Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is a mind blowing, psychological thriller in which the reader has absolutely no idea where the plot is going and gleefully anticipates the next twist and turn as the pieces of this insane story are put together. Hollander puts the reader on a rollercoaster and doesn’t let them off until they are exhausted and completely spent and satisfied.

Charlie Colbert is a survivor. In college on Christmas Eve, she was a part of a horrific event at the school. Some of her friends died. It made the national news. It is notoriously known as The Scarlet Christmas. So, you can only imagine what happened…

But now, ten years later, Charlie is still trying to survive. Even though she has worked all those years to become the editor-in-chief of a prestigious magazine, she is still haunted by that young girl who saw what she thinks she saw that night, but can’t remember everything.

Back when it happened, Charlie was the only survivor who refused to talk to the press. When one of her best friends wrote a book about that night, she refused to even participate. Since then, she has distanced herself from those best friends whom she loved and adored.

And now, nearing the 10th anniversary of the incident, one of her classmates, a powerful woman in the media industry has decided to make a film of all things about what happened that night. And she announced there is more to what happened than has been said.

Now, you see, Charlie can’t let this movie happen. Yes, she has moved on. She is engaged to a very wealthy man and has a great life. But she is hiding horrible secrets about that night that even her therapist she’s been seeing for years doesn’t know about.

Now, for her own safety as well as that of her family and her fiancé’s very connected family she must do something she has never wanted to do. She must remember what really happened that night. Remember all those blocked out moments, even if it kills her, or someone else.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is a nail-biting page turner with believe it or not some humor infused into the story. But you will not be disappointed with the complex surprise ending which will shock you!

Thank you #NetGalley #MinotaurPress #JennyHollander #EveryoneWhoCanForgiveMeIsDead for the advanced copy.

Special thanks to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I felt like this book has been done before, just worse. The main character was so unlikable. Her constant panic attacks and self-pity did not line up with her fast paced lifestyle as an editor.

This book was so slow going I put it down several times, and then the ending made no sense to me. When the building up of suspense doesn't match with the reveal, something is not right. 2 stars.

This book let me down so bad.
It started slow and for me it remained slow.
I didn't like any of the characters at all. It just didn't keep me engaged like I enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc.

3/5 stars

The premise of 'Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead' is good. And if you've never read another novel about school vi0lence, you'll probably enjoy this reveal!

What I didn't enjoy is that this really feels like Luckiest Girl Alive.. in a different font. Right down to the rich boyfriend/fiance who doesn't really get her, her somewhat high-powered magazine job and desire to escape her financially unstable past... and last but not least, her unwillingness to talk about what really happened that night.

The reveals are different... but overall, I just felt like this has been done before. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

**Thank you to Minotaur Books & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

This book was not one of my favorites. The premise sounded interesting…a group of college kids were killed and the main character can’t remember everything that happened.

The storytelling made me angry. The main character was so unlikable. I get she may have had PTSD but her constant panic attacks and woe is me whining didn’t align with her fast paced top editor lifestyle. I read about 75% of the story and still didn’t know what actually happened. A slow burn is ok, this was just snails pace. And then when the truth finally came out, it made absolutely no sense! The buildup didn’t match the reveal.

I really should have DNF but I wanted to know what happened. This book was a complete waste of my time.
Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! This was certainly interesting and different from what I had expected. It moved very slowly in the beginning and I’m not sure if thriller was the right genre for the book, more like obscure lit fic.

This wasn’t my cup of tea, but it was unique and different which I appreciated!

I went into this book with high hopes that I was really going to enjoy it. I love when the main character has trauma and needs to figure out the truth. This one wasn't exactly how I would've wanted it to be. Charlie was a great main character and I really enjoyed her personality, but the execution of what really happened just fell a little flat for me. I figured out the "twist" pretty early on. Just an ok read for me.

*Thank you @minotaur_books for the #gifted galley in exchange for an honest review.*

Interesting mystery with a gorgeous cover and plot that instantly sucked me in. From the start, I really liked Charlie. You can tell she's barely holding herself together, even though a lot of things have gone really well for her. She's planning a wedding and working her dream job.

But the past just won't stay away. The mystery is instant - a movie is being hinted that's going to be made about a horrible moment in Charlie's life. She doesn't completely remember all that happened, but it was an awful night, one she isn't telling us.

Slowly, those that were around in the past gather back up. Charlie spirals farther and farther as she tries to control the uncontrollable. I really liked learning about the past and the now. I liked the text message chapters and the twists and turns. This one had me going , even though I saw a few things, I really liked the very end. It's a fun, dark read.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This one started out as such a page turner. The story gives you crumbs about what happened on Scarlet Christmas but never reveals what really happened. I loved the slow burn at first but I felt like the plot started to fizzle because the mystery drug on too long. Then once the big reveal actually happened, it had some serious plot holes. I am so conflicted because I really got invested in the story but it frustrated me. Did I like it? Yes. Did I love it? No.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead by Jenny Hollander
#thriller #mystery
#NetGalley published 2/6/24
#stmartinspress

What exactly happened 9 years ago at the incident called Scarlett Christmas? Does Charlie remember everything properly? Who knows what did happen? Does Stephen really need to make that movie?

Charlie's story is told in 2 timeliness. Then and Now. As Now happens Charlie goes to Noor her therapist to help her unlock the memories from back Then. What really happened when she "blacked out"?

Because the timeliness switch back and forth quickly, the book itself moves along quickly as well. I really did enjoy this book. But I did take away 1/2⭐ bc something about the book kept bothering me. I can't put my finger on it. I would definitely pick up another book by JH!

#generalfiction #everyonewhycanforgivemeisdead #jennyhollander
#bookstagram #bookreview #bookrecommendation #booknerdsbookreview

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead has a familiar premise, but it's one I'm a fan of. A woman has done everything to put a terrible tragedy in her past behind her, but a pesky documentarian (sometimes it's a journalist or a podcaster) wants to put a spotlight on the case and ruin everything!!

The main character seemed to have amnesia or a muddled idea of what actually happened, which made this book quite different from a book with a very similar premise, The Luckiest Girl Alive. That book started slow and built to a dramatic conclusion, while this one started strong and I think fizzled a bit a the end.

Still, I will be curious to see what Jenny Hollander writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the eARC.

I really was intrigued by this story and what was going on with Charlie. The mystery unfolded in a way I enjoyed.

But then the ending happened and I was so confused and felt a both overwhelmed and underwhelmed.

3 stars overall

For me, this book started very slow, but once I got into it, the pace picked up and I had a change of heart on my overall rating.

To begin my review, I want to mention what was done well in the novel. The story itself I felt to be very original, it kept me on my toes, and at the end of each chapter I was wondering what would happen next. Throughout the novel, I was always trying to put the puzzle pieces together. And, like most books in this genre, I was surprised with the ending and did not see it coming. Another thing that I think Hollander did well in this novel was sticking with one perspective. I feel like this story would be one that would tempt other perspectives, but I was very pleased to learn that she only followed one perspective throughout.

Now that I have mentioned what I believe was done well, I would like to touch on areas for improvement. For starters, I found that the vocabulary used throughout the novel was overdone. Similar to other books I have read recently, it felt as if the vocabulary was used to make the author seem more intelligent than the reader, using unnecessary jargon to get a point across. In addition, Hollander would often repeat herself to make sure that a clear picture was painted, but I found this repetition to be bothersome. For example, she would have a character speak, then she would say how the character spoke, and then repeat what the character said using how it would have sounded. In these instances, I would have much rather the characters have a different dialect, rather than the way that it was approached.

At the beginning of the novel, I found it to be very dry. But, as the story continued I gained more interest in it as a whole. The ending, however, I wish was different, as it did not have that thrill factor that I was looking for throughout my reading. But, the ending was original, I will give Hollander that. Overall, an okay book. Would not necessarily recommend for others to read, but I am not disappointed that I read it, either.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For more reviews and discussions, listen to my podcast The Honest Book Reviewers with Nate and Emma.

https://open.spotify.com/show/3H3ugH4xlzvjMXuUo1Lyvh?si=ewdzfkUnSVKyDmAvHMHIPQ

DNF - While the premise sounded intriguing, I had a hard time getting into this one. Could have been my mood - or the fact it takes place in a Christmas setting, and being February I am no where near wanting to read anything Christmas time related. Perhaps a pub date November/December would have been more fitting for this book.

Thank you netgalley & publisher!

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead started out strong with the characters meeting each other in a college setting. I loved the relationship between Charlie and Cate, and then the awkwardness of Charlie’s burgeoning relationship with Jordan. I enjoyed the ease of reading the then and now labeled sections and especially the sections told through assorted media.
Charlie and Tripp just never made sense to me before the twist and definitely not after the twist. Steph remained a quandary to me. I just struggled to understand her decisions, even after all the revelations. The passages describing Charlie’s sessions with Noor were intriguing and Charlie’s perceptions/fears about what actually happened were the strength of this read.
My favorite character was Jackson.
Many thanks to Jenny Hollander, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this recently published three stars book.

This one peaked my interest from the very beginning. I knew there was more to the story and I couldn’t wait to find out what it was. I did enjoy the ending & finding out the truth about Scarlet Christmas & I’m happy with how the story unfolded for the characters.

This was a bit of a struggle for me to get into.
I didn’t dislike the story but it wasn’t a favorite read.
Others may feel differently. I encourage you to read the book to see how you feel.
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead is a slow-burn psychological thriller/mystery. Its cast of characters were fragile as they each coped with the tragic events of Scarlet Christmas. There are plenty of well-guarded secrets for self-serving purposes that play in the stories twists.

The attention grabbing prologue had me anxiously turning the pages as the tension built from those opening words. A solid debut if you can let go of your disbeliefs with some of its characters.

Thank you, Minotaur Books

This was an extremely suspenseful read that kept me turning the pages, but also a wholly unsatisfying one.

I liked the writing, especially getting to feel the protagonist's love for NYC. However, so much of the suspense came from omission (e.g. deliberately not mentioning certain characters in the present timeline) instead of skillful storytelling. It wasn't effective anyway since a lot of my guesses turned out to be correct and I didn't feel shocked at any of the 'twists' or revelations.

While the book does a good job in exploring grief and trauma, it's concerning that Noor the therapist allows Charlie to cross boundaries and rush things. At best, it's more evidence of weak storytelling to propel the plot along quickly. At worst, it's risky and dangerous behavior that does a disservice to therapy in real life.

I also never warmed to Charlie because she was detached and often unkind to people (what she herself calls "the icy way that had become my default". She was hard to empathize with despite all that she had been through.

Still, there were some themes that I really enjoyed and thought were tackled well, such as how different demographics are treated differently in the media.

While the unraveling of the plot was underwhelming, the author has talent and promise that I will eagerly watch out for.

‘Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Now Dead’ follows Charlie who has spent the past nine years rebuilding her life after it has been turned on her head when she was declared a ‘witness’ in a scandal that slandered her reputation. But when a former classmate goes digging for the truth, Charlie is forced to relive and face her past.

A blend of literary thriller and mystery this book is perfect for fans of ‘Before We Were Innocent’ and Alice Feeney (two very different books but trust me).

I listened to this on audio and I enjoyed the narration and production of the book. It had components of a story I would love, but unfortunately, I just did not find the writing compelling despite enjoying the plot and I struggled to feel invested in any of the characters.

This is one of those ‘didn’t work for me’ books that I would still recommend to the right reader.