Publisher: Berkley Books
Published: July 6, 2021
Source: Netgalley via Publisher/GetRedPr
Summary:
When a student disappears and is presumed dead, her professor passes off her manuscript as his own—only to find out it implicates him in an unsolved murder in this new thriller from the USA Today bestselling author of The Request.
After years of struggling to write following the deaths of his wife and son, English professor Connor Nye publishes his first novel, a thriller about the murder of a young woman.
There’s just one problem: Connor didn’t write the book. His missing student did. And then she appears on his doorstep, alive and well, threatening to expose him.
Connor’s problems escalate when the police insist details in the novel implicate him in an unsolved murder from two years ago. Soon Connor discovers the crime is part of a disturbing scandal on campus and faces an impossible dilemma—admit he didn’t write the book and lose his job or keep up the lie and risk everything. When another murder occurs, Connor must clear his name by unraveling the horrifying secrets buried in his student’s manuscript.
This is a suspenseful, provocative novel about the sexual harassment that still runs rampant in academia—and the lengths those in power will go to cover it up.
My thoughts:
I am a huge fan of David Bell and his writing. I find that he writes such addicting, thrilling novels, ones that totally consume me from start to finish and I have a hard time putting down and this latest one is no exception.
One of my favorite settings for books lately has been any type of academia setting, so of course when I saw that this one was at a university, I knew it would be good. Little did I know just how good! The idea of plagiarism of a student’s novel isn’t new, but the way David Bell handles it is all his. And when you add in murder and so many secrets, you have quite the tale that just hooked me immediately.
This story is full of twists and turns. How far will people go to protect their reputation? It’s a fast-paced, suspenseful read that is completely captivating. The short chapters keep you flipping the pages and the mix of characters will have you wondering just what is going on. It shifts back and forth in time to fill in what has happened and will have you guessing where it is all headed as you try to put all the pieces together.
I loved that I never knew who to trust. There is such a great mix of layered characters that we meet – from professors to students to detectives to neighbors and each is developed just enough to feel that we know them. They might not all be likeable but they all serve a purpose. And just about everyone has questionable ethics, which would make it a great book for bookclubs…so much to discuss!
If you like fast-paced, dark, thrilling reads, I highly recommend adding this to your summer reading!
Thank you for a review on a book which sounds very intriguing.
Author
It was really good and a very fast read, too!