Phenomenal! Told in three parts, and each is so different but uniquely interesting. I found the story and characters all fascinating and I can't wait to read more from this author. I love thinking one thing and being wrong in a literary way. Iconic story.

Swallow the Ghost follows Jane and Jeremy, writers of a viral internet novel, with the story they're writing unfolding through fake social media accounts. It also partially follows Jesse, a private investigator. This book is written in 3 distinct sections from each of the main 3 perspectives, clearly defined through differing formats. I liked how the different points of view were clearly separated and not interspersed throughout. I think that really propelled the story in this case. The story leaves a lot of unknowns, but I think in this case it makes it more realistic.

I'd definitely recommend. Thanks NetGalley!

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an E-Arc of this book. The following is my honest opinion *

3.5⭐ out 5

This book took me by surprise. I liked this book alot more than I thought I would after reading a couple pages. The two things I really enjoyed: the structure of how the story was told and “life imitating art”.

Told in three parts through the different characters; Jane, Jesse, and Jeremy without swapping back and forth between. For this book it really worked in its favor and didn’t require the reader to keep track of what is an extensive timeline and additional characters. The first two parts made so much sense to me. The repetition done to showcase Jane’s character was the bait that kept wondering. The true hook was that right at the being of Jesse’s part. I had to find out more. I have to find out what happened. But when it came to Jeremy’s part I didn’t enjoy. I found that it dragged and I disconnected from it.

****PLEASE BE ADVISE THIS IS WHERE THERES SPOILERS!!!! *****


In the story the characters, Jane and Jeremy, are working on a fictional story that is the murder mystery of Rita, through social media platforms. Jesse’s investigative work, while it “follows normal procedural” techniques, the breakthrough is through a snippet time in a picture. Very reminiscent of what Rita’s audience was tasked to do to find out about her disappearance.

With that being said, there was some things I questioned that I feel could have made the story better. What was Jesse’s job ??? It was explained but the way he went about discovery just didn’t make sense to me. But also the police, they never got her work computer??? Or old phone???? Like what????
Then the ending of second part. We get the smoking gun and the build up and the revelation is done and then it’s “that’s all” and we move on the Jeremy’s part. What??? It felt like it when one forgets to there is a third part to the question and then are rushed to answer it. I feel we could have gotten a better transition in parts and maybe even a short third part..

Overall though, I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it.

Fascinating story and format, I loved the way Montague built the story. I was hoping for more like the first section, but overall felt satisfied by the result and enjoyed the read.

I went into this not really knowing too much about it - I loved the cover! When I realized how this would play out and saw the involvement of social media as a plot device, I knew I would be in for a good ride. This was so unique! Loved the set up, loved the way the story was split into different sections/parts with varying points of view and an overarching mystery - although I do wish the ending were a little cleaner in how everything is wrapped up. The last section was a little anti-climactic, which sucks since I really did enjoy the first two parts.

I'm not sure what I expected when I requested Swallow the Ghost by Eugenie Montague- but it ended up being so much more. I feel Montague had this way of weaving Social Media into a Mystery that I don't believe has been seen before. I honestly usually suspect to dislike any sort of mention - especially if excessive; of social media in the books I read. I read to get away from that constant barrage of social media. Jane was drowning in it and seemed to thrive that way.. until she didn't. The way social media was used to write a story and characters with an author or in this case two- felt like a stark comparison or reminder of what our relationship to social media actually is. Seeing the way that Jeremey & Jane made characters in his book come to life through social media reminded me of the facades we all put forward on the internet and how stuck in that cycle we are. How easily those characters could have been mistaken for real people. How we truly don't know the people we think we do. Social media in itself has this mysterious layer to it. What felt so visceral to me was that it was as though I was reading a book inside of a book. I know that's confusing but bear with me. The way Jeremy & Jane were written- I forgot at times they were characters in the book I was reading- not the authors. I think this was done so seamlessly.

The book is in three sections- the first from Janes perspective with a disturbing and mysterious to it. The second section we meet a new character- this section is told from his perspective, an Investigator named Jesse. The third Section is told as a Podcast interview between Jeremy and a man named David. I loved the different perspectives shifts and what that provided the story. It was like reading three books but they melded together so well.

In Janes section there is a repetitiveness in her days that is very clear on the page as though her life is on a loop. I liked that this could be interpreted different ways. To some it may show simply the mundane- to others like me with OCD, Anxiety and ADHD we may see some of our need for routines or compulsions in this character. Though its never mentioned that she has any specific mental health conditions- she does have an eating disorder and seemed to have a level of rigidity that felt all to familiar in her routine. What I really liked about getting the second portion from Jesses perspective is that it made him real- it allowed us to see inside his life aside from just being someone hired to Investigate a crime. His and his moms characters were a really beautiful addition. The third portion of the novel though I feel added value and a different perspective to probably the least likeable character- it did feel as though it left the ending open.

I would highly recommend reading this book. I think I was after a different ending so that is why the four stars. I think Montague has a talent though and is an author to watch for in the Literary Fiction world.

Infinite thank yous to Mullhollond Books, Little Brown & Eugenie Montague for my Advanced Galley in exchange for an honest review.

SWALLOW THE GHOST by Eugenie Montague is a story told in three parts, two of which I really enjoyed, one not so much.

Jane Murphy is a social media writer who is paired with Jeremy Miller in creating fake accounts and a Twitter viral thriller. Working closely with Jeremy they are in on an experiment where they create an IT girl, raising her profile throughout Twitter. Let’s be honest, Jane is finally making it, all the while dealing with an eating disorder and not making the best decisions in either her professional or personal life. Jeremy, on the other hand has been languishing as a writer until he is partnered with Jane. They invent a 21 year old student who goes missing and follow the wave of the Twitter community as they try to figure out what happened to her. Then a shocking crime brings their collaboration to screeching halt and Jeremy is incarcerated. Enter Jesse Haber, a PI for the defence who was once a journalist and is now attempting to prove Jeremy‘s innocence.

I really enjoyed the first two parts of the book, however I’m not sure that the real mystery was ever solved. The last part of the book, however, left me scratching my head wondering what I missed. While interesting, some of it felt too fragmented from the first two parts for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

Thank you for the arc NetGalley. I unfortunately couldn’t connect with this book and dnfed. I couldn’t connect with a single character even at 20%.

This was such a creative, unique story! I went in relatively blind, and was overall glad I did—this was really unlike anything else I've read before, so I think it makes for an interesting reading experience. Like some other reviewers have mentioned, I liked the first part of the story the most, and thought it was so well-done, but while the writing was so strong throughout, I struggled a little with the latter two parts. Still, I think this book will be popular with many readers, particularly mystery/thriller fans! The author is clearly such an impressive storyteller, and I'm interested to see what she writes next. Thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the ARC.

A murder mystery divided into three parts. While many facets of this book will feel familiar to fans of the genre, Montague has crafted a compelling story about social media, true crime, and the obsession over missing/dead women. The risk with sectioning out a story into distinctly different perspectives is that inevitably the reader will like one or two over the others; for me, I favored Jane’s section, was neutral about Jesse, and found it difficult to get through Jeremy’s part at the end. Although I appreciated the author attempting a unique structure for the novel, I found that it hindered my reading experience. As for the actual narrative, it seemed to be leading somewhere profound and innovative without ever actually getting there. However, as far as debut authors go, Montague’s writing shows a lot of potential.

"Swallow the Ghost" was trying a little too hard in terms of plot and overall writing style. Even though I had problems with this book, I still found it intriguing. If you don't like repetitive writing, then this book might not be for you. Also, this book was too long. At least 50 pages should've been chopped off. Decent novel, but overall, somewhat of a disappointment.

This is a clever murder mystery in the guise of a study of an obsessive and talented young woman working successfully in social media marketing. The narration from different characters’ perspectives reveals that all may not be as the reader perceives. A very involving and intriguing story unfolds.

Objectively a good novel, and will find its audience. As a bookseller, I may not necessarily handsell this title, but I would order it for the store, as many of our customers would enjoy it and have insightful comments to make it.

"Swallow the Ghost" earns a solid 3 stars. The repetitive, Groundhog Day-style narrative for Jane felt overdone and detracted from my enjoyment. However, the story picked up in the middle with the introduction of the investigator, adding some much-needed intrigue. Despite this improvement, the ending left me feeling confused and unsatisfied.

This was definitely something very different from what I am accustomed to. The story is told in three parts that are all very different from one another.

The story starts with Jane telling her story about her life working for a company that tackles and writes social media stories. She talks about her experiences at work and the two men she has been dating. One being a coworker. Each day starts the same where she wakes up and goes for her morning run.

The meat and potatoes of the story is in the second part. We learn that someone has been murdered and a man is investigating for the accused to prove his innocence. I was completely captivated by this part. His personal struggles with his mother who has dementia hit a personal spot with me. I had a family member with dementia and it really crushed me.

Then we get to the third part and everything just changes. Here it focuses on a coworker of Jane’s and his success with writing. I think if you are a writer or are enthralled with one’s writing process, you will enjoy it.

All together I enjoyed the story. I did feel the ending was uneventful and wanted more closure. I will definitely read this author again and look forward to their next book.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

I loved this! Told in three unique parts, we learn the story of Jane Murphy, a social media marketer. She has super complex routines and is a bit of an enigma in her relationships.

I think this is best one into relatively blindly - it is so different than anything I've read recently and worth your time!

Jane Murphy appears to have it all in New York, excelling as a rising star at a social media marketing startup. She's made a name for Jeremy Miller, an experimental writer, by helping him create a viral internet novel using various fake social media accounts. However, beneath this success, Jane feels confined by her routines and compulsions, trapped in a cycle of self-soothing and self-punishment. She hides much of this, especially as her professional relationship with Jeremy evolves into something more intimate.

The perspectives shift when something (it's best to go in blind for the shock factors), occurs. The story is then split into three parts, all following different people with distinct voices and perspectives.

This was an interesting read for me. I went into this book blind since the synopsis doesn't really offer up much, but I was pleasantly surprised. The turn the book takes following part one was shocking and had me hooked, but I must say that like many other reviews, I enjoyed the first part the most out of the three.

The writing style of Part One hooked me immediately, and I was very impressed by the presentation of Jane's cyclic routine in writing. The second part hooked me at the start, but I lost steam near the end of the act, even though it was enjoyable to read. The third part though, is why my rating is at a 3 star. I didn't feel like the third part was very necessary to the progression of the story, and I almost feel like I would have enjoyed the book more if it ended at part 2.

That said, the writing was the stand-out for me and I'm interested in whatever else this author writes!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 20th 2024

Writing fiction about writing fiction is a tough needle to thread. Do you approach with a wink and a nod? Total earnestness? Something else? Montague makes several interesting choices with the structure of this novel, some of which would have annoyed me under different circumstances. Here, they work as a device to illustrate the writing process and how real life is often so much less satisfying than pat fictional endings. The multiple POV characters present different ways of approaching writing, from an all consuming passion, to a workaday mentality, to limitless pretension. I’m still thinking about this book several days later, which is the highest compliment I can bestow.

thank you to mulholland books and netgalley for the e-arc!

okay. super intelligent and creative read! as everyone else said, the third section was my least favourite, but it still raised some interesting points and brought a fun new format into the mix, so that was cool.

overall really really impressive for a debut, i enjoyed it :)

Hauntingly intriguing, but confusing at times. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this book and I’m still not entirely sure what I read. I loved the eating disorder representation