I love when a debut surprises me and this one sure did!
The audio was just fantastic and the story kept me at the edge of my seat. It was twisty, thrilling and addictive. A brilliant debut.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this complimentary audiobook.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗲 𝗜𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱 by Jenny Hollander released February 6, 2024.

I was really torn between 3-4 stars with this, because I found myself hooked but then somewhere along the story it didn’t quite grip me as much.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead is a slow burn suspense with themes of grief and trauma that Charlie witnesses. Alternating between past and present timelines, and conversations between patient and therapist, it had a promising plot,

I listened to the book as an audio format, and thought the audiobook narration was great.

*many thanks to Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

9 years ago, Charlie was a witness to a crime committed on Christmas Eve where three students died, publicly named 'Scarlet Christmas'. Charlie believes she is more than a witness in the crime, and has tried to rebuild her life since that night. When one of her former classmates reaches out, saying they are making a movie about that night, Charlie decides that she will stop at nothing to ensure the movie does not come out.

I liked how things were gradually revealed, as Charlie's memories became unblocked with the help of her therapist. Charlie is definitely an unreliable narrator because of this, but I'm a fan of that, so I enjoyed it. I felt that Scarlet Christmas was hyped up so much, but we didn't really have any information on it or what actually happened until very late into the book. I thought the ending was a bit lack luster and anti-climactic in the end, I thought it was going to be something mind blowing and it was just.... meh.

This book was not for me. I had a hard time following along listening to the audio version. I'm not sure if it was because of reader accents, story line, or if it just didn't capture my interest.

I found the narrator (Marisa Calin) hard to follow at the beginning of this story. I am not sure if it was me (not focused enough) or their accent but it took me a quarter of the book before my brain really started following what was being said.

Once I got into the rhythm of the story, it started getting interesting. Everything I had guessed was going to happen was incorrect. I was not expecting the reveal, totally thought it was going a different way. This book definitely kept me guessing. I look forward to reading more of Jenny Hollander's work in the future.

This dynamite mystery thriller was an intriguing page turner start to finish. However it's not your typical mystery thriller as it does have a strong exploration into trauma and grief. While it was definitely intriguing it is a slow burn and definitely an unreliable narrator topped with quite a puzzle of a plot.

I struggled to get through this book. The narrator was fine, but the content just didn't grab me. I reread the first couple chapters several times, but struggled to stay focused and retain any of it. I may try again during a less stressful time, but this isn't typically an issue for me, especially for this sort of book.

Very interesting plot. I enjoyed this one, even though I felt it was a little too long. Overall a good read.

Charlie witnesses a bunch of attacks. One of the sisters wants to do a documentary and the only thing is Charlie lied to the police when she said she remembered everything that night. I recommend listening to the audio of this one, it was really good and the narration made the story really good. I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it.

This reminded me of Jessica Knoll's debut "Luckiest Girl Alive." Plot, characters, past trauma being brought into the present with the promise of a movie. But when our MC can't remember, hasn't given interviews, and begins to blame herself.

Quickly wrapping up with an unexpected ending. I love a good suspense set on college campuses but this just fell short with the MC and fiance, friends from college, and avoidance of scarlet Christmas.

This started off well and hooked me immediately trying to figure out Charlie's secret, but I quickly lost interest. I am so tired of the unreliable FMC trope. "Did I say that?" "Was it the alcohol or the pills" So if you're ok with that you may enjoy this more than I did. I also thought the ending was underwhelming.

This final girl story is fine. It jumps between present tense and past, to about 10 years before. The main character was present for a bloody event known as Scarlet Christmas. She doesn't remember what happened but knows enough to feel guilty about it. Much of the text is her conversations with her therapist, which I guess are supposed to advance the plot but aren't very compelling. She has a prominent, wealthy fiance and is successful in her own right, but another woman who was also involved in Scarlet Christmas is making a movie, threatening to dredge up the past.

I didn't find this very suspenseful. The reveal was fine. There are many better amnesia/big looming secret/final girl stories out there.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. i purchased a copy for my library.

I gave this one a good try but I just couldn't get into it. I didn't like the main character and I was pretty bored with the plot. I decided not to finish this one and to move onto something else.

This debut was pretty good, though lacking the right amount of suspense. The pacing was pretty good though slow in a few places. The character development could have been better and a bit less stereotypical. That said, the writing was clear and the general storyline was interesting. I rated this four stars despite its flaws because I think this author has a lot of potential and this book is interesting if not perfect.

This was a pretty good book. I read a lot of thriller and crime books. I liked this one. Not too twisty or overly captivating but kept my attention.

This thriller was a twisty road of mediocre. The author really took liberties in trying to confuse us to the point I was confused and not in the good way.

The best would be 2.5 rounded up

Something happened back in college. Lots of people died. And now they want to make a movie about it. Scarlet Christmas is what it was called when it happened
Charlie is trying to forget the past. She is about to get married to a very successful and rich man and doesn't need the past to get in the way of things
Charlie knows more than what she is willing to talk about. Or is it she just blocked it all out. She lied to the cops about what happened. She doesn't even know what happened. She thinks that perhaps she was the one who killed all her classmates. Now, the truth may be revealed with this movie, and Catherine is frightened as to what may come from it

This was a slow slow read for me. I didn't find it to be gripping enough.the characters were hard to connect to, just didn't seem developed enough to engage you.
Overall it was not thrilling enough, and I felt like for the longest time the story is not going anywhere.

3.5 stars. Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead by Jenny Hollander - The story was interesting, but I feel like it was missing something. I always felt like I was just on the edge of seeing all the pieces, but the full picture just wouldn't clear for me. The main tragic event that the book centers around didn't feel very real or concerning. I did like how it ended, and I'm glad the truth was revealed.

This book had serious potential, but it just fell flat. It was part thriller / part mystery / part women's fiction. If it had really focused on one specific genre, I think it would've been amazing.

My main gripe with this book is the way the main character Charlie's mental health was treated. To me (someone clinically diagnosed with OCD who has worked through various treatments and therapies for it for years), it seemed clear Charlie was struggling with OCD as a result of the trauma she experienced. Throughout the book, she displayed obsessive tendencies, especially around retelling the story of her trauma to her therapist. She scheduled emergency therapy sessions in order to continue telling her therapist the story (a compulsion). I actually think, had Charlie's therapist or anyone in the book, made the connection that Charlie was experiencing OCD symptoms, it would have been a beautiful portrayal of how harm OCD presents itself- constant "what ifs," rumination, questioning if you remember events correctly, fixating on a split second thought and deciding that that thought rules you. At the end of the book, once Charlie found out what happened, she basically never discusses her symptoms again. These constant "what if's" she has about herself throughout the book are basically just left in limbo. I would've loved a part at the end of the book where we see Charlie working through everything she questioned about herself (ideally with a different therapist, because I did not like her therapist in this book lol).

Overall, I don't think there's anything really ~wrong~ with this book. The portrayal of mental health was realistic, I just feel like it was left unexplored. Even though it wasn't my favorite, I still think it was a strong debut and I look forward to reading more by this author. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.