Marianne's Reviews > Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is the first novel by British editor and author, Jenny Hollander. Thirty-two-year-old London -born Charlotte Colbert loves living in New York City, loves her job as editor-in-chief of the Chronicle’s Sunday supplement, C, and is engaged, soon-to-be-married, to publishing heir, William Goodman West III, aka Tripp. She has good staff, and regular contact with her family and her best friend in England.

She also has regular sessions with her therapist, Dr Noor Nazari because, nine years earlier, as a student at the feted School of Journalism at Carroll University, she survived what the media soon dubbed Scarlet Christmas. Three students died, others were injured, and Charlie has only an incomplete memory of what happened. And as long as certain triggering topics are avoided, Charlie stays on an even keel.

But then KBC anchor, Stephanie Anderson reveals plans to make a movie about the ordeal her twin sister Cate faced during Scarlet Christmas, and Charlie fears that the lies she told about what happened will be exposed. Maybe she needs to remember what really happened?

As the story progresses, it becomes apparent that Charlie isn’t the only one who lied, that she is an unreliable narrator, and that the author is withholding significant facts to keep the reader guessing. This does cause the story to drag a little as intrigue morphs into frustration. It is cleverly plotted, there are several twists, some more predictable than others and, for a journalism student/editor, the protagonist (or is it the author?) does have a disappointing deficit in the command of personal pronouns. Nonetheless, an impressive debut.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK.