Rabbit Hole

by Kate Brody

Conspiracy theories from Reddit seduce a disaster-prone woman into an obsession with solving her older sister’s cold-case disappearance.

Ten years ago Theodora “Teddy” Angstrom’s older sister, Angie, went missing. Her case remains unsolved. Now Teddy’s father, Mark, has killed himself. Unbeknownst to Mark’s family, he had been active in a Reddit community fixated on Angie, and Teddy can’t help but fall down the same rabbit hole.

Teddy’s investigation quickly gets her in hot water with her gun-nut boyfriend, her long-lost half brother, and her colleagues at the prestigious high school where she teaches English. Further complicating matters is Teddy’s growing obsession with Mickey, a charming amateur sleuth who is eerily keen on helping her solve the case.

A biting critique of the internet’s voyeurism, Rabbit Hole is an outrageous and heartrending character study of a mind twisted by grief—and a page-turning mystery as addictive as a late-night Reddit binge.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Contemporary, Audiobook

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 2024

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had always thought of my memory as something like a historical record. Evidence.
Now, I'm not so sure.

I definitely think I went into Rabbit Hole with the wrong expectations and that likely affected my enjoyment of the book. Contrary to the blurb's promises of a "deliciously dark and twisted debut about family secrets, true crime, and destructive obsession", I would say this book is better described as a slow-burn character study about grief.

When I read the description, my mind jumped immediately to Sadie-- a missing sister, true crime, internet sleuths on the hunt for said sister, etc. The beginning of the story also made me think it was going down that route, but this book never became a thriller.

We stay firmly inside Teddy's head, exploring her grief, mental health and destructive coping strategies in the wake of her father's suicide, ten years after her sister's disappearance. I know I had the wrong impressions because I kept waiting for us to get to the meat of the story, for something to happen to propel the book to its climax. I waited and waited and then, suddenly, it was the end of the book.

I want to be fair and give this book its due because the writing is pretty strong and it works well if you're looking for a slower character study. I think it really helps to know what you're getting into here, so you don't get to the end wondering why NOTHING HAS HAPPENED like I did.

The ending was deeply unsatisfying to me, but that's because I didn't understand what I was reading.

[Lottie from book club · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 stars in reality but giving it 5 because someone specifically requested an ARC of this book about a woman becoming obsessed with a reddit thread and then gave it 2 stars because he didn't like how much social media was in it and I took that personally

[Southern Lady Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect parable for true crime lovers everywhere! When you go looking... are the answers you find really ever worth it?

Rabbit Hole is a prime example of what happens when you allow yourself to be waylaid by something you don't really want answers to. Your life, relationships, and job might start to really fall apart if you don't let things go...

THOUGHTS:
- Rabbit Hole definitely felt like one of the saddest books I had read in a long time. Perfectly detailing what happens when someone is in a full-on downward mental spiral - it's almost a painful read. I think for many, though... if you've ever gone through a rough patch and you couldn't seem to get out of that perpetual grey.. this book details exactly how that feels.
- THE CONTENT: This book is dark - but not so dark that someone who likes psychological thrillers but can't handle slashers couldn't read it. My feelings while reading tended more towards morose and sad - not shock and revulsion lol BUT - if you love true crime - you'd really love this! (I'm not a true crime gal and I still really enjoyed what K.Brody was trying to create. )
- CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: Our main character Teddy was crafted perfectly! If you've ever been around a friend/family member - or even an acquaintance - that's quite literally ruining their own life -- you know that helpless feeling of wanting to shake them to do better? It was almost cathartic to read because there's nothing the people around Teddy really could've done.

↑↑ Update - Finished December 22nd, 2023 ↑↑

This is gritty and sad in the beginning... crazy what people will do to each other!

↑↑ Update - Started December 12th, 2023 ↑↑

NOTES:
- Family drama
- CWs: add!ction, depression, broken families, adultery

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

Find Me On Instagram 🦋 || More Bookish Thoughts & Reviews Here 🖤

[Eileen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wrote a big review and the GR app crashed. I absolutely HATE this app.

I hated this book. It is marketed entirely wrong.
There is no thriller, there is no rabbit hole in the way you think of rabbit holes (becoming obsessed with a topic, and sitting in front of a computer for days at a time researching and reading), there is no conspiracy theory in the way you think of conspiracy theories (faked moon landing, flat earthers, etc).

It is mostly a study of grief, watching a women have awkward sex with a random old man, and neglect her dying dog, because she is too selfish to let him die with dignity and grace.

I do not recommend this to any thriller lovers.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is nothing to do with the new Keifer Sutherland tv series.

When I read the blurb I thought this was supposed to be more thriller. Teddy Angstrom is a woman trying to discover where her sister disappeared to ten years previously in the wake of her father's suicide. Sounds good. A little nod to Updike's Rabbit Angstrom right?

However this book is not a thriller. I'd say it is twisty but there are probably two or three twists that repeat over and over but the unreliable narrator is simply too stupid to unravel them. This is probably because she's either drunk or so far in her own head that nothing gets through.

Her life is one chaotic mess and frankly, how she isn't suspended/sacked after her first day back at school is beyond me. This book needed a massive edit, a clearer plot and an actual point. It didnt seem to know if it was a thriller, a warning or perhaps an indicator that more people who lose relatives should get therapy rather than trying to find the "solution" to their misery in a bottle/pill/sex. I was desperate for it to finish after she discovers what happened to her sister but it still dragged on.

However if you like salacious, spiralling, unrealistic and bizarre then this is most certainly the book for you. There's plenty drinking, sex, drug taking, inappropriate behaviour, endlessly monotonous chats online, dying animals of all kinds, bodily fluids, inappropriate relationships and an ending that's baffling.

The narrator (Rebecca Quinn Robertson) had a nice, clear voice. She gets a star. The other is for me because I finished it.

I apologise for the vitriol but I did spend a lot of my time berating Teddy for her endlessly stupid life choices.

Thanks to Netgalley for the audio advance review copy.

[Elaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Rabbit Hole.

I'm pretty disappointed because this is not a mystery or a thriller.

Rather, it's about how a family struggles with grief after the loss of a father and husband, sister and daughter.

** Minor non-spoilers bits ahead **

On the ten-year anniversary of her older sister Angie's disappearance, Teddy's father takes his own life.

Teddy's family is rife with drama, estrangement with relatives, and many unresolved questions.

When she begins to dig into her sister's past, hoping to understand what truly happened to Angie and what led her father to take his own life, she discovers painful truths about her own family, her father, and herself.

Grief affects everyone in a myriad of ways. There are no rules on how you should act or behave, no manual or playbook to refer to when you've suffered a tremendous loss.

Rabbit Hole is about Teddy's tenuous grip on life as she tries to deal with her own grief while managing the fallout from her father's suicide, the reason her sister disappeared, and her mother's sorrow.

Teddy is not a likable person; she makes poor decisions, sleeps around, and has no friends, no one to confide in.

Mickey is an odd character, for good reason. I don't think the reader is supposed to trust her, and I didn't.

She and Teddy didn't really jell together, but then who else does Teddy have to turn to?

There's no drama or suspense, no urgency, just Teddy making wrong decision after wrong decision, ruminating endlessly over where her sister might be, dwelling on a fantasy that Angie will walk through the front door one day and all will be well.

The writing was fine, but I soon got tired of the narrative and the repetition; Teddy hooking up with that old geezer (daddy issues, anyone?), meeting Mickey, investigating false leads with no solution as to why or what happened to Angie.

[andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

checking out around 80% in.

the book reads okay, but massive trigger warning for a dog slowly dying of cancer, graphic descriptions of him suffering in pain, culminating to the main character taking him to the woods and shooting him to death. none of it is integral to the plot and it's massively gratuitous for no reason.

[Celine · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know that scene in Garden State where they lean over and scream into the void? Yeah. That’s me after finishing this.

Impossible to gather more thoughts than that but I’ll try: this opens with a woman’s father taking his life, right before the 10 year anniversary of her sister’s disappearance. While helping her mother get some affairs in order, she discovers a Reddit thread he was following, dedicated to her sister’s case. And she can’t help it, she tugs the loose thread, helpless to everything that comes after.
Rabbit Hole does not touch you, so much as it sears you. I feel completely burned alive by it.

[Christopher Febles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Debut author and one-time English teacher Kate Brody pulls us into the mind of the sister left behind in the enthralling novel Rabbit Hole, to be released by Soho Press in early 2024.

Theodora “Teddy” Angstrom doesn’t know what to feel when her father drives off a covered bridge in Maine. His life was haunted by drugs and family drama, but he was especially troubled by the disappearance of Teddy’s older half-sister Angie ten years earlier. In putting his affairs in order, Teddy learns about his obsession with finding his stepdaughter, who also had her share of issues. And though you never see an official start, Teddy slowly takes up the mantle, retracing the many leads he left behind.

Teddy makes for a gloriously flawed and unreliable protagonist, fueling an entertaining sense of dread. Through a haze of depression which seems to worsen on every page, she makes one maladaptive decision after another. She drinks far too much, acts inappropriately in her role as a teacher at a Catholic school, and starts a sketchy relationship with a man once employed by her father. I’d say Brody does a marvelous job of challenging her main character, but she goes even further: Teddy tortures herself. There are points I just wished she would drink less, not hurt herself so badly, but then again, the self-destruction is the point.

Though Teddy isn’t a murderer (spoiler alert), her journey brought to mind Edgar Allen Poe, specifically his famous short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Brody’s choice of first-person narrative is brilliant: we almost can’t see her downward spiral, since we’re trapped inside. Teddy never comes out and explains why Angie and her father cause her so much turmoil; instead, we’re witness to the people she hurts and lives she disrupts in her slow frenzy. The good in her gradually slips away as she questions the wrong people and turns the wrong corners.



Mickey, a college student who worked with Teddy’s father in searching for Angie before his death, makes for an excellent accomplice. Her goth appearance and youthful nonconformism intrigue Teddy, and it’s her ideas and savvy that drive Teddy to act on impulses she would never have employed before. Mickey is the “id,” shoving the action down the track with teenage abandon, infusing this internal psychological drama with out-of-control passion.

There’s a bleak, seedy feel to the scenery here, even as we’re in the majestic Maine forest. We get descriptions only from Teddy, so it stands to reason she sees everything as a little dirty or damaged. Brody displays a keen eye for detail, but especially for human movement. Clare, Teddy’s mother, might brush a hand along her hair on the way to bed, and the action is infused with meaning. A character walks across a scene, swinging her arms just so, and somehow the tension, the anxiety, the pressure is conveyed. That’s quite a talent.

The work is billed as “sexy,” and if your heart isn’t ready for it, stop right here. Given the overall theme of the book, the scenes are less romantic than an escape from sadness. Bill seems like an OK person, and to an extent Teddy seems to be just using him. But again, maybe that’s the point: given her state of mind, we can’t expect her to have a healthy relationship.

For a book with a lot of inner monologue, the pace was surprisingly fast. It was driven by the “No, don’t do that!” style of writing, the subconscious wish for Teddy to get it together, knowing she probably won’t. The ending was about what I expected: if you got to know Teddy, it makes total sense.

Also, this might just put you off social media for good. There are several pages of Reddit interactions that I hope are fictional but feel far too real. I’ve seen my share of nasty posts, so it’s safe to say the author nails the vitriol. Yeah, it sucks, but you can’t deny the reality, can you?

It’s about as character-driven a mystery as you’ll get from this genre, the action pushed ahead mainly by the mind of the protagonist. I see it as a “psychological misadventure,” a journey down a, well…rabbit hole of regret and loss. The writing is strong and enticing, and I’ll be looking for more good things from this author…and in full disclosure, a former colleague.

Congratulations to Kate Brody for a fantastic debut!

Rabbit Hole by Kate Brody gets released January 2, 2024 on Soho Press.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this for review on netgally.

2.5 stars, rounded up for the audiobook version. The narration was very good but unfortunately I didn't like the way the story was told. Felt very much like being inside someone's head that is having a bad time with nental health and the ending just didn't work either. Didn't feel like it was moving forward with the whole mystery more a downwards spiral of a family.
I feelt very bad for the dog and didn't really understand the point with that whole thing.
It wasn't a story for me unfortunately

[Ghoul Von Horror · Rating 1 out of 5]

TW: Language, death of parent, death of spouse, death of child, mourning, animal death, death by suicide, drug addiction, alcoholism, toxic parent relationship, eating disorder, bullying, sexual assault, rape, graphic sexual scenes, animal cancer, death of dog (graphic), use of r-word,

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Ten years ago, Theodora “Teddy” Angstrom’s older sister, Angie, went missing. Her case remains unsolved. Now Teddy’s father, Mark, has killed himself. Unbeknownst to Mark’s family, he had been active in a Reddit community fixated on Angie, and Teddy can’t help but fall down the same rabbit hole.

Teddy’s investigation quickly gets her in hot water with her gun-nut boyfriend, her long-lost half brother, and her colleagues at the prestigious high school where she teaches English. Further complicating matters is Teddy’s growing obsession with Mickey, a charming amateur sleuth who is eerily keen on helping her solve the case.

Bewitched by Mickey, Teddy begins to lose her moral compass. As she struggles to reconcile new information with old memories, her erratic behavior reaches a fever pitch, but she won’t stop until she finds Angie—or destroys herself in the process.
Release Date: January 2nd, 2024
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 380
Rating: ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Liked how the story was written
2. Ohhhh livejournal ❤️

What I Didn't Like:
1. Every thriller has a romance
2. Very little happens that moves the plot forward
3. Repetitive
4. More sex scenes then thrilling things

Overall Thoughts:

"His breath smells like hotdogs and whiskey."

Ew that sounds absolutely disgusting.

It's so weird how in your face Mickey was.

So I guess it's Bill who killed Angie

I didn't know that teachers bring dates to a school dance. I've never heard of this before. How weird. Seems unsafe.

There is a lot of trigger warnings in this book.

There was a moment where they are watching You've Got Mail. How weird because I just watched it two days ago.

Sorry I think Mickie is the one who is all these people and she keeps pushing everyone to find her sister. She doesn't even try to hid her last name when it was well known and attached to a drug dealer that Teddy's sister would get drugs from.

We get a whole oral sex scene that adds nothing to this book. What is the point. We're 270 pages in and this the kind of things we are getting as a readers.

I skimmed the ending because I was desperate for anything to happen that lead anywhere.

We then get all these random different thoughts of what could have happened.

Final Thoughts:
There were moments where this didn't feel like a mystery because when Teddy finds out about it so many people already had some elements solved.

It was completely underwhelming. It was so boring and so monotone. This is not a thriller.

IG | Blog

Thanks to RB Media, Recorded Books, and Netgalley for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Lilibet Bombshell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt like two things: A book that never ends, and a party you went to with a friend and thought you were having a good time at but realize about halfway through that you’re not having as good of a time as you thought, but you can’t really leave so you stick it out and you really regret it by the end of the night.

Yeah. That’s what reading Rabbit Hole felt like to me: Unnecessarily long, uncomfortable in a misleading way, and then utterly miserable when you realize you hate everyone in the book and the plot has gone from somewhat interesting to moderately interesting into, “This really isn’t interesting at all anymore and I don’t want to read this anymore but now I’m about 65% in and I might as well finish”, and then, “I should have just quit”.

I know this seems harsh. It may be. I don’t know. All I know for sure is that I broke up the reading of this book into two chunks because I thought maybe it was just me and I needed to take a break and come back to it for it to seem more fresh and interesting. Usually it’s the second act of a book that fails me in mysteries and suspense novels. For Rabbit Hole, it was the third act that failed me. The second act was the most interesting part, in my opinion. In the third act, the whole book and every single character unraveled for me and no one and nothing was ever capable of redemption. I quite simply wasn’t feeling any of it.

TW/CW for animal suffering and death.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Amateur Sleuth/Mystery/Suspense Mystery

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

KATE BRODY’s debut, RABBIT HOLE, is the next powerhouse book that started my 2024 reading year.

The premise of this story absolutely intrigued me - a missing sister, a study in grief and an obsessive deep dive into the true crime world of Reddit threads and chat boards. And while I expected darkness I was not wholly prepared for what a devastating and difficult, yet impactful book I had in my hands.

Ten years ago Teddy’s older sister, Angie, snuck out to a party and then vanished. Dismissed by the police as a runway, Angie’s disappearance slowly destroyed their family. And on the 10 year anniversary, Teddy’s father drives his car off a bridge, leaving Teddy and her mom to once again pick up the pieces.

Sorting through her father’s things, Teddy starts to learn his secrets, including the fact that he’s spent the past ten years investigating Angie’s disappearance — tracking down leads, looking for witnesses and spending time on the dark web. Teddy decides to pick up where her father left off and finds herself chasing the same threads and fixated on figuring out what happened to Angie.

When Teddy meets an amateur sleuth online, who is equally obsessed with Angie’s case, the two form a bond that may be the thing to save Teddy — or to destroy her.

This book is a dark descent into grief, obsession and a desperation for answers. KATE BRODY doesn’t shy away from exploring some disturbing subject matter, though it’s done in a way that so expertly suits her characters and their stories. It can be difficult at times to watch Teddy try to navigate her pain, to see the strain and hurt between her and her mother and to hope that Teddy will find the answers she needs.

This book is somber and there’s a loneliness to Teddy as she navigates her losses, seemingly in a haze that gets murkier as we go. From self-destructive choices born out a desire for the truth, we bear witness to Teddy’s descent down the proverbial rabbit hole.

The book is intense, but KATE BRODY’s writing is so evocative and puts us squarely in Teddy’s head forcing us to experience even emotion alongside her. This is a very character driven story, with an emotional punch. It lured me in and I have no doubt will stay with me for a long time to come.

[Alora Khan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I HATED this book. Seriously.
Stupid sex scenes that were poorly written and added nothing to the story
Literally no thrills
A horrible main character
And animal death that was so fucking over the top that I’m flabbergasted and disgusted
The only award I can give this book is “worst book of 2024” seriously, it’s only January and I don’t think anything will top this.

[Shereadbookblog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teddy has always been somewhat obsessed with the disappearance of her older sister, Angie, ten years ago. When her father commits suicide she discovers his obsession with the disappearance led him to active involvement with a Reddit community centered around Angie. When Teddy enters the community and starts communicating with others, it only intensifies her preoccupation leading to increasingly self destructive behavior.

The publisher’s synopsis of this book was somewhat misleading and I was a bit disappointed that it didn’t really deliver what was foreshadowed. That said, it was a character study of grief and depression and the personal and familial dissolution it can cause.

Although this debut novel was slow to develop, it was a fast read. I wouldn’t characterize this as a mystery but perhaps more of narrative fiction or psychological thriller.

Thanks to #netgalley and #sohopress for the ARC.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this! I'm so disappointed. The writing is great, it just isn't what it's marketed to be. It seems like it will be a thriller about a woman looking into her sister's disappearance after her manic father's suicide. That barely plays into this! She met like 2 people online and had creepy relations with them.

I wanted answers to the online rabbit hole I was promised we were falling into but instead I had to hear about a dying dog the entire book until his horrifying conclusion. They sure wrapped that up but not the questions I had about the sister and dad. The important parts just felt repetitive and I kept thinking I was about to get the goods and would be let down again.

This was a very melancholy book without any real atmosphere. It's sad, it's dark, it's gross. That's on purpose- and this is a stunning debut as far as the writing is concerned, however I am not the audience for this content so I don't want to rate it low but I do suggest maybe making it clear that it is more like general fiction or perhaps a family drama surrounding grief, because that's what it is. These people were disgusting, but they definitely were built well. The main characters at least.

I really don't think there is an audience for the dog situation. Most of us hate a pet death to begin with, let alone one that's hovering over the entire book. I'm not sure why authors don't stop this. I suppose it is for the shock value but it's very off-putting.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to listen and review. The audio narration was great.

I can't believe this ended up being what I was reading on Christmas lol my luck!

[Cate Triola · Rating 1 out of 5]

Egregious animal abuse that doesn't contribute to the overall plot

[John (LHBC) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dark, slow burn downward spiral...…..

Book Information

Rabbit Hole by Kate Brody is a 374-page mystery published on January 2, 2024. Rebecca Quinn Robertson narrates the audio version which spans 12 hours and 45 minutes. Thank you to RB Media for providing me with an Advance Readers Copy for review.

Summary

A decade ago, Teddy Angstrom's sister Angie vanished, leaving a cold case behind. Now, after their father's suicide, Teddy discovers his involvement in a Reddit community dedicated to Angie's disappearance. As Teddy delves into the mystery, she faces opposition from just about everyone around her. Caught up in an obsession with her newfound friend Mickey, Teddy's moral boundaries blur. With her sanity teetering, she refuses to halt her search for Angie, even if it means self-destruction.

My Thoughts

"Rabbit Hole" by Kate Brody offers a narrative that delves into grief, obsession, and the downward spiral of its main character. While it promises to appeal to fans of true crime podcasts like "My Favorite Murder," the execution falls short of capturing the elements that make such podcasts enjoyable. The book focuses heavily on grief, self-destruction, and bad decisions, which diverges from the more appealing aspects of true crime.

The story presents a melancholy character study that lacks significant action and feels slow-moving. This is not a thriller. It reads more like narrative fiction than a suspenseful novel, with some parts, particularly concerning the family dog, feeling unnecessary and gratuitous. I expect many will have issues with “Wolfy” the dog throughout the book. Similarly, the inclusion of sex scenes appears more for shock value than for advancing the plot.

Throughout the book, the narrative feels repetitive, lacking resolution and failing to establish a compelling atmosphere. The main character's choices become increasingly irrational, stretching the bounds of reason and detracting from the story's credibility. Additionally, the ending feels abrupt and unsatisfying.

The audiobook version poses challenges, especially during passages involving online posts and texts, which may work better in a printed format. However, the narrator, Rebecca Quinn Robertson, delivers a clear and engaging performance.

Despite its flaws, "Rabbit Hole" offers a window into the darker side of true crime obsession. It also serves as a reminder of the real people affected by such events and impacted by people who consume their tragic stories as entertainment.

Recommendation

If you appreciate slow-burn character studies centered on grief, this book may hold some appeal, though it may not satisfy fans of the mystery/thriller genre.

Rating

3 Downward Spiraling Stars

[Kirsten Mattingly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m honestly angry with the publisher for misrepresenting the subject matter of this book. It’s not the intriguing solve-the-mystery-of-the-missing-girl novel that it was advertised to be. Really it’s a trauma dump of every harrowing experience the main character has experienced.

Fifteen minutes into the audiobook, the MC finds a dead cat in a clear plastic trash bag. This brings up a horrific childhood memory for her of her big sister finding two kittens who had been crushed by a car and petting them and getting blood on her hands. The description is gratuitous.

The MC has a sweet old Irish Wolfhound “Wolfie” who is dying of cancer and really needs to be humanely euthanized but isn’t.

Emotionally I don’t need this gut wrenching feeling in my life and I am bailing out on the book now because it’s obviously only going to get more harrowing.

I was motivated by this book to create a new Goodreads shelf named “too much animal suffering” so if you are also sensitive to reading about that, you may want to visit that shelf to know what else to avoid reading.

I’m giving Rabbit Hole by Kate Brody one star, even though the writing is skillful, because I can’t think of one single person who would like this book or who I could recommend it too.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a free arc audiobook download for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Side note: If you want to read a fantastic book about the investigation and solving of the mystery of a missing teenager girl, I recommend The Short Drop by Matthew FitzSimmons. That is what I thought Rabbit Hole would be similar to based on the publishers description.

[Leap through the pages Coffee and Commentary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A taut, twisty novel on the vortex of grief that we must navigate, and the devastating consequences of obsession. Darkly compelling, Rabbit Hope showcases the ways in which true crime sensationalism, social media, and societal pressures place more stress on victims of loss and trauma, and how uncertainty is fueled by the whims and discretions of others. It is a chilling reminder that the subjects of theories, chat threads, video essays, were real people with real friends and families, who often push themselves to extremes in the pursuit of answers, justice. Hauntingly sad with a faint core of hope, this novel is a winding trip into the whirlpool of coping mechanisms, the chase of information, the peeling back of layers, an examination of hard truths, of crossroads.

[Geonn Cannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is just... bleak. Talking about neglectful parents, missing siblings, all intercut with pointless descriptions of rough sex (I'm not one of those "y r their sew many secks scenes in buks!!1!" people, I just feel the author spent way too much time using them as an excuse to show the main character's mindset). And there's SO MUCH REDDIT talk that part of me wondered if the book was somehow sponsored by the site (though thankfully not as much repetitive "Username: Dialogue, Username: dialogue" screenplay format scenes as there could have been).

Oh, and there's a really needlessly graphic dog death. The dog is old and very ill throughout the book, but his death is ridiculously over the top. The main character takes him out to the woods and shoots him in the head. I guess because the gun had been introduced and Chekhov insisted it had to be used by the end of the book.

In the end, this book was depressing, unsatisfying, and I'd honestly recommend avoiding it unless you just want to feel depressed for a few hundred pages.

It's early to already have a "worst read of 2024", but this one made me reluctant to start ANY book because I just need something a little lighter, something where I won't have to worry about gruesome descriptions of dead dogs.

[Jeanie ~ Fables.and.fur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teddy’s sister Angie vanished 10 tears ago and her father has recently committed suicide. Angie’s case was never solved, but there are plenty of conspiracy theorists in an online Reddit community with theories of what happened. After her father’s death, Teddy starts going down the same rabbit hole he did with this online group because she so desperately wants answers.

The writing here is so good, it’s atmospheric and the characters are well developed. The plot is unique, realistic and original. The grief of this family is profound and it’s understandable to me that when the police gave up, the family is willing to grasp at any straw. As disturbing and devastating as this story is, there is also some sarcasm and dark humor. I think one of the things I most appreciate here is that not all things in real life get a full resolution. Often we have to think of some likely explanations and pick one in order to move forward.

The narration is excellent with Rebecca Quinn Robertson voicing Teddy’s point of view. Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media and the author for an early listening copy.

Major triggers warning to anyone who asks if the dog dies. This is not for you. I don’t feel right not mentioning it.

[Eilonwy · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 75%, skimmed the final 25%. Verdict: I need a YUCK shelf.

On the tenth anniversary of her older sister Angie's disappearance, Teddy Angstrom's father kills himself, driving off a covered bridge. Left with his computer, phone, and a pile of unpaid bills, Teddy starts following her father's path through Reddit pages dedicated to her sister and other vanished girls, and to local people he he's found through his searches. Can you ever truly answer all the questions, figure out what happened, when there is no body, no diary, no clues? Teddy finds herself continuing her father's obsession, desperately seeking the closure he never found.

I gave this two stars because Kate Brody writes well enough that I got sucked into this book and dropped the perfectly enjoyable mystery I was already reading.

The first third to half of the book is actually pretty good. Information about Angie, and about Teddy's truly effed-up family, is revealed at a good pace and kept me zooming along to learn more. New characters are introduced and seem interesting and promising.

But then ... Then the whole thing just bogs down. (I kept wondering if this would have made a better novella.) Teddy goes on a grief spiral, her behavior getting more and more erratic and worrying. The new characters keep showing up and meeting each other in various configurations, but everyone keeps having the stupidest, most pointless conversations ever, that don't move the plot forward one bit, and are so awkward that I could barely stand reading them. It soon becomes clear that not one person in this book knows how to be normal; they're all suffering from PTSD, lack of self-awareness, and no therapy.

This book is just dark, grim, and gritty. Everyone is lost, depressed, and self-medicating. Reading it made me sad, and not in a good way. By the time I gave up and skimmed, I was hating every page.

Worst, there is no payoff for all this misery. Is what happened to Angie discovered or revealed? Maybe, but not with any satisfaction. It's kind of left up in the air, which is true to life, but just ticked me off after such a slog to get there. Does Teddy ever get her act together? I assume so, because she's only 26, so she has years to find her way out of the PTSD. But she sure doesn't figure anything out in these pages. My library copy has a mystery sticker on the spine and the jacket text and blurbs make it sound suspenseful, but this is in no way a proper genre novel. It's literary fiction, and feel-bad fiction at that.

Read at your own risk. And don't read this if you love animals. Between a horrific dead kitten scene at the beginning and the dying dog throughout the story, you'll wish you had never picked this up.

I really hate to give such a poor review. But ... YUCK.

I'm updating this with a link to a 5-star review I found that is the mirror version of mine. Everything I hated, this reviewer loved, and he makes good arguments, so to be fair:
We Read the Same Book But Not the Same Book

[♡Heather✩Brown♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay. This is book is highly underrated- seriously. But I’m sure it has to do with the ending and there not being answers to one of the biggest mysteries of the story. However, this is a phenomenal story and I think the point wasn’t in figuring out the mystery but the impact the mystery had on everyone. I can understand people want closure in a story. Things to be full circle. But that’s not how real life works. Yes this is fiction but not all stories come full circle. In life or in fiction. I skipped over the sex scenes. Not my thing. But I have to say, as a person who doesn’t enjoy slow burn type of reads typically, I really loved this book. The writing is PERFECT. Lots of TWs so if that’s your thing check them out.

——-

#ad thanks for the advance book with the new pink paperback cover @sohocrime #partner

It’s stunning!

A crime thriller that hits you in your heart and explodes into your soul.

I loved that the setting was in Maine. Like her father’s bumper sticker, I can CONFIRM that the roads here are the WORST - and we are driving on what’s barely left. Legit. Maine roads summed up perfectly. Haha.

Teddy’s sister, Angelina, has been missing for 10 years. On the anniversary of her disappearance, Angelina’s stepfather - Teddy’s biological father, Mark - drives his car off a bridge in town. Killing himself instantly.

What his family doesn’t know is that for the past 10 years he’s poured everything he had into investigating his stepdaughters disappearance. When Teddy begins the daunting task of cleaning out his research room - which is also Angelina’s bedroom - what she finds sends her down a rabbit hole she might not be able to climb back out of.

Oof. This story pulls you in. You become just as invested in this mystery as Teddy is. We slowly find out new information on Angelina’s disappearance, at the same time as the main character Teddy does. It feels like we are right there beside her; finding suspects and asking questions, getting the answers at the same time. Readers will feel an attachment to Teddy because of this.

Teddy - as well as all of the other characters - is a well-built character. Her sarcasm and wit only add to the story and pull you in more. She’s a character you will root for, feel for, and want to help in some way.

This is one of the most highly underrated books I’ve ever read. If you like heart-felt crime stories then this is a book you need to read. See how a potential crime, the online sleuths, and a community grapple with tragedy.

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

Rabbit Hole is a voice-y, character-driven book about severe family dysfunction. It was too dark and rambling for me and included disturbing scenes involving animals (see more below).

But kudos to the marketing department for describing it correctly! I know it will find its audience (no judgment; I used to read dark books) so I am happy to let you know what you are getting into so that you will be happy with what you get.

1) Rabbit Hole is NOT a thriller or mystery, despite the missing person/true crime angle

2) It's narrated in the first person by a character haunted by her sister's disappearance a decade ago. She is permanently traumatized by that and her family's extreme dysfunction. Think early Gillian Flynn.

3) The ending is unresolved (again, not a mystery).

If you're thinking, "yay, let's go," then you don't need to read further.

This book's first person POV narrator sounded to me like a teenager. No. Theodora "Teddy," is actually an adult high school teacher whose sister disappeared when they were teenagers. Years later, as the story begins, Teddy's father drives himself off a bridge.

Teddy decides to fall down a Reddit rabbit hole (love the title!) for insight into all this, not realizing that you have to take Reddit with a grain of salt. On there you find some gems of great wisdom among the ramblings of other people who are either angry trolls or those who openly admit they have eaten one too many edibles. It's a highly entertaining place and I love it too, but it's the internet. There, Teddy meets a girl who is also also obsessed with her sister's case and is nearly as dysfunctional as she. Of course that does NOT go well at all.

Also, for animal lovers, there are some pretty disturbing scenes that should have been a red flag for me earlier that this book was not for me. One scene pretty much sums up Teddy's character and the vibe of the book. She has an elderly dog who belonged to her sister. He has cancer and needs to be put down, but instead she takes him into the woods and shoots him in the head and digs a hole with a stick and "buries" him.

If you are looking for books that are dark in a more vibe-y way, try this series. In my post I go over all the books, which are part of the same universe.


Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.

[♡ jess ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5★

Labeling this book as a twisty thriller definitely did it a disservice. I feel like the description does not accurately portray the vibe of the book as it was definitely more slow paced. My expectations were set for a certain feel throughout the book but it was never met. While the story was interesting, it was heavy with no payoff in the end. I thought about dnf’ing it but I continued through - I wish I would have just put the book down though. Definitely check the TW before reading as there are talks of suicide and animal death.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for this audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Someone has to account for all these stories of men killing wives, girlfriends, friends, girls, strange girls who owe them nothing. I wish I could rule out the soft-speakers, but they’re the ones who will sit at their keyboards and perform the role of audience. They’re a part of this, too.”

Kate Brody’s excellent debut, Rabbit Hole, is THE BOOK for anyone looking for a great blend of literary fiction, thriller, and commentary on true crime Internet spaces.

The novel follows Teddy, a woman in her late 20s who is still coping with the decade-old cold case involving her older sister’s disappearance and probable murder when her father, seemingly out the blue, commits suicide. In going through her father’s personal effects, Teddy uncovers his ongoing obsession with her sister’s (his stepdaughter and niece; the family dynamics are COMPLICATED) disappearance and quickly becomes enmeshed in the Reddit community that has set out to “solve” Angie’s case.

Naturally, this is a book that is concerned with the bizarre, parasocial relationships formed between true crime fanatics/armchair detectives and the victims and loved ones at the epicenter of unsolved crime. Brody does a great job of integrating realistic Reddit-speak into her novel, in a way that is reminiscent of Eliza Clark’s Penance (albeit featuring very different online communities and generations). Teddy’s journey into the rabbit hole (wink wink) of her sister’s disappearance captures that claustrophobic, mob-mentality fervor that Reddit is sometimes a little too good at.

And this could be the entire story—woman finds online community about her presumedly dead sister, becomes obsessed, learns some things about Internet fanaticism. But where this book gets really good is that Brody also highlights the fact that these Redditors—“the ones who will sit at their keyboards and perform the role of audience”—that they’re real people, too. They have their own personal and fucked up shit that sometimes drives them to get overly involved in other people’s trauma, and this incredibly layered nuance is what makes this novel so interesting and biting.

The novel also tips into literary fiction in ways that are really lovely and emotional and reflective. This is a work of writing that is just as concerned with motherhood, sisterhood, and grief (above all else) as it is with mystery and crime, to the end that you might have to be comfortable walking out of this book with fewer answers than would be satisfying in order to really appreciate it. For a thriller, this will likely read as somewhat slow and plodding, but as a study of grief and obsession, it’s marvelously done.

[Dannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow.

I fell down a Rabbit Hole of such reading this book. Absolutely ignored all I was supposed to be doing for NYE and finished this book is 4 hours.

This story felt so vaguely familiar? Perhaps the reddit thread section reminded me of so many other mystery books I’ve read recently, or maybe I was reminded of the very real world we live in today, where crimes go unsolved constantly.

Besides feeling like I’ve read the story before, I was pulled in so deeply but all that was happening. I was immersed into Teddys life, romances, thoughts, feelings, almost immediately. I started having my own guesses to what happened, I started my own Insanity Wall (in my head, but still).

Although the ending wasn’t as satisfying as it could’ve been, I loved that this book did have a very strong ending all together. I’ve seen some people complain that it was slow, or dredging, or comes to a nothing end. And maybe it is a little slow, but solving a cold case, especially when you aren’t a detective, would probably be a little slow. I think any slowness in the book itself helps show Teddys depression, guilt, and overall thought process on trying to solve her sisters disappearance.

It’s definitely worth a read if you enjoy mysteries such as Before We Were Innocent and I Have Some Questions For You.

4.5/5 stars, thank you for the ARC via NetGalley

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting/engaging premise that fails in the execution.

I almost quit reading near the end when Teddy took her dog to the woods [what the fuck] but there was only about 10% of the book remaining so I continued.

I should've followed my instincts, because there is no resolution and the ending is deeply unsatisfying.

Would only recommend to someone who enjoys reading about a grieving asshole having lots of sex whilst denying their ancient, tumor-ridden dog a peaceful death.

Received in a goodreads giveaway.

[gabriella escoto · Rating 4 out of 5]

A force of nature in a book.