Penance (exclusive extract)

As we'd expect from Clark after her 'Boy Parts', this is confrontational and hard-hitting. The brief extract plunges straight into darkness with a strong and distinctive voice. The premise is one that has been done repeatedly in popular crime fiction so it's enticing to see what someone like Clark who doesn't play nicely will do with the scenario. The true crime podcast theme also gestures to Makkai's 'I Have Some Questions for You' and the problems of 'investigations' by amateurs.

Very excited about this one - and hope I get a full ARC! :)

Intriguing! I look forward to reading the full book. Particularly excited by the prospect of Clark's commentary on the true crime community and the incorporation of the political landscape around the EU referendum.

As you might expect from Clark this opening extract of Penance is dark and unflinching, and puts us straight into the action. In Boy Parts Clark introduced us to her incredibly unique voice and I can’t wait to see where she takes us in Penance. Where in Boy Parts she explored the North/South cultural divide, in Penance we look set to engage in an exploration of socio-economics differences within a town, set alongside the political turmoil of the Brexit Referendum. Add to this Clark’s take on the true crime genre, and well I think we’re going to be in for a truly dark and disturbing treat. I only hope to be able to read the full novel.

As I expected from Eliza Clark after Boy Parts, the extract draws you into a story that I assume is not going to be quite as it seems. I love the hints of integration of internet culture and am really intrigued to see how that element plays out in the full novel. Having read a few novels that engage with issues in true crime over the past year, it is exciting to see what Clark will do with the genre (especially as someone who doesn't enjoy true crime, but can see how people get sucked in). The bits of politics and class in the extract are also intriguing and it'll be good to see how true crime, tabloid journalism, and class come together alongside the internet elements. Very excited to read the full book!

This is the problem with extracts, they lure you right in and make you want to read the full book right away.

I haven't read any Eliza Clark novels yet however this is clearly going to be a cracker and hope to see the full book available for request soon.

Immediately yes. This extract was gripping as anything, and the slow drip feed of information and introduction was so smooth and has me needing more! I am so excited for the release of this book and am so intrigued to see more of how Eliza Clark weaves in nostalgic references (tumblr, an array of true crime podcasts and docuseries) in a way that brings us closer to the story.

I thought I was excited for this before but having just finished the extract I truly cannot wait to get my hands on this book. Eliza is a marvellous writer. I am so captivated by everything she does, I'm dying for publication day to arrive!

After reading and loving Boy Parts, Eliza Clark's second novel penance has me extremely excited! This extract is short but sweet and frustrating in all the right ways! Whilst I'm extremely grateful for the chance to get a taste of what is to come with this release, it is definitely going to be difficult to wait!

Eliza Clark has an easy and intriguing style of writing which draws the reader in and keeps the pages turning. I absolutely love the straight-talking, no-nonsense take she has on this true-crime style novel and even in just a few short pages she has once again piqued my interest and I couldn't be more excited to get my hands on the entire novel!

Thank you so much for this exclusive extract! This is one of my most anticipated releases and I can’t wait to get stuck into this book.
The opening pages are intriguing and gripping and I haven’t stopped thinking about them since I read it this morning. This was a great introduction and I’m really looking forward to reading the full book as soon as possible !

Oh my God. I am HOOKED. 20 pages and already I feel an overwhelming need to read the rest of this novel ASAP!
If you’re a fan of true crime or mystery books then this one will certainly be for you , and I certainly think that this will be the book of the summer.

This was an extremely strong opening sample. I keep thinking about it and want to know the rest of the story. A sure sign of its impact.
I'm not usually a fan of arm's length reportage style but this author managed it in such a way that I also engaged with the characters and want to know their backstories and what led to the heinous crime.
The contemporary setting was also brought to life well.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this short extract in exchange for an independent review.

I cannot wait to read this book. Wow.

Utterly compelling concept, precise and totally immersive writing.

I shouldn't have read that extract.absolutely buzzing to read more now. Cannot wait until this book is released.

An incredible taste of what's to come! This extract is so gripping and intriguing. I love this emerging trope of true crime podcast/book-within-a-book, and I can't wait to see how Clark examines contemporary society's obsession with true crime.

The story is a riveting one, and I love both the way it is presented and the narrative structure and voice. I can't wait to read this book in it's entirety - it is right up my street!

I absolutely loved this extract! It's made me so keen to pick up the actual copy and I can not wait to read the rest of it.

This feels wildly different from Clark’s debut, but equally mired in darkness and horror - I think everyone is going to be obsessed with this.

This extract is absolutely stomach-churning and Joan is already going to live rent free in my head for a while, I can tell.

Clark’s tone is pitch-perfect, painting a grim picture of the lives of three teenage girls who commited a terrible crime (doing murder and going to McDonalds!!! Its so macabre and so real) and of of Crow-on-Sea; a crumbling northern seaside town long past its heyday.

This seems genuinely unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Let's go, girls..

A deliciously sour little taste of what is sure to be the biggest book of 2023. It left me desperate to read more.

Oh. My. What a sampler!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an exclusive extract of one of 2023's most anticipated books: Penance by Eliza Clark.

On the opening lines of this sample, my stomach dropped with dread. These characters live in a Northern seaside resort well past its prime and one day commit a terrible crime, yet they just go on about their day with normalcy.

This, on paper, sounds farfetched, but Clark manages to evoke a macabre sense of reality, albeit disturbing, because she engages the reader with the characters so well. I literally cannot wait to know the backstories of these women and what led to the heinous crime.

Penance, even from these few advance pages, is deservedly bound to be a bestseller! Grab a copy as soon as you can; it is due for publication on July 6th and can be pre-ordered now.

I am yet to read Clark’s debut, Boy Parts, but I'm absolutely going to, and soon(ish).

I love Eliza Clark, I read her book Boy Parts last year and it was my favourite novel I read all year. The way she writes, the words she choises and forms sentences tickles my brain in the perfect way. I pre ordered this book back in November and while I'm waiting for it to come out I saw thisbextract available. Wow. This was just the first chapter I'm assuming and I was hooked from the first few sentences and when I came to the end of it I wanted more. I can't wait for this to come out and I have a very strong feeling it will also be my favourite book of this year. I woukd 100% reccomemend it!

WOW!! this preview has me SO excited for the release!! Only 20 pages in and I am completely drawn in. Can’t wait to read this one in full.

This is going to be one hell of a book. I was totally prepared to sit and read the whole thing. And yeah, I'll admit I'd, I looked up the names because I was just sure it was a true story. Can't wait to dive into the full version!!!

This was so good! I can’t wait to read the full length novel, it’s going to be fantastic. It’s exactly what I was looking for.

Award-winning author and fellow northerner Eliza Clark takes no time at all to open the sampler with a bang as the harrowing details of a cruel crime are recalled. Just before dawn on 23 June 2016 in the coastal town of Crow-on-Sea, North Yorkshire, sixteen-year-old Joan Wilson was attacked, doused in petrol and then set alight in one of the brightly coloured chalets that line the beach resort from end to end. The three girls who perpetrated the attack thought she was dead and set the fire to dispose of the body not realizing how hot temperatures must be to effectively melt a human body. But Joan didn't die despite her horrific, life-changing injuries. At least not immediately. She managed to disclose the most important piece of information firstly: the names of those three girls before she passed away a few days later.

Where to begin? The first twenty pages of Penance that were given as an excerpt were more than enough to whet my appetite for the rest of the novel and then some. To make such a large impact in so few pages is quite astonishing to me. The book is written in the style of various accounts of the crime, those involved in it and what exactly had led up to it, from the perspective of those with a connection to the case. Here, our snippet is told from the perspective of a tabloid journalist-tuned-true crime writer with a stagnating career who decides to throw himself into extensively researching in order to write a book on Joan's case. What is to follow is Joan's story as told using several different mediums: relevant blog entries archived from Tumblr written by the victim and perpetrators; correspondence with the perpetrators themselves, their relatives, witnesses and townsfolk.

Written in a visceral, hard-hitting and wholly immersive style, I felt myself instantaneously under Clark's spell and found it compulsively readable from the get-go which is highly unusual; it can often take me a little time to warm up to a new book. Dark and disquieting, I found the narrative propulsive, disturbing and intelligent and didn't want it to end, if I'm honest. Clark is adept at luring you in in a record-breaking timeframe; she then leaves you hankering to know more, to read more, and to continue. For these reasons, I can only give this five stars. Based on what I have read so far, I feel this is going to be an unstoppable, explosive tale with superior-quality writing and a real uniqueness about it. I can only hope a full ARC appears!

I love the narrator’s voice. It’s reminiscent of the narrator in Matt Wesolowski’s Six Stories series which I love. The fictional true crime angle is brilliant and I will definitely be buying Penance when it comes out. Will be looking up Eliza Clark’s other books too

So excited to get into this properly, the premise sounds fantastic and the extract only made me more desperate for the full book!

Wahhh!! This has got me so excited to read the entire book...hooked straight away and itching to read more....
I think this book is going to be so hugely popular, I love the writing, and the story has tempted me to get this as soon as I can lay my hands on it in full

This was one of the best opening samplers I have read, wasted no time in grabbing my attention and holding it throughout. Even though this was just a short section I could immediately get a feel for the style and the story. It pulls no punches, this was a grim crime indeed but of course I want to know more about Girls A, B and C as well as Joni. Cannot wait for the full story!

I got the chance to read a preview of Penance and it instantly captured me. I’m a big fan of a strong narrator’s voice and although it’s a dark and disturbing start, I can tell it’s going to be right up my street. Looking forward to the publication in July to read the rest!

I loved this extract--it's smart, compelling, and visceral. Looking forward to reading the whole book.

Exactly the kind of dark, compelling excerpt I would expect from Eliza Clark. I can't resist a true crime pastiche novel, and I cannot WAIT to read Penance in full.

Yes! Loved this extract! Very dark and eight up my street. Can't wait to read the full story when it's out!

i got to read an excerpt from this and it has made me the most impatient person ever i need to read this book SO BAD PLEASE

Colour me hooked!
I've not read Boy Parts, so I've nothing to compare this extract to in terms of writing style. But on the strength of this extract alone, I 100% want to read the rest of the book. This was compelling and intriguing; I really want to see where it takes us.

can't wait for this - seems electric, thrilling, and upsetting. boy parts is a hard debut to live up to, but high hopes!

I utterly loved this short extract. It immediately sucked the reader in given context and background whilst also leaving the reader hungry for more.

I felt like the story did an interesting job of creating intrigue whilst also commenting on the dehumanising and voyeuristic nature of the True Crime obssession.

From this extract, I was reminded of True Crime Story by Joseph Knox and the way that narratives didn't always align and all of the components worked together to slowly create a picture of what actually happened.

Clark has a captivating way of writing and I am excited for this book to be released so I can devour the rest of the book.

Having not read Boy Parts, I wasn't sure what to expect from Penance. I requested this extract after hearing great things about the novel from those who had been lucky enough to read it already, and I am now very excited to get my hands on the full novel.

This is a dark and intriguing extract, with a firm sense of place. Clark plays about with the idea of the true crime genre and the concept of fiction, to create what seems to be a truly original and unique concept.

I'll definitely be checking out the full novel when this is released - this is an extract with a lot of promise.

GOSH.

I love this!

Absolutely here for books and media that put a spotlight on the true crime fascination and just how weird it is/can become. Add in a mixed media format, different narratives, and past/present timelines - *chefs kiss*.

Penance is a book very much set in the early 2010s and Clark knows what she is talking about - for a book that is so steeped in Tumblr culture it could have gone wrong, but I'm glad to say it hit the tone exactly.

A book about bullying, popularity, idolisation, radicalisation and being a teenage girl.

My words can't do it justice.

This will be one of my favourites of the year and I can't wait to talk about it (i.e. listen to people who can properly articulate their opinions on this) on release!

I was completely hooked from the first page of this! Eliza Clark is such an enthralling and sharp new voice in fiction and Penance seems to have kept all that original edge and then some. Looks like a seriously punchy follow-up to Boy Parts.

I've been seeing this book everywhere so was so excited to read an extract of it!

Well it has me hooked and I'll be buying this one as soon as it comes out! I can't wait to read the full investigation into Joan's murder!

Loved how it is written as an author writing a true crime book about this case! Argh I don't think I can wait for it to come out, I need to read it now!!

I loved Boy Parts and recommend it all the time so I was so excited to have a sneak peak at Eliza Clark's second novel!

The snippet is so brilliantly paced and draws you into the plot so well. I can't wait for my copy to arrive in the post so that I can binge the whole thing!

Even better than I expected – dark, twisted, and brilliantly written. I am so hooked and I'm so glad I only found this extract a few days before publishing because otherwise waiting for July 6th would have been agony!