Jenny Hollander's debut novel Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead was not quite as thrilling as I'd hoped. The premise had great potential but fell short of having me on the edge of my seat. While the author developed the characters better than the plot itself, I found a hard time keeping everyone straight or finding any of them likable. While I didn't see the 'twists' coming in the end, I didn't find them satisfying or jaw-dropping. I did enjoy Jenny's writing style and believe she has great potential and will plan to read her next book. Marisa Calin's narration of the book was well done.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Jenny Hollander for providing me with an audio ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

A fun concept, if not a bit saturated right now in thrillers. I liked this up until the last third of the book. The main character was interesting, trying to figure out what was going on was interesting, but eventually I just couldn’t help but feel there was a lot of build up and suspense and not a lot of reward.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you MacMillan for the review copy of this audio! This is a sneaky kind of good read/audiobook, at least for me, it sneaks up on you, draws you in bit by bit and makes you care about the main character, question the value/lack of value in asking people to revisit and discuss trauma, ... all while making you wonder what really happened. The pacing works well and I thought the audiobook was really nicely done, a moody style that kept me just a tad uncertain, in a good way, as to where the plot was going.
A compelling story and nicely done on audio!

I was intrigued by the premise of the book, but this one fell flat for me. The narrator did a good job, but I couldn't get into the book.

Everyone Who Can forgive me is Dead
Jenny Hollander
Four Stars, Spoiler free

I want to begging by saying I listened to the Audiobook, which I have noticed is a completely different experience than reading a written version. As an audiobook this story was captivating, enjoyable, and overall very entertaining. Our Main Character was irritating however, she seemed oblivious as the story went on and was incredibly standoffish even to the reader. Overall I felt that Hollander gave us a representation of how differently people process trauma and I did not see the ending coming.

Let’s talk about a book that is so square in my sweet spot— dual timelines, a campus setting, NYC, someone hell-bent on finding the truth and someone else who will stop at nothing to keep it hidden.

Nine years ago a tragedy dubbed “Scarlet Christmas” left six graduate students at NYC’s Carroll University either in surgery or in the morgue.

But Charlie Colbert somehow escaped the night totally unscathed. The press called her a victim. They called her a survivor. She’s quick to tell us everyone got it wrong.

As the ten-year anniversary creeps closer, Charlie learns that one of her former classmates is going to make a movie about that night — a movie that will finally set the record straight.

Charlie has spent years rebuilding her life by leaving the dark night, and everyone she knew, behind. She’s now the editor-in-chief of a major magazine in New York City. She’s engaged to the heir to one of the biggest publishing companies. She’s worked so hard to forget the past and so hard to protect the truth of what really happened.

With dual timelines, some mixed media and lots of dark secrets this book kept me guessing. I am always up for books where the past comes back to haunt the characters and so interested to see what’s lurking in the dark.

Huge thanks to @minotaur_books for the eARC and to @macmillan.audio for the Audio ARC. I loved being able to switch between the two and to stay deep within the story at all times. I really enjoyed this debut and the audiobook narration was really well done!

This was absolutely fantastic. Imagine going your whole life punishing yourself for something you don't even know if you did. Are you a witness or are you a murderer? All she knows, Charlie's life has never been the same.

I was floored by a few reveals!!! I really enjoyed the writing style and totally loved and supported Charlie.

What a sparkling gem I found here thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio!!

This was a great recipe for a great book. Started out strong and I kept trying to figure out what the mystery was that Charlotte was trying to hide and it got very muddled for me with the self medication and memory loss. I think the pacing in the book lacked a balance, it began great and started moving along then it was in high gear and I had to reread a couple of parts because it was chaotic and I felt like I read it wrong but really had not. Charlie seemed to be chasing her tail trying to stay in front of the story getting out and her truth being out there.

I did enjoy the relationship with her future MIL but felt like it was over done. Tripp and his past was crazy but it didn't really impact the way I would have thought. Charlie trying to rush her therapy to unlock the past seemed a little reckless with her therapist and the use of her pills and losing blocks of time. I think I was also lost like Charlie at times which made me keep thinking I was missing something when the book ended. I was really invested in this story and needed a clearer ending then given. While reading this book I was so thinking the ending would wow me but was disappointed that there wasn't a bigger twist.

Thriller might not be a word to describe this book but rather a mystery with a slower pace to get there. I realize this is Jenny Hollander's debut book and I would give her another go and see what comes next since there were many great components of this book. I listen to the audio book and thought is was well done.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC in return for my honest opinion. Keep reading and find your next adventure in black and white. #NetGalley #Everyonewhocanforgivemeisdead #macmmillanaudio

The main character was at the site of a multiple murder in college but blacked out and can’t remember if she is the killer. The story develop reveal the real happenings that fateful night.

I finished this one but am not sure I enjoyed it. I found myself getting lost trying to keep the characters straight and honestly was underwhelmed by the ending.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.

Great debut!

This was so intense, with a narrator, Charlie, who admittedly is unreliable. Ten years ago she was the lone survivor of "Scarlett Christmas" - a bloody massacre that ended in three deaths. Charlie struggles to remember that night.

She's in therapy. She's trying to remember. But she worries if she should. And we are along for the ride right until the very end.

The ending was a bit unrealistic - but it's fiction! I was invested until the last word.

I had the audio and the ebook and found both great. The narration was really good!

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and MacMillan Audio for an ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead by Jenny Hollander follows Charlie Colbert’s POV during two periods of her life: as a 23-year-old graduate school student experiencing the traumatic Scarlet Christmas event, and a decade later, as she faces continued memory loss and repressed trauma over what happened many years ago. I thought that this was a wonderful psychological suspense novel that had me questioning the trustworthiness of the main character and all of those around her. I was curious to know the truth of what happened on Scarlet Christmas and the days leading up to it, so I was fully invested in this book. I had speculations and had to know if they were accurate! Everything came together nicely at the end, but I did have a few unanswered questions that I wish I understood better.

I gave this 4.0 stars! This was a great debut novel and I’m excited to read more from this author in the future.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an audio ARC of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead by Jenny Hollander. My comments are an independent, honest review.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for accepting my request to read Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead in exchange for an honest review.

Narrator: Marisa Calin

Oh boy, this is a definite what came first and is most important: A debut novel or the perfect narrator. This time it is Marisa Calin. In my mind she was perfection. I hated that she had to read foul language. Calin chose two of the three swears: God --- and F---. When I listen I'm paused wondering if the narrator is bothered (half as I am) and had to have a job when reading profanity. Calin's narration amped up this novel.

I get excited when I see debut novel; when submitting a request to read on NetGalley I click author as my reason. Thirty years ago I would read in line while waiting to pay for a new release. Now I have stacks of books and devices and like to cold read -- I know I've picked the book through the synopsis, cover, or seeing debut -- when I do read it much later -- resell me: keep my attention blindly. Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead grabbed me immediately. If my windows were open my neighbors would have heard me when I finished reading -- no way, wow, her first novel.

I struggled early on fighting my urge to reread the synopsis versus letting the story play out. The tone was giving me mass school shooting vibes and I am not comfortable with that subject matter in fiction thrillers. I held firm and true to my love for storytelling and forged on as if the synopsis and/or Google were not at my fingertips. Hollander wrote a good story that Calin took to the next level. I would actively seek Calin's work.

Hollander had my (minus the language and my mass shooting vibes) undivided attention. I kept listening, had the E-book as well and was reading along taking it all in. The first 75% was like a logic problem. It was smart with details sprinkled that left me fulfilled and not thinking about the solution. The solution is where the story fails. There are a lot of banterings between characters and the story flips back and forth between past and present. It isn't smooth.

All-in-all this is a good time. It should not be taken seriously. I finished with an accomplished sigh, a smile and am ready to move on to my next read.

Published: 02/06/24

This novel was suspenseful, addictive, and unpredictable. I was anxious to get to the end and discover what happened. A testament to what a person's mind could hide, change, and alter reality.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC

Charlotte Colbert, known as Charlie, is in graduate school where she is supposedly the only surviving witness to a brutal slaying. But Charlie blacked out and works with her therapist to try to remember what truly happened. Charlie has been able to reinvent herself after the awful events of Scarlet Christmas, as the murder became known, to become the editor of a magazine and engaged to a wealthy young man who runs his father’s publishing company. Is Charlie guilty of something, as her memories make her believe? Will the movie that Stephanie, the sister of one of those injured in the attack, reveal what really happened?

This book was a well written “mystery” that had me engrossed through most of the audio version. It is told in alternating chapters between Then and Now. However, it was hard to like many of the characters, including Charlie, who only seemed to be worried about herself and how the movie would affect her. And Stephanie was truly an unlikable person, making the movie to make sure no one learns the truth. The “reveal” was a little surprising, although not entirely unexpected.

The last part of the book seemed rushed and the ending seemed just a little too neat and tidy. And it just made me dislike Charlie more, hearing how she never really cared that much for her fiancé. My biggest concern was with the way mental illness was handled. Not everyone who has a mental illness becomes violent. In fact, most of the time, people will hurt themselves before hurting others.

Overall, it was an admirable debut. I look forward to reading another book by Jenny Hollander.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me the audio version of the book to review.

I have been provided with a review copy of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead from NetGalley for an impartial review. Oh my gosh this story was just epic. I just couldn’t put this story down and I was just captivated by everything that was taking place. The author truly outdid herself with this story. This story just had my emotions all over the place and I am so sad to see this book end. I just can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

Happy pub week to Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead by Jenny Hollander. I’m so grateful to @minotaur_books for a e-arc of this one and to @macmillan.audio for an ALC. This twisty, dual timeline thriller came out on Tuesday.

Nine years ago, Charlie Colbert was part of a nightmarish event at elite journalism school that was dubbed the Scarlet Christmas. After being interrogated by the police, she fled and rebuilt her life hoping to cut all ties with that terrible night, and she’s done a pretty good job. She’s the editor-in-chief at a major magazine and engaged to an heir to a publishing fortune. But when someone from that night decides to reopen everything by producing a movie about that horrible Christmas Eve and expose the truth once and for all, Charlie panics. Is she hiding something about what happened?

I really enjoyed the premise of this book and the twisty dual timeline, but I got a little confused about what was actually happening. Charlie is an unreliable narrator in the strongest sense of the word and there were moments in the book where I thought something was being presented as absolute fact that turned out not to be. That said, there were some fun twists that I think were handled really well, but overall the mystery didn’t work for me because it was sort of built on a house of cards. I did love the themes of friendship and perception in the book, as well as the idea that you can’t outrun who you really are.

I absolutely loved the audiobook. The narrator, Marisa Calin, did a fantastic job, not only with conveying Charlie’s panic and state of mind, but with all the different accents of the characters in the book. I was really, really impressed and will definitely keep my eye out for more books narrated by her. I was glad to have a physical copy as well because there were things I wanted to look back at to reread.

I think if you go into this one with the right mindset, it’s a lot of fun. I really enjoyed listening to it, and it’s quite possible that I missed some details that would have made the plot make more sense.

This debut psychological thriller ticks all the boxes: an unreliable narrator, academic setting, now/then timeline, and a narrative interspersed between articles and interviews. Charlie Colbert is a well-regarded magazine editor with a dark past. When she was in graduate school, a violent incident on Christmas Eve left three students dead and Charlie with a shaky memory of what happened. When one of her classmates announces she’s making a movie to be released on the tenth anniversary of the “Scarlett Christmas,” Charlie is forced to reckon with a past she worked hard to put behind her.

I listened to the audio version of this book (thanks, @netgalley and @minotaur_books!) and I enjoyed the narrator’s performance. She switched flawlessly between American and English accents, and she portrayed Charlie’s spiraling anxiety so well *I* found it hard to breathe!

There were some great twists in this book, and it had a satisfying outcome. I’m looking forward to more from this author!

I'm struggling a bit to put into words my thoughts on this book. It definitely hooked me from early on with its deliberate way of keeping you wondering what happened. I appreciate when a book grabs hold of you and you struggle to put it down.

Where I think it fell flat for me is the revelation of what happened. It wasn't shocking or captivating in a way I would have expected from how it hooked me in the beginning. When answers were finally revealed I found myself thinking, "O ok, so thats what happened".

I listened to the audio version and I found the narrator frantic and panicked in her delivery which is not how I would have read the book. That makes me wonder if I would have felt differently about the book if I read it versus listened to it.

In the end, it was good, fine even. Just missed for me that heart pacing wow factor I like with thrillers.

Thank you Netgalley & MacMillian audio for the advanced copy.

A little disappointed in the book. Not quite what I was hoping for but could be an excellent book for someone else so I would always tell someone to judge it on your owe. I tended to get a bit bored of the story. The reader was very good and that’s what kept me going to the end.

This book was jumbled and hard to follow at parts. I did not love the character development, and thought the premise was very good but the story was lacking.