actually remember everything from Scarlet Christmas, and she doesn't know if the facts she told the police- and herself all these years-- are actually what happened that night.

Like, I said, this starts out strong. It's enticing, fast-paced, and interesting. However, about 3/4 of the way through, there's a definitely drop-off. It's like the author was rushed and just threw in her outline and someone else bullet pointed everything. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

Really good read. The suspense of what happened that night and Charlie going through therapy to try to determine what “really” happened and thinking that she did something and lied to the police makes for an interesting read especially when she tries to talk Stephanie out of making the movie because she is afraid of what will come to light. The fact that her fiancé was involved with someone who was killed that night is really more than Charlie can handle, not that she comes out and says that but it’s something that really weighs on her. Totally recommend this book.

I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Hollander has written a gripping, fasinating, twisty novel that kept me guessing until the very end! I loved everything about it- the plot, the interesting well-developed characters and the ending! Would absolutely recommend!

3 stars

This was a little too slow to start. I found it difficult to pick back up, which is a bit of a turn off for a thriller. Once it starts picking up it becomes a little better.
I would say it isn’t really my style of thriller, I like fast paced exciting, not slow and mundane.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for this advanced copy! You can pick up Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead on February 20, 2024.

This book surprised me in the best way! I won't lie -- the beginning started a bit slow for me. I found it hard to relate to Charlie and wondered if this was supposed to be one of those stories where we don't trust/like the protagonist. But as she broke down her walls and started opening up about her experience, I appreciated her character much more.

Plus, these plot twists legitimately surprised me! SPOILERS AHEAD!




I fully believed Cate was dead for the entire book. I did NOT see the Elise plot twist coming, or the fact that Stephanie was involved with the murders. These twists elevated the emotional stakes for me and made me feel way more invested!

I'm also so glad that Charlie ended things with Tripp. I went back and forth on liking and disliking him, and ultimately, I agree that he wasn't right for Charlie.

I'm excited to explore more thrillers like these, and I encourage everyone to pick this one up come February!

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.