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You Know Her
Killing Eve meets Sharp Objects in this lush, savage Southern Gothic about two women: a fledgling murderer and the cop hell-bent on catching her.
Two hours before he vanished, Mark Dixon stole a glass of wine. That's what bartender Sophie Braam told the cops when they questioned her about the customer whose mutilated body was just found. What she didn’t tell them is that she’s the one who killed him.
Officer Nora Martin is new to the Bellair Police Department and trying very hard to learn the ropes from Detective Murphy while ignoring all the men in the department snapping about a diversity hire. When she meets Sophie, they build an uneasy camaraderie over shared frustrations.
As winter slides into spring and bodies start piling up, Nora begins to suspect that something’s not quite right with the unnerving, enigmatic bartender. But will she be able to convince Murph, or will he keep laughing off the idea that the serial killer haunting their little town is a woman?
A crackling cat-and-mouse thriller set against the verdant backdrop of small-town Virginia, Meagan Jennett’s You Know Her probes the boundaries of female friendship and the deadly consequences when frustration ferments into rage.
Two hours before he vanished, Mark Dixon stole a glass of wine. That's what bartender Sophie Braam told the cops when they questioned her about the customer whose mutilated body was just found. What she didn’t tell them is that she’s the one who killed him.
Officer Nora Martin is new to the Bellair Police Department and trying very hard to learn the ropes from Detective Murphy while ignoring all the men in the department snapping about a diversity hire. When she meets Sophie, they build an uneasy camaraderie over shared frustrations.
As winter slides into spring and bodies start piling up, Nora begins to suspect that something’s not quite right with the unnerving, enigmatic bartender. But will she be able to convince Murph, or will he keep laughing off the idea that the serial killer haunting their little town is a woman?
A crackling cat-and-mouse thriller set against the verdant backdrop of small-town Virginia, Meagan Jennett’s You Know Her probes the boundaries of female friendship and the deadly consequences when frustration ferments into rage.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published April 4, 2023
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April 7, 2023
An intense game of cat-and-mouse with a few twists and turns I wasn’t expecting. With thought provoking themes and inclusions of mythic parallels, this made for an interesting read. I do wish we’d received a little more closure upon finishing, but I also understand why the author chose to wrap things up the way that she did. I’ve heard that the audiobook is incredible, and based on the narrators listed, I’m inclined to agree. If you’re looking for a slow burning suspense novel with a fantastic southern gothic setting, give this one a try!
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
April 4, 2023
Update 4/4/23: Reposting my review to celebrate that today is publication day!
Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for sending me an ARC of You Know Her in exchange for an honest review.
Sophie Braam is a bartender at the Blue Bell restaurant in the rural town of Bellair, Virginia. She’s also a budding serial killer, murdering a series of men for reasons we’ll get to below. Officer Nora Martin is new to Bellair, and struggling to gain acceptance within the police department’s old boys’ club. Haunted by the ghosts of murdered women, Nora is drawn to Sophie. They each see in the other a kindred spirit, though Sophie is wary of Nora for obvious reasons, and Nora thinks something is just a bit off with Sophie. But what will happen if/when Nora puts the pieces together and figures out what Sophie truly is?
You Know Me is being positioned as a “crackling cat-and-mouse thriller.” Respectfully, I disagree. The story is far creepier than it is crackling, with an angry noir vibe that’s full of unsettling imagery of bugs, flies, and mites. In the first half of the novel, there’s almost no interaction between Sophie and Nora. And by luck or skill, there are so few clues for the police to follow that they’re not even sure that all of Sophie’s victims were murdered, let alone connected.
Instead, You Know Me should be read for its contrasting depictions of female rage. In Nora’s story, we get a third-person view of a put-upon woman trying to bottle up her frustrations and work within the system—in her marriage and in her professional life. It is completely realistic, but pales in comparison—deliberately, I assume—to Sophie’s first-person story. Sophie is an amazing character, part Amy Dunne from Gone Girl and part Hannibal Lecter. As a woman, but I think as a woman in the service industry specifically, Sophie has decided to take a different approach to #MeToo and #TimesUp by going on a murder spree of men:
You Know Me is a really sharply written book. Every scene from Sophie’s view just crackles with creepy menace. I just wish Nora had been given the same first-person presentation, and more opportunity to interact with Sophie. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for sending me an ARC of You Know Her in exchange for an honest review.
Sophie Braam is a bartender at the Blue Bell restaurant in the rural town of Bellair, Virginia. She’s also a budding serial killer, murdering a series of men for reasons we’ll get to below. Officer Nora Martin is new to Bellair, and struggling to gain acceptance within the police department’s old boys’ club. Haunted by the ghosts of murdered women, Nora is drawn to Sophie. They each see in the other a kindred spirit, though Sophie is wary of Nora for obvious reasons, and Nora thinks something is just a bit off with Sophie. But what will happen if/when Nora puts the pieces together and figures out what Sophie truly is?
You Know Me is being positioned as a “crackling cat-and-mouse thriller.” Respectfully, I disagree. The story is far creepier than it is crackling, with an angry noir vibe that’s full of unsettling imagery of bugs, flies, and mites. In the first half of the novel, there’s almost no interaction between Sophie and Nora. And by luck or skill, there are so few clues for the police to follow that they’re not even sure that all of Sophie’s victims were murdered, let alone connected.
Instead, You Know Me should be read for its contrasting depictions of female rage. In Nora’s story, we get a third-person view of a put-upon woman trying to bottle up her frustrations and work within the system—in her marriage and in her professional life. It is completely realistic, but pales in comparison—deliberately, I assume—to Sophie’s first-person story. Sophie is an amazing character, part Amy Dunne from Gone Girl and part Hannibal Lecter. As a woman, but I think as a woman in the service industry specifically, Sophie has decided to take a different approach to #MeToo and #TimesUp by going on a murder spree of men:
I want to punish men because they bore me, because they assume they own me, because they talk over me, grope me, catcall me, ignore me, poke at me, annoy me. Their voices, slithering up through the hidden places of my flesh, make me crawl.
…
And you, here in my heart, in my tale with me, don’t look away. How many times have you watched women scream? For fun, for ghost stories, podcasts, pornography, prime-time HBO? You gobble our pain down like candy, always hungry for the next handful, the next story, the more salacious the better. Well, now it was his turn.
Don’t you dare look away.
You Know Me is a really sharply written book. Every scene from Sophie’s view just crackles with creepy menace. I just wish Nora had been given the same first-person presentation, and more opportunity to interact with Sophie. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Recommended.
November 22, 2022
3.5 stars.
This review is going to be a little tougher to write then most of mine. This one was compared to "Killing Eve meets Sharp Objects" which put my interest meter in overdrive. I do fancy female assassins/serial killers/all around badasses so I tried to get this one as fast as I could.
It stars Sophie Braam, a bartender who gets a little fed up with certain men so she does what any psychopath does..... She starts killing them. And of course she starts to catch the eye of a certain police officer: Noah Martin and thus begins a Killing Eve type relationship.
Awesome right? Before I start this part I need to fully disclose that my attention span is about the size of what was I talking about just now? I grew up on two minute punk songs and Ritalin. So this book was really hard for me to read. Long Paragraphs. Tedious descriptive prose. Though processes in overdrive. Just when it starts to get going it will start rambling.
So........ On the whole this is a good book. The cat and mouse between Spohia and Noah is great and it's a solid serial killer / procedural book. There are a ton of people who will love it and if you aren't distracted by hyper descriptive prose then I say go for it. I just never could get fully into it.
I really appreciate Farrar, Straus and Giroux, MCD for giving me the opportunity to review this book and it has a publication date of April 4, 2023.
Advance Reader Copy given free for honest review.
This review is going to be a little tougher to write then most of mine. This one was compared to "Killing Eve meets Sharp Objects" which put my interest meter in overdrive. I do fancy female assassins/serial killers/all around badasses so I tried to get this one as fast as I could.
It stars Sophie Braam, a bartender who gets a little fed up with certain men so she does what any psychopath does..... She starts killing them. And of course she starts to catch the eye of a certain police officer: Noah Martin and thus begins a Killing Eve type relationship.
Awesome right? Before I start this part I need to fully disclose that my attention span is about the size of what was I talking about just now? I grew up on two minute punk songs and Ritalin. So this book was really hard for me to read. Long Paragraphs. Tedious descriptive prose. Though processes in overdrive. Just when it starts to get going it will start rambling.
So........ On the whole this is a good book. The cat and mouse between Spohia and Noah is great and it's a solid serial killer / procedural book. There are a ton of people who will love it and if you aren't distracted by hyper descriptive prose then I say go for it. I just never could get fully into it.
I really appreciate Farrar, Straus and Giroux, MCD for giving me the opportunity to review this book and it has a publication date of April 4, 2023.
Advance Reader Copy given free for honest review.
April 7, 2023
I’m probably going to struggle with this review, much like I did for most of this story. The book summary is pretty vague and just basically introduces the MC’s and the primary storyline: investigating a bunch of murders in a small, rural VA town. From the get-go we know the murderer is a local bartender named Sophie.
Another major reveal very early in the story is that both Sophie and Nora, a local detective, are both straight up cray cray. It comes as no surprise (at least to me) that they are drawn to each other. Sophie is a homicidal, man-hating, psychotic, maniac who it appears was abused by @SS#*!% men all her life and now lives to end them. Nora, who constantly sees dead people, is a biracial woman who grew up around racist relatives and now, as a cop, is viewed as a diversity hire by her racist and misogynistic coworkers. Yep, she sees dead people, all over the place, especially her home. Yep, straight-up wackos the pair of them are.
The author spends waaayyy too much time in their heads. So much so, that the dialog these MC’s have with themselves (or in their heads) was ridiculous and got really annoying and boring really quick. I also didn’t enjoy the authors writing style either, the way that she constantly used analogies and metaphors to describe feelings, emotions, memories, and scenes while telling the story. Good grief!!! Not everything needs to be explained or compared and intelligent readers don’t need a parable for a character’s every thought or behavior. The authors writing style actually dragged out the story longer than it ever had to be.
I suppose some readers like that kind of writing and storytelling, and I imagine some writers are more interested in writing some kind of literary masterpiece than just writing a great story. It was around the 20% mark that I got sooo tired of this story and wanted to DNF the book. However, I was well into the second half before closing the book and setting it aside and started reading another book. I needed a break from this story if I was ever going to finish it. After picking the book back up, a few days later, the end came pretty quickly (thank goodness!!!). Based on a twist late in the story, the horrible ending wasn’t a surprise.
I don’t like giving bad reviews. Seriously, I don’t!!! I would rather just DNF a book and keep my opinions to myself than give a 1star rating. Just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean that others won’t enjoy it. I’m pretty particular about what I like and don’t like about a story and its characters. However, since this was a free eARC, I felt compelled to honor my commitment to finish the book and provide an honest review. So, here we are, with my crappy review of a book I did not enjoy and wanted to DNF.
I want to thank NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, MCD for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
@NetGalley @ Farrar, Straus and Giroux, MCD @YouKnowHer
Another major reveal very early in the story is that both Sophie and Nora, a local detective, are both straight up cray cray. It comes as no surprise (at least to me) that they are drawn to each other. Sophie is a homicidal, man-hating, psychotic, maniac who it appears was abused by @SS#*!% men all her life and now lives to end them. Nora, who constantly sees dead people, is a biracial woman who grew up around racist relatives and now, as a cop, is viewed as a diversity hire by her racist and misogynistic coworkers. Yep, she sees dead people, all over the place, especially her home. Yep, straight-up wackos the pair of them are.
The author spends waaayyy too much time in their heads. So much so, that the dialog these MC’s have with themselves (or in their heads) was ridiculous and got really annoying and boring really quick. I also didn’t enjoy the authors writing style either, the way that she constantly used analogies and metaphors to describe feelings, emotions, memories, and scenes while telling the story. Good grief!!! Not everything needs to be explained or compared and intelligent readers don’t need a parable for a character’s every thought or behavior. The authors writing style actually dragged out the story longer than it ever had to be.
I suppose some readers like that kind of writing and storytelling, and I imagine some writers are more interested in writing some kind of literary masterpiece than just writing a great story. It was around the 20% mark that I got sooo tired of this story and wanted to DNF the book. However, I was well into the second half before closing the book and setting it aside and started reading another book. I needed a break from this story if I was ever going to finish it. After picking the book back up, a few days later, the end came pretty quickly (thank goodness!!!). Based on a twist late in the story, the horrible ending wasn’t a surprise.
I don’t like giving bad reviews. Seriously, I don’t!!! I would rather just DNF a book and keep my opinions to myself than give a 1star rating. Just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean that others won’t enjoy it. I’m pretty particular about what I like and don’t like about a story and its characters. However, since this was a free eARC, I felt compelled to honor my commitment to finish the book and provide an honest review. So, here we are, with my crappy review of a book I did not enjoy and wanted to DNF.
I want to thank NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, MCD for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
@NetGalley @ Farrar, Straus and Giroux, MCD @YouKnowHer
July 29, 2023
very mid thriller. it certainly doesn't compare to killing eve or sharp objects. what a let down!
May 7, 2023
What a pleasant surprise. This is a fast-paced thriller set in rural Virginia that showcases two women, one haunted by what femicide leaves behind, another avenging gendered violence in dark woods and alleyways. It's not a deep tale by any means, very plot-driven and the characters reduced to a few watery traits, but it kept my attention and had some beautiful writing.
Sophie is a bartender by night, burgeoning serial killer of men by later-night. Disillusioned by years of handsy customers, ground down by the demands of the job on her patience and tolerance, she snaps one night and bodies gradually pile up. Nora is a cop newly transferred to the ill-funded police department; she's supposed to be a full detective but budget constraints keep her a beat cop who attends the chief detective's cases, a spate of murdered men with missing tongues. She sees "haints", phantoms of dead or living but traumatized victims of her previous cases, all women and girls.
Personally, I found Nora's POV dull, even her narrator's performance uninspiring. Sophie's was where the writer's talent was on full display through vivid imagery, well-crafted metaphor, and no small amount of description clearly informed by research or scientific knowledge of bugs and decay. It's during Sophie's POV I found a chilling passage about slicing fruit for cocktail garnishes, striking in its visceral wording.
Most of the meat of this book goes to the murders and social commentary provided by Sophie, which is where the weaknesses appear. Neither main character is very fleshed out, pardon the phrasing, hehe. Nora and Sophie don't have dimension beyond Nora's guilt and Sophie's animosity towards men. Nothing much is on-page beyond the main plot besides Nora being tormented by haints or Sophie cultivating some dangerous plants when not on shift. In this sense, Sophie is reduced to a concept, vengeance incarnate rather than a human character, and Nora a "good" if bland archetype to foil her.
But you know what, I didn't feel like holding this up to examine flaws other than the obvious! It was a satisfying, fairly quick listen of some bad guys being brought down, Sophie's experience and jaded views extremely relatable. Four stars.
Sophie is a bartender by night, burgeoning serial killer of men by later-night. Disillusioned by years of handsy customers, ground down by the demands of the job on her patience and tolerance, she snaps one night and bodies gradually pile up. Nora is a cop newly transferred to the ill-funded police department; she's supposed to be a full detective but budget constraints keep her a beat cop who attends the chief detective's cases, a spate of murdered men with missing tongues. She sees "haints", phantoms of dead or living but traumatized victims of her previous cases, all women and girls.
Personally, I found Nora's POV dull, even her narrator's performance uninspiring. Sophie's was where the writer's talent was on full display through vivid imagery, well-crafted metaphor, and no small amount of description clearly informed by research or scientific knowledge of bugs and decay. It's during Sophie's POV I found a chilling passage about slicing fruit for cocktail garnishes, striking in its visceral wording.
Most of the meat of this book goes to the murders and social commentary provided by Sophie, which is where the weaknesses appear. Neither main character is very fleshed out, pardon the phrasing, hehe. Nora and Sophie don't have dimension beyond Nora's guilt and Sophie's animosity towards men. Nothing much is on-page beyond the main plot besides Nora being tormented by haints or Sophie cultivating some dangerous plants when not on shift. In this sense, Sophie is reduced to a concept, vengeance incarnate rather than a human character, and Nora a "good" if bland archetype to foil her.
But you know what, I didn't feel like holding this up to examine flaws other than the obvious! It was a satisfying, fairly quick listen of some bad guys being brought down, Sophie's experience and jaded views extremely relatable. Four stars.
March 31, 2023
I wanted to quit this at 20%, but persevered. At 30%,again wanting to quit, I came and looked at the reviews. Continued on. I should have listened to my gut.
Sophie's chapters were the ramblings of a crazy person. Makes sense, as she is a serial killer. But they were still hard to follow at times (or, more likely, I was not very interested at times). The book starts with Sophie. I was looking forward to Nora's chapters, assuming she was sane. Nope. She sees and interacts with haints. Also crazy. Also rambles.
Obviously, my feelings about this book do not align with the other reviewers. So it is just a me thing :)
The author's writing style just didn't work for me.
The audiobook is narrated by Sophie Amoss and Xe Sands. Sophie narrates Sophie's chapters. I am not super familiar with her work and I was more annoyed by the rambling crazy to notice her narration. I typically enjoy Xe's work, but again, too annoyed to pay attention.
I received an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.
Sophie's chapters were the ramblings of a crazy person. Makes sense, as she is a serial killer. But they were still hard to follow at times (or, more likely, I was not very interested at times). The book starts with Sophie. I was looking forward to Nora's chapters, assuming she was sane. Nope. She sees and interacts with haints. Also crazy. Also rambles.
Obviously, my feelings about this book do not align with the other reviewers. So it is just a me thing :)
The author's writing style just didn't work for me.
The audiobook is narrated by Sophie Amoss and Xe Sands. Sophie narrates Sophie's chapters. I am not super familiar with her work and I was more annoyed by the rambling crazy to notice her narration. I typically enjoy Xe's work, but again, too annoyed to pay attention.
I received an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 25, 2023
This was a DNF and yet I read it enough to give it a 1 star. Terrible prime characters with disgusting habits of language despite the pretty-pretty lyrical nature descriptions of surround. With an overkill of 10 sentences to describe each nasty feeling or reaction. Void of souls- psychotic to the extent that I wouldn't subject myself to being in this level of mind talk any longer.
I am not a fan of living in the heads of maniac killers or psychotic serial nasties. I haven't been since way before Stephen King's It.
I am not a fan of living in the heads of maniac killers or psychotic serial nasties. I haven't been since way before Stephen King's It.
April 15, 2023
The ending was terrible. 👎
May 29, 2023
I am still not entirely sure what to say about You Know Her by Meagan Jennett, other than this Southern debut novel was a drawn-out affair that I was hoping would end in more of a bang than it did. I love books about serial killers, and Jennett went a very interesting way in this novel with Sophie seemingly trying to wipe out most of the male population in her town. Of course, she's not killing everyone, and she isn't exactly like Joe from You, but she certainly has her own reasons for what she is doing. The story is told both from Sophie's perspective as well as Officer Nora Martin's, so you are not only in the head of a killer but someone trying to solve a murder as well. Most of the book is heavier on Sophie's POV, but as we get towards the end, we got a lot more of Nora's and it felt a bit more like a police procedural at that point.
Jennett's writing is quite vivid and descriptive, and she tends to use ornate language at times which I am not entirely used to and really isn't my preference. I did like how some of the words she used enhanced my experience with the story and brought actual pictures to mind, but it also made some things hard to understand at times as well. I would have preferred more clear and concise language at times instead of the flowery stuff and it gave things an odd tone for me.
I did really enjoy the audiobook for You Know Her and I thought Sophie Amoss as Sophie(!) & Xe Sands as Nora were excellent choices. They both did a wonderful job of embodying their characters and I loved their narration equally. Maybe this is on me, but I was expecting a bit more action and twists from this book and that is probably why it ended up being a bit of a disappointment for me. While it wasn’t my favorite, I would definitely still recommend picking it up if it sounds good to you, and I am a bit in the minority with my thoughts.
I received an advanced listening copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Jennett's writing is quite vivid and descriptive, and she tends to use ornate language at times which I am not entirely used to and really isn't my preference. I did like how some of the words she used enhanced my experience with the story and brought actual pictures to mind, but it also made some things hard to understand at times as well. I would have preferred more clear and concise language at times instead of the flowery stuff and it gave things an odd tone for me.
I did really enjoy the audiobook for You Know Her and I thought Sophie Amoss as Sophie(!) & Xe Sands as Nora were excellent choices. They both did a wonderful job of embodying their characters and I loved their narration equally. Maybe this is on me, but I was expecting a bit more action and twists from this book and that is probably why it ended up being a bit of a disappointment for me. While it wasn’t my favorite, I would definitely still recommend picking it up if it sounds good to you, and I am a bit in the minority with my thoughts.
I received an advanced listening copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
November 15, 2022
You do know her!
The title of this book refers to a cat and mouse game and the fact that the killer and the policewoman chasing her actually come into contact with one another - more than once. The publisher synopsis and the rest of this review shares some key points of the novel - you may want to stop reading and buy the book first!
You Know Her --the title also doubles as a warning - you DO know her. She is every female bartender, waitress, teacher, real estate agent, mother, person running/walking/shopping. The her in this book is a female who has reached the breaking point of her treatment as less and lesser in all facets of society. One day, one small thing is one thing too many. This fast paced thriller contains multitudes of the indignities of what women deal with on a daily basis just trying to survive the day.
Is it any wonder that Sophie broke?
Jennett sweeps you into a whirlwind of a story. I simply could not put it down, and I think I will read it again! If you love a fast paced, intelligent thriller, a heroine(s) that is complicated and flawed this is book for
you! #farrarstraus&Giroux
The title of this book refers to a cat and mouse game and the fact that the killer and the policewoman chasing her actually come into contact with one another - more than once. The publisher synopsis and the rest of this review shares some key points of the novel - you may want to stop reading and buy the book first!
You Know Her --the title also doubles as a warning - you DO know her. She is every female bartender, waitress, teacher, real estate agent, mother, person running/walking/shopping. The her in this book is a female who has reached the breaking point of her treatment as less and lesser in all facets of society. One day, one small thing is one thing too many. This fast paced thriller contains multitudes of the indignities of what women deal with on a daily basis just trying to survive the day.
Is it any wonder that Sophie broke?
Jennett sweeps you into a whirlwind of a story. I simply could not put it down, and I think I will read it again! If you love a fast paced, intelligent thriller, a heroine(s) that is complicated and flawed this is book for
you! #farrarstraus&Giroux
December 10, 2022
The story line of this, female serial killer, is fantastic. I liked the premise and actually liked Nora the best.
What didn’t work for me and I think it was just too many elements that didn’t get fleshed out. Nora seeing dead people, could have been her own book. Random chapter titles that sort of for a minute implied that maybe Sophie was embodying female deity.
Definitely worth reading, just a few things that annoyed my writer brain.
What didn’t work for me and I think it was just too many elements that didn’t get fleshed out. Nora seeing dead people, could have been her own book. Random chapter titles that sort of for a minute implied that maybe Sophie was embodying female deity.
Definitely worth reading, just a few things that annoyed my writer brain.
August 26, 2023
You know when you’re at a social event and you get stuck with some rambling, thinks they are smarter than they really are, jackass that won’t shut up and takes hours in the most excessive, over the top possible way to get to the point? When your mind wonders so far and you totally tune them out desperately looking for an escape or rescue? That’s exactly what this book is. Pages, upon pages, and more pages of overly descriptive, repetitive writing. Metaphors and purple prose galore. You get so lost in the paragraphs and pages of the tiresome descriptions that you have no idea what the story is about anymore. Needs some serious editing and then you might have a 30 page story. Please learn that when you are writing a book you can’t have ten pages of nothing but pointless inner dialogue ad nauseam in between the progression of the story. It’s just beyond boring and frustrating. Oof!
(See what I did there?)
(See what I did there?)
April 9, 2023
I think this book had so much potential but fell short in the end. There were many plot elements that were not fully fleshed out, the suspense did not really build, and I HATED the ending (and for those of you who have read it, I am sure you know what I mean). I did like the idea of a female serial killer being tracked by a female cop, but there were so many unrealistic aspects to the plot development that I was just never really invested in this one.
April 27, 2023
2.5 stars rounded up
Review to follow
Review to follow
October 19, 2023
You Know Her reeled me in with the first paragraph of the description inside the jacket of thr book: A rural Virginia bartender, Sophie Braam, tells the police that a man whose murder is being investigated stole a glass of wine from the bat and then just left. What the police didn't know is that Sophie is the one who killed the man.
The book started off very good as we learned why Sophie killed the man. Initially, it felt like a revenge book justified by the exploitation and victimization of women - A satisfying feminist twist on the serial killer trope.
However, the overwriting and lack of Sophie's character depth soon became tiresome. I almost DNF'd this book twice in the middle. We are given a glimpse of Sophie's past via her recollection that her dad left her at a young age and the cruelty of men over the years, which was awful, but didn't seem enough to justify her hunting men for sport. Her first two murders were due to men trying to hurt her, so they could be understood almost as self-defense. The others, especially the last one felt senseless.
The only reason I stuck with the book was because I loved Nora, Sophie's police officer foil, who was haunted by the "haints" of women whose murders she investigated. Nora's story was told through alternating POV chapters in the book and her background was much better developed - she was more 3-dimensional (and interesting) than Sophie.
I stuggled with whether to give this book 2 or 3 stars and may flip flip over time. This book had so much potential. I wish the author had only written it from Nora's POV - I think Inwould have enjoyed it more. I also had trouble mucking through the over-written allegorical paragraphs that constituted the mid section of the book. The insect metaphors were interesting at first, but vastly overdone.
I was also quite dissatisfied with the abruptness of the ending.
Content Warning: Abuse, Child Abuse, Animal Abuse, Murder, Sexual Harassment, Gore
The book started off very good as we learned why Sophie killed the man. Initially, it felt like a revenge book justified by the exploitation and victimization of women - A satisfying feminist twist on the serial killer trope.
However, the overwriting and lack of Sophie's character depth soon became tiresome. I almost DNF'd this book twice in the middle. We are given a glimpse of Sophie's past via her recollection that her dad left her at a young age and the cruelty of men over the years, which was awful, but didn't seem enough to justify her hunting men for sport. Her first two murders were due to men trying to hurt her, so they could be understood almost as self-defense. The others, especially the last one felt senseless.
The only reason I stuck with the book was because I loved Nora, Sophie's police officer foil, who was haunted by the "haints" of women whose murders she investigated. Nora's story was told through alternating POV chapters in the book and her background was much better developed - she was more 3-dimensional (and interesting) than Sophie.
I stuggled with whether to give this book 2 or 3 stars and may flip flip over time. This book had so much potential. I wish the author had only written it from Nora's POV - I think Inwould have enjoyed it more. I also had trouble mucking through the over-written allegorical paragraphs that constituted the mid section of the book. The insect metaphors were interesting at first, but vastly overdone.
I was also quite dissatisfied with the abruptness of the ending.
Content Warning: Abuse, Child Abuse, Animal Abuse, Murder, Sexual Harassment, Gore
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2023
4.5 stars for Meagan Jennett's debut novel!
Sophie, a bartender who is sick of putting up with harassment from men, kills Mark Dixon, a regular at the bar who wouldn’t take no for an answer. She becomes a serial killer who only kills men—keeping a trophy from each kill. Nora, a new officer in town, is sick of men who look at her as a diversity hire and put her down because she’s not part of the boys’ club. She’s convinced there’s a serial killer plaguing their town. However, unbeknownst to her, the person she’s looking for is the bartender she befriended. Will she realize it’s her friend?
This is Meagan Jennett’s debut novel. The POV is first person for Sophie and third person for Nora. I loved Jennett’s writing style, which contained a lot of literary devices with vivid descriptions. Some of the killings were described in such gruesome detail that it was honestly quite graphic—much more graphic and disturbing than I typically read, but I enjoyed it. It was very fast paced. The ending left me wanting more and I wish it continued.
Sophie and Nora have different reactions to the saying “boys will be boys.” Nora bottles up her frustrations while Sophie snaps and kills men out of rage for being mistreated and having to watch other women be mistreated. I love the title, You Know Her, because you do. As a woman, you know her because she is you. She’s every woman who has dealt with the patriarchy and men who think they can do whatever they want and get away with it. You can empathize with both of these women because you’ve had to bottle up your frustrations, and maybe at some point you’ve snapped (although probably not to the point of murder).
Meagan Jennett is definitely an author to watch! This book releases on April 4 so add it to your TBR or pre-order now!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Sophie, a bartender who is sick of putting up with harassment from men, kills Mark Dixon, a regular at the bar who wouldn’t take no for an answer. She becomes a serial killer who only kills men—keeping a trophy from each kill. Nora, a new officer in town, is sick of men who look at her as a diversity hire and put her down because she’s not part of the boys’ club. She’s convinced there’s a serial killer plaguing their town. However, unbeknownst to her, the person she’s looking for is the bartender she befriended. Will she realize it’s her friend?
This is Meagan Jennett’s debut novel. The POV is first person for Sophie and third person for Nora. I loved Jennett’s writing style, which contained a lot of literary devices with vivid descriptions. Some of the killings were described in such gruesome detail that it was honestly quite graphic—much more graphic and disturbing than I typically read, but I enjoyed it. It was very fast paced. The ending left me wanting more and I wish it continued.
Sophie and Nora have different reactions to the saying “boys will be boys.” Nora bottles up her frustrations while Sophie snaps and kills men out of rage for being mistreated and having to watch other women be mistreated. I love the title, You Know Her, because you do. As a woman, you know her because she is you. She’s every woman who has dealt with the patriarchy and men who think they can do whatever they want and get away with it. You can empathize with both of these women because you’ve had to bottle up your frustrations, and maybe at some point you’ve snapped (although probably not to the point of murder).
Meagan Jennett is definitely an author to watch! This book releases on April 4 so add it to your TBR or pre-order now!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
March 14, 2023
2.5 stars
Does this description - a _Killing Eve_ and _Sharp Objects_ mashup - grip you? Do you love it when women characters are kicking butts and taking names? Me too. That's why I'm really surprised and bummed about my overall feelings about this novel.
Sophie and Nora are at the center of this thriller. Sophie is a bartender, and readers spend a lot of time in her, well, unusual mind. Nora is a local officer who is facing exactly the kind of charming welcome folks might expect from her (male) coworkers. This is billed as a cat and mouse situation between the two of them, but there's such limited interaction between them, and for me WAY too little character development of Nora, that it's tough to get too invested in either.
Sophie is laser focused on the idea that men are predators, and while she has many good examples, she seems to be able to think of almost nothing else. So much of this novel is her thinking about gross things men have said or done to her and to other women, and her actions are driven by these obsessive thoughts. For me, this obsession had two negative outcomes: (1) This book felt shockingly repetitive to me and (2) her thoughts are traumatizing. Reading about rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment is not high on my list of favorite activities, but I can tolerate it. The amount of that kind of recounting here verged on intolerable for me. Readers who are also sensitive to this content should know that it comes up frequently.
This is a great concept, but the execution just did not work for me. I'll be back for more from this author with the hope that the ideas and format gel for me in future efforts.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this alc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Does this description - a _Killing Eve_ and _Sharp Objects_ mashup - grip you? Do you love it when women characters are kicking butts and taking names? Me too. That's why I'm really surprised and bummed about my overall feelings about this novel.
Sophie and Nora are at the center of this thriller. Sophie is a bartender, and readers spend a lot of time in her, well, unusual mind. Nora is a local officer who is facing exactly the kind of charming welcome folks might expect from her (male) coworkers. This is billed as a cat and mouse situation between the two of them, but there's such limited interaction between them, and for me WAY too little character development of Nora, that it's tough to get too invested in either.
Sophie is laser focused on the idea that men are predators, and while she has many good examples, she seems to be able to think of almost nothing else. So much of this novel is her thinking about gross things men have said or done to her and to other women, and her actions are driven by these obsessive thoughts. For me, this obsession had two negative outcomes: (1) This book felt shockingly repetitive to me and (2) her thoughts are traumatizing. Reading about rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment is not high on my list of favorite activities, but I can tolerate it. The amount of that kind of recounting here verged on intolerable for me. Readers who are also sensitive to this content should know that it comes up frequently.
This is a great concept, but the execution just did not work for me. I'll be back for more from this author with the hope that the ideas and format gel for me in future efforts.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this alc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
July 12, 2023
Soooo this book is basically female rage but to an extreme. Sophie is firmly convinced that all men are god awful and seemingly becomes hell bent on eradicating all men in her area. She justifies her actions with the assertion that men only exist to hurt women.
This is reinforced by (basically all) men actually being not great throughout the story to Sophie. While some believe this is a very profound analysis of society, I think simply repeating this narrative is not enough to push a plot forward. Sure, men being horrible throughout Sophie’s life could have worked, but I think her psyche should have been explored more deeply as this would have made her irrationality more believable. It just seemed kinda like Sophie hates men so Sophie kills men and that’s the end of it—there was no complexity to her actions.
There is a lot of rumination in both Sophie and Nora. Contrary to other reviewers, I liked this as it put readers in the mind of each of the character’s insanity (I low-key believe both of them are just out of their minds).
What I hate is that HOW and WHY Sophie believes what she does is not even touched. They are inferable, but I don’t like having to infer why someone lost their mind. The snapping also could’ve been seen more as it just kind of happened.
While Sophie had no complexity behind her character, as mentioned before, her jaded views represent feminine rage to an extreme. I saw a review that mentioned the idea of knowing “her”, with her being any woman in society who is on the verge of snapping.
I liked the idea of it, but the characters felt one-dimensional. That’s it.
April 10, 2023
I really connected with the themes of this novel. I think most women will be able to relate to Sophie in some degree or another. The way she’s been treated by men and how she’s expected to put up with their actions hit close to home. Why do women always have to accommodate men and their feelings? Well Sophie finally does something about it and reclaims her power. She is born anew. Of course being a serial killer isn’t exactly the healthiest way to deal with problematic men. Nora, our other main character also faces her share of issues being a woman of color in a male dominated field.
While I connected to our main characters and the themes of this novel, I felt that there wasn’t enough plot to fill this 368 page book. It was slow and it’s certainly not a thriller as it’s being marketed. I would classify it as more of a literary suspense novel. I wanted more of a cat and mouse dynamic between Sophie and Nora which I didn’t get. Overall, it’s still worth the read but I think it would have been better suited as a novella.
While I connected to our main characters and the themes of this novel, I felt that there wasn’t enough plot to fill this 368 page book. It was slow and it’s certainly not a thriller as it’s being marketed. I would classify it as more of a literary suspense novel. I wanted more of a cat and mouse dynamic between Sophie and Nora which I didn’t get. Overall, it’s still worth the read but I think it would have been better suited as a novella.
April 30, 2023
Sophie Braam is a bartender in the town’s local watering hole. Sophie is also a killer…a serial killer. This isn’t a spoiler because it is very clearly stated from the beginning. The question in this book is, will Sophie get caught? Then enters Officer Nora Martin, one of the only women in the police department. Nora is good at her job but unfortunately has landed in the town of the good ole boys club, where your gender takes you further than your skill set. As bodies start to rack up around town Nora has a deep suspicion Sophie could be the one targeting these men. However, no one believes a woman could commit these crimes.
I loved that the lead was a female serial killer. The author did a great job displaying the internal dialogue of Sophie’s thoughts and what propelled her to commit these acts. This book does not hold back on details of the murders. If you are in the market for a dark, disturbing, rage filled read this is definitely the book for you.
I loved that the lead was a female serial killer. The author did a great job displaying the internal dialogue of Sophie’s thoughts and what propelled her to commit these acts. This book does not hold back on details of the murders. If you are in the market for a dark, disturbing, rage filled read this is definitely the book for you.
April 3, 2023
You Know Her by Meagan Jennett shows what can happen when someone is pushed too far.
"All Sophie wanted to do was clean up her bar and enjoy a glass of wine. She made the mistake of letting Mark Dixon inside. He took something that was hers with no remorse. And when he tries to force himself on Sophie 'It's just a kiss, Sophie' she strikes back and kills him. Soon other men start disappearing - because Sophie is not taking it anymore.
Officer Nora Martin is new to the police force. She's trying to learn all she can from Murph while putting up with vicious hazing from the male officers. She feels strongly that a woman is behind the missing men. No one will believe her - Because who would ever believe a bartender could be a serial killer?"
All of the men in this book are pigs. There is not a single likable male character in the entire book. Sophie gets pushed and pushed - and we hear all of those voices that are disparaging to women. Nora hears them too. And Jennett paints a bleak picture for equality in society.
This is one of the best audiobook performances you will hear this year. Sophie Amoss and Xe Sands are both phenomenal. The anger and emotion from both characters is great, especially when Sophie is dealing with Mark Dixon.
A lot is going on in Sophie's head and she is able to rationalize what she's doing to the very end. Never order a drink called "Men's Tears" (because Sophie adds a macabre ingredient)
There's an open, unexpected ending. I only hope that Jennett has a couple of good guys in her life.
Wild story from Meagan Jennett.
Thanks to Macmillan audio for the ALC
"All Sophie wanted to do was clean up her bar and enjoy a glass of wine. She made the mistake of letting Mark Dixon inside. He took something that was hers with no remorse. And when he tries to force himself on Sophie 'It's just a kiss, Sophie' she strikes back and kills him. Soon other men start disappearing - because Sophie is not taking it anymore.
Officer Nora Martin is new to the police force. She's trying to learn all she can from Murph while putting up with vicious hazing from the male officers. She feels strongly that a woman is behind the missing men. No one will believe her - Because who would ever believe a bartender could be a serial killer?"
All of the men in this book are pigs. There is not a single likable male character in the entire book. Sophie gets pushed and pushed - and we hear all of those voices that are disparaging to women. Nora hears them too. And Jennett paints a bleak picture for equality in society.
This is one of the best audiobook performances you will hear this year. Sophie Amoss and Xe Sands are both phenomenal. The anger and emotion from both characters is great, especially when Sophie is dealing with Mark Dixon.
A lot is going on in Sophie's head and she is able to rationalize what she's doing to the very end. Never order a drink called "Men's Tears" (because Sophie adds a macabre ingredient)
There's an open, unexpected ending. I only hope that Jennett has a couple of good guys in her life.
Wild story from Meagan Jennett.
Thanks to Macmillan audio for the ALC
February 3, 2023
When I get super excited, I sing . Not well, but I sing . The best part ? It’s random and I make up my own words . These are my sudden bursts of self proclaimed creative talent .
Well, I’m singing .
I like big books and I can not lie
You other sisters can’t deny
When a book is before me with a big ole spine
I get sprung …
See? Zero talent . I’ll stick to my day job .
Anyway , I’m singing bc I just finished another incredible book, my instajail sentence is over and well it’s Friday? I love Fridays just not as much as I love mashed potatoes.
Ok, the book
Drumroll please …….
You Know Her by Meagan Jennett .
Oh, you haven’t heard of her yet ? Well now you have and I promise you, you are going to want to get to know her because this book is destined for success .
These characters come alive and jump right off the page . You feel as though you are watching this story take place right before your eyes . There is no shortage of twists and turns ! This book is oozing with suspense
Do you know the feeling when you hold your breath and your chest gets tighter and tighter ? That is the best way to describe how I felt while reading You Know Her.
If you want to know what I’m talking about I strongly suggest you pre-order yourself a copy . In the meantime, here is a teaser :
Two hours before he vanished, Mark Dixon stole a glass of wine. That's what bartender Sophie Braam told the cops when they questioned her about the customer whose mutilated body was just found. What she didn’t tell them is that she’s the one who killed him.
Officer Nora Martin is new to the Bellair Police Department and trying very hard to learn the ropes from Detective Murphy while ignoring all the men in the department snapping about a diversity hire. When she meets Sophie, they build an uneasy camaraderie over shared frustrations.
As winter slides into spring and bodies start piling up, Nora begins to suspect that something’s not quite right with the unnerving, enigmatic bartender. But will she be able to convince Murph, or will he keep laughing off the idea that the serial killer haunting their little town is a woman?
Well, I’m singing .
I like big books and I can not lie
You other sisters can’t deny
When a book is before me with a big ole spine
I get sprung …
See? Zero talent . I’ll stick to my day job .
Anyway , I’m singing bc I just finished another incredible book, my instajail sentence is over and well it’s Friday? I love Fridays just not as much as I love mashed potatoes.
Ok, the book
Drumroll please …….
You Know Her by Meagan Jennett .
Oh, you haven’t heard of her yet ? Well now you have and I promise you, you are going to want to get to know her because this book is destined for success .
These characters come alive and jump right off the page . You feel as though you are watching this story take place right before your eyes . There is no shortage of twists and turns ! This book is oozing with suspense
Do you know the feeling when you hold your breath and your chest gets tighter and tighter ? That is the best way to describe how I felt while reading You Know Her.
If you want to know what I’m talking about I strongly suggest you pre-order yourself a copy . In the meantime, here is a teaser :
Two hours before he vanished, Mark Dixon stole a glass of wine. That's what bartender Sophie Braam told the cops when they questioned her about the customer whose mutilated body was just found. What she didn’t tell them is that she’s the one who killed him.
Officer Nora Martin is new to the Bellair Police Department and trying very hard to learn the ropes from Detective Murphy while ignoring all the men in the department snapping about a diversity hire. When she meets Sophie, they build an uneasy camaraderie over shared frustrations.
As winter slides into spring and bodies start piling up, Nora begins to suspect that something’s not quite right with the unnerving, enigmatic bartender. But will she be able to convince Murph, or will he keep laughing off the idea that the serial killer haunting their little town is a woman?
August 30, 2023
In short: interesting story that I wanted to see played out, but the writing was way too flowery and the story never deeply developed.
In long:
It was hard to follow what was happening sometimes because of everything being written in metaphor, or the story of the moment just being told poorly. It sort of felt like the author knew what was going on, and forgot that the reader needs all that information too.
I would count the number of times I read about "thousands of bodies/feet/teeth" being somewhere under someone's skin, but I don't think I can count that high. It very quickly became a tired metaphor.
There were some very powerful passages conveying the difficulty of being a woman in today's patriarchy, but as time went on they got spun into becoming the kind of remarks that made me roll my eyes. Not sure if that was intentional or not.
Are we supposed to like the protagonist? I found her very pretentious and couldn't tell if we were meant to be cheering for or against her. God, she was so pretentious about working at a restaurant and knowing about anatomy and living in Virginia.
The story picked up in the second half and I kept reading on for the exciting ending, which all wrapped up in about 5 pages at the end with no excitement, explanation, or twist. What a letdown!
The promised "cat and mouse" dynamic isn't there at all, instead just being "serial killer does her thing" and "cop gets no leads on any case" for most of the book.
In long:
It was hard to follow what was happening sometimes because of everything being written in metaphor, or the story of the moment just being told poorly. It sort of felt like the author knew what was going on, and forgot that the reader needs all that information too.
I would count the number of times I read about "thousands of bodies/feet/teeth" being somewhere under someone's skin, but I don't think I can count that high. It very quickly became a tired metaphor.
There were some very powerful passages conveying the difficulty of being a woman in today's patriarchy, but as time went on they got spun into becoming the kind of remarks that made me roll my eyes. Not sure if that was intentional or not.
Are we supposed to like the protagonist? I found her very pretentious and couldn't tell if we were meant to be cheering for or against her. God, she was so pretentious about working at a restaurant and knowing about anatomy and living in Virginia.
The story picked up in the second half and I kept reading on for the exciting ending, which all wrapped up in about 5 pages at the end with no excitement, explanation, or twist. What a letdown!
The promised "cat and mouse" dynamic isn't there at all, instead just being "serial killer does her thing" and "cop gets no leads on any case" for most of the book.
May 13, 2023
2.5 ⭐️
When it takes me two weeks to read a 350 page book, I know we’ve got a problem. Honestly, I wanted this book to be over from very early on. I don’t know if the last 1/4 of the book was actually better or if I was just glad it was coming to a close, but things did start to improve for me toward the end.
I really liked the concept of the book, but I just did not like how the whole story came together. It was extremely descriptive and I was skipping paragraphs of fluff every few pages. It’s also a little more creepy than most thrillers as there is talk of seeing ghosts and the descriptions of the murders are pretty explicit and grotesque.
For a book that dragged on, the ending was rushed and wasn’t as buttoned up as I prefer.
When it takes me two weeks to read a 350 page book, I know we’ve got a problem. Honestly, I wanted this book to be over from very early on. I don’t know if the last 1/4 of the book was actually better or if I was just glad it was coming to a close, but things did start to improve for me toward the end.
I really liked the concept of the book, but I just did not like how the whole story came together. It was extremely descriptive and I was skipping paragraphs of fluff every few pages. It’s also a little more creepy than most thrillers as there is talk of seeing ghosts and the descriptions of the murders are pretty explicit and grotesque.
For a book that dragged on, the ending was rushed and wasn’t as buttoned up as I prefer.
March 30, 2023
As a long time former service industry worker I was intrigued by the idea of a female bartender being a serial killer. A lot of the stories Sophie lamented about touchy-feely customers, badly behaved regulars, and even inter-restaurant staff dynamics felt spot on. Then it lost me. The writing is overly descriptive. The characters do not feel fully developed. Sophie went from a woman wronged to a random man killing machine, (because they are all evil obviously) describing every minute detail in metaphors and adjective laced diatribes. Overall, this one wasn't for me. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ALC.
July 23, 2023
I would like to thank netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, MCD for the ARC Of You Know Her by
Meagan Jennett
This just wasn't my style, of writing but others might enjoy it. It has very descriptive prose and descriptive internal dialogue. More literary than I like and I was distracted .by the titles on the chapters.I found the plot lines we’re not tied up. It was my first novel I read from Meagan Jennett
Meagan Jennett
This just wasn't my style, of writing but others might enjoy it. It has very descriptive prose and descriptive internal dialogue. More literary than I like and I was distracted .by the titles on the chapters.I found the plot lines we’re not tied up. It was my first novel I read from Meagan Jennett
April 11, 2023
Oh I really liked this book. It is not my typical fare because this is a character study/cat and mouse game and not a mystery. However this book is the equivalent of a woman’s scream of rage against misogyny and society’s treatment of her and I couldn’t get enough of it. It is a slow burn with a lot of descriptive prose and an obsession with insects so be warned before you start.
The story follows Sophie, a bartender, and Nora, a cop. Both of them are in jobs that have them up against the patriarchy and soon Sophie is at her absolute wits end with how she is being treated. She decides to take things into her own hands and start murdering the men who bother her. Nora who is frustrated as well, starts seeing the bodies of men pile up and starts to suspect a female serial killer but no one is willing to consider the idea. The two women circle each other with respect and fear but will Nora get the evidence she needs? And if she does, will she actually go forward with it?
Like I said, this is a very different kind of book and it was refreshing for me. You have to be in a certain mood to really enjoy it (mostly just mad at all the men in your life) but it is a fulfilling read albeit a bit more drawn out than strictly needed.
The story follows Sophie, a bartender, and Nora, a cop. Both of them are in jobs that have them up against the patriarchy and soon Sophie is at her absolute wits end with how she is being treated. She decides to take things into her own hands and start murdering the men who bother her. Nora who is frustrated as well, starts seeing the bodies of men pile up and starts to suspect a female serial killer but no one is willing to consider the idea. The two women circle each other with respect and fear but will Nora get the evidence she needs? And if she does, will she actually go forward with it?
Like I said, this is a very different kind of book and it was refreshing for me. You have to be in a certain mood to really enjoy it (mostly just mad at all the men in your life) but it is a fulfilling read albeit a bit more drawn out than strictly needed.
July 14, 2024
3/5⭐️ I was under the impression that this was a mystery, and upon reading it was not that at all. More of a commentary of gender discrimination and stereotypes that go along with gender. In summary... men are simple minded, they just want women and will do anything to get them (yes anything) and women are detailed, their thoughts and experiences are infinitely more complex than those of a man. The book shows that spectacularly in which how the 2 main woman charecters speak and have an internal dialogue while the men.... not so much, it gives off Neanderthal vibes. Overall it was good. Not the best but I appreciate the comparison of man and woman. But other than that, there wasn't really anything of interest.
December 30, 2024
I had high hopes for this book. The opening hooked me and the first murder was intriguing. Then things got very very boring. The best parts of the book were when the two female characters interacted with each other but there were only a handful of times that happened. The monologues were hard to follow with all the drawn out analogies that went on for pages. And the last murder seemed really random and out of the usual M.O. It seemed the author was trying to get a big shocker in there but it didn’t really work.
I was expecting more detailed and nuanced detective work but it never happened. Also was expecting more dimension to the two main female characters, which wasn’t the case. No character development at all and overall very repetitive.
The small town weather and the bar settings were common locations in the story but overall were quite boring to picture. Book is mostly inner monologue, vaguely described murders in a way that is hard to follow, and then it abruptly ends with absolutely no detective work.
Took me months to read this because I kept wanting to give up.
I was expecting more detailed and nuanced detective work but it never happened. Also was expecting more dimension to the two main female characters, which wasn’t the case. No character development at all and overall very repetitive.
The small town weather and the bar settings were common locations in the story but overall were quite boring to picture. Book is mostly inner monologue, vaguely described murders in a way that is hard to follow, and then it abruptly ends with absolutely no detective work.
Took me months to read this because I kept wanting to give up.
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