Many thanks to @minotaur_books, @stmartinspress, and @netgalley for my #gifted copies. Pub date 2/6/24.

Charlotte Colbert has worked so hard to get her life back together after a tragedy happened 9 years ago at her graduate school on Christmas Eve. She is an editor-in-chief of a popular magazine, and she is engaged to a wealthy man. Things are going well until she gets an email from an old classmate. They want to make a movie of what happened 9 years ago at the school. Can Charlotte relive that horrible tragedy again?

This book sounded so good, and I really wanted to love it, but I thought it was all over the place. It was hard to follow at times. It just didn't flow right for me. The storyline was good, and I will definitely read the authors next book. This book already has some great reviews, so maybe it was just me? I'm excited to see more reviews.

This was a solid debut from Jenny Hollander. It was well written and had some good twists. It was more of a slow burn than a fast-paced thriller. My biggest issue was that I felt like it should have taken place during the character's college years rather than during grad school. They seemed too old and would have been spending too much money at a prestigious school to be living their lives the way they were. But I did enjoy the book and would read another by Jenny Hollander. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is Charlie’s story - what happened to her one night at graduate school when she witnessed a horrific bloodbath.

Now it’s years later. Charlie seemingly has moved on with her life. However, she is haunted by the events in her past, and this is forced to the surface when another survivor decides to make a film about the “true” events of that fateful night. Charlie thinks she may have been more than a bystander, but she can’t remember. However, she is determined not to let her classmate and this film ruin the successful life she has built for herself. Yet she still has this lingering question….almost everybody from that night is dead - how did Charlie manage to survive?

Thrilling, fast paced, and full of interesting characters, Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead is perfect for mystery and thriller readers. Like Charlie, the reader doesn’t know exactly what happened that night, but we feel for Charlie who senses the rug is about to be yanked out from under her successful life, so to speak. Each turn, we learn more about what Charlie remembers and what actually happened that night, and also have more questions.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead will grab you from the beginning and keep you reading until the whirlwind conclusion! Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and Jenny Hollander for the advance copy. I can’t wait to see what Hollander’s next thriller will be!

Nine years ago Charlie witnessed a horrific event known as "Scarlet Christmas"that left three people dead. Charlie is an unreliable narrator who tries to piece together the memories of the tragic event while working on reinventing her life. When one of her former classmates plans to make a film based on the real events, it threatens to unravel everything Charlie has worked hard to build. Charlie fears that she was involved in the killings and pushes herself to try to remember the details of the event.

I always love a story with an unreliable narrator. I do wish that the event was discussed in more detail at some point and there were a couple plot holes left. The ending wasn't as riveting as I was hoping for. Still as strong debut and I will look for more in the future by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I will happily leave a review for this when the racist remarks by one of their employees is addressed. I want to support the author, but also want to know they don’t support this behavior.

This was a great psychological thriller! I loved the storyline of this book. I appreciated the dual timeline and how it was incorporated through therapy sessions. This book immediately had me intrigued and I couldn’t wait to read more. This was a great, suspenseful debut novel that I recommend picking up when it comes out in February.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead by Jenny Hollander grabbed me with the title and wouldn't let go. This book is one of the best ones I've read this year and I highly recommend it.
Hollander has penned and intense, emotional, non-stop tale that sweeps the reader away and doesn't let up. The main character Charlie Colbert is relatable in her pain and efforts to survive the repercussions of the most horrible day of her life, and as her memories of that day force their way to the surface, one cannot help but feel sympathy for her and hope that things finally turn around. The flashbacks to her memories build an artful aura of suspense the keeps you reading to the very last page.
While things come to a head because of a movie being made of the "Scarlet Christmas' events that sent Charlie into a tailspin of lost memories and guilt, I can only think that I would watch a movie made of this book!
I am so pleased to have received an ARC of #EveryoneWhoCanForgiveMeIsDead from #NetGalley.

An absolute banger of a title like this leads one to expect that same energy in the prose and I gotta say...we didn't quite get there. There was so much that I found really interesting about this, and it's for sure very readable, but the trouble is it's all good materials on a weak foundation.

Like not to sound like a blasé millennial with a true crime-soaked cerebral cortex, but I just don't think a crime with three murders on one night that all have a reasonable explanation would have everyone swept up like this. Making a movie about it? Sure, I guess, but like a Hulu deep cut for the nerds, not the enormous deal that's shown here. Paparazzi showing up to pester the survivors years later as much as they do here? Girl, no. Like who do we think is buying these photos? This would be 4th page news at best in a newspaper, there is no thriving market for this stuff in the gossip rags.

There were some interesting twists, and it was never boring, but this all rested on the believability of things that ultimately just did not feel realistic enough to prop up what was there.

My thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Charlie doesn’t remember all of what happened during the Scarlet Christmas, in fact, there’s a black hole where her memories are and she’s actively avoided prodding them and/or having anything to do with what happened the night she was left covered in her friends blood. She’s built a solid life for herself, she’s engaged, she has a career, she’s put the past behind her. However, with a movie coming out focusing on the events of that night, Charlie increasingly begins to unravel feeling that her carefully constructed world is under attack because Charlie has a secret—she lied to the police that night and now, more than ever, she needs to remember what happened.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead feels like sitting in the passenger seat with someone navigating through unprocessed trauma. It has incredible mental health rep, and the further I got into it the more disjointed it became because Charlie is an unreliable narrator. The more the stress on her builds to remember, the more things snap and happen quickly in spurts. From the present to the past, bouncing between the two until they collide for an ending I did not expect.

I loved Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead! I stayed up late to finish it because I couldn’t guess the plot twists and every time I thought I knew something it would come undone. A gripping and heartbreaking read that was difficult at times, but nonetheless—excellent. I thank Minotaur and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read early.

I loved this thriller so much! The suspense got me good and dealing with the dramatic moments had me nervous. I like how smoothly it flowed

If you like mysteries/ thrillers that are suspenseful and trying to find out what happened in the past, then this is one for you. Charlie, the main character, is a journalist who has PTSD from a massacre that happened when she was in college where she was witness to what happened. A film is coming out about that night that leads Charlie to examine what happened and may get in the way of all the change and growth she has had since that night.
I liked the mental health and PTSD rep in this book, it was realistic and showed what recovery and life with it looked like for the main character. I also liked how easy to read this book and how well it was written. The characters are complex, and even though, at times it was hard for me to understand what happening between the past and present timelines, they were interesting. Charlie is an unreliable narrator, and I liked when the truth about what happened that night came out, and how everything wrapped up. Overall a good and well-written mystery. Thank you, Minotaur Books for this arc for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. The following opinions are my own.

The writing in this one was pretty good; the plot was also engaging but I feel like everything was tied up a bit too perfectly at the end.

What a delightful discovery! In this psychological thriller, we embark on an enthralling journey to uncover the truth behind a decade-old crime alongside our central character, Charlie (Charlotte), who may have a deeper connection to the Scarlet Christmas tragedy than the public record suggests.

The plot is brimming with revelations that compel you to keep turning the pages, creating a sense of urgency and keeping you in suspense about what truly transpired nine years ago until the author decides to reveal it. The pacing is riveting, the story is captivating, the characters are deeply engaging, and reading this mystery is an absolute pleasure. Personally, I have a fondness for books that shift between two timelines, and "Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead" skillfully employs this technique to build tension and escalate the stakes, making it an addictively compelling read.

I appreciated how the story played out, and it left me with a sense of emotional satisfaction regarding the characters' fates, which isn't always the case in mysteries and may not be everyone's preference. While some might find the ending a bit too convenient, I, for one, found it quite enjoyable.

It's worth noting that the main character, Charlie, grapples with numerous mental health issues and trauma stemming from the events of nine years ago. Her experience with dissociation takes center stage in the narrative, significantly influencing how the story unfolds. Readers should keep this in mind when delving into the book.

I extend my gratitude to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Charlie has separated herself entirely from her traumatic past. She is a successful editor and recently engaged and seeing a therapist to move on from the past. She is shocked when news comes out that there will be a movie made to set the record straight on Scarlet Christmas, the terrible event that happened while she was at school. Charlie is determined to stop the movie from being made- at any cost.

I really enjoyed this debut thriller! It is told in a way that keeps you guessing and slowly puts pieces together. Charlie is a bit of an unreliable narrator since she doesn’t fully remember the events of that day. There were several surprising reveals throughout, which made me eager to turn pages and find out what had happened. The ending felt a bit rushed once the truth was finally revealed. This book would be perfect for fans of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife.

Thank you to Jenny Hollander and Minotaur books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a modern/contemporary thriller where the main character has PTSD about a big event that happened ten years in the past when she was in college. A murder. Sometimes is hard to review without telling something. We are hooked by the main character's thoughts of not wanting to reveal what actually happened, why she was the only survivor, and what is the truth. Ten years later, she is in a good place in her life but the making of a movie about the tragedy may reveal secrets and she doesn't want that she has to be taken away. We get the present narrative and the past, where the information is delivered slowly from her memories.
I didn't connect to the main character and this was not my favorite type of thriller story or ending but I recognized that was captivating in some parts and kept me intrigued about the "lie" or the "truth".
Thank you Nergalley and publisher for this e-ARC.

I truly struggled getting into this book. I just could not focus. I felt it jumped all over the place at times. It just didn’t grasp my attention as well as I would have liked.

Charlie works well as a very unreliable MFC I will say that. I didn’t dislike her, but she got on my nerves a lot. Her friends were no cup of tea and I didn’t care for them.

I will say I felt the writing to be good, but I didn’t personally didn’t feel this was much of a thriller.

This was just an okay read. Not bad, but didn’t wow me either.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin Press, and Minotaur Books for the e arc.

This story takes place nine years after a horrible crime. Charlotte, the main character has picked up and moved on the best she can, but when a movie based on the events of that night is announced, it is more than she can bear. Her memory of the events of that night are still a bit sketchy, but she is certain she did not tell the police all that happened. The problem is that she isn’t quite sure really what happened.

This book started off strong. I loved how the author revealed only small pieces at a time. As soon as I would think I would have it figured out, she should add a new wrinkle. I was hooked and kept thinking there would be some shocking moment when everything would become clear, but that just never happened. Sure everything was tied together, but the end just kind of fizzled for me. I did like the writing style though. This is a debut novel for this author and I will definitely check out future books.

I received a complementary advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange, for my honest review.

Jenny Hollander offers up the best kind of murder mystery/psychological thriller - an unreliable narrator, a hungry public eager to know what REALLY happened during "Scarlet Christmas" when Charlie was a journalism grad student and survived an attack that left classmates dead, and a present day Charlotte grappling with recovered memories and the effects of trauma, as well as the demands of work and a fiancée. There are unexpected reveals, some shifting timelines, and lots of good compulsive writing that kept me reading way past my bedtime. Thank you to St. Martin's Press / Minotaur and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

There is an intensity in the present-day scenes in Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead, as we wonder just what Charlotte is capable of. Her punishing exercise, manipulation skills, and intense work routine show discipline and calculation, and she has a horrible Unspeakable Secret relating to a murder at school, years ago. It takes a while to even figure out who was killed or why or when, partly because Charlotte’s mentally blocked out most of what happened that night in order to have her successful Manhattan life. But now that another survivor’s working on a movie telling her side of the story, Charlotte has to uncover what’s happened. In true intense, manipulative style, she convinced her therapist to help her with unblocking, on her own intense, competitive schedule.

Charlotte’s lost memories follow the Unspeakable Secret trope a bit here. I still liked it, but the hints are so dramatic that by the time we find out what actually happened, it can’t possibly be as bad as has been hinted and implied. Also — spoilers ahead! Stop now! The weirdest fakeout in Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is simply that, well, not everyone is dead. In fact, one character who’s constantly described as Charlie’s lost bestie, and discussed in the past tense, is just fine. I love a big reveal in a thriller, but when we see Cate’s alive and has been fine the whole time and has not only forgiven Charlie, but half of Charlie’s worries didn’t remotely happen, it felt more like a comic book death. I mean, one definitely could dedicate their documentary to their perfectly-fine sister, and one definitely could ask their therapist never to mention the name of a perfectly-fine old friend, but I eventually felt more jerked-around than shocked.

Without too much of a spoiler, Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead contains one of the best nickname-fakeouts I’ve read in ages. You know the name fakeout in thrillers, right? In a dramatic reveal, it turns out that sweet bestie EJ is actually Lizzie! She was really Elizabeth Jane the axe-murderer the whole time! Aaah! I loved it here, not gonna lie. There’s a double reveal, and we’ve already been carefully led to ignore the clues around this person’s connections.

The resolution of the novels is where they diverge, although I still think any reader who enjoyed one will enjoy the other. While Charlotte’s backstory continually hints that she’s a terrible person, capable of horrible deeds, the realization has more to do with being surrounded by twisted people with their own disastrous agendas. Ani, though, has told the story about being a random friend of a school shooter, and how she managed to escape being one of his many victims. The final resolutions of both show much, much more to the stories. Those layers of truth and lies, memory and manipulation, make for such great thriller reads, with an element of class and privilege behind the narrative.

This one just didn't work for me at all. I'm glad other readers are liking it, but I won't be recommending it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity.