Thank you Harper Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Kill Show in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Harper
Published: October 3, 2023
Summary:
When sixteen-year-old Sara Parcell goes missing, it’s an utter tragedy—and an entertaining national obsession—in this thoughtful and addictively readable novel that offers a fresh and provocative take on whodunits and true crime.
Sara Parcell disappeared without a trace on a crisp April morning in Frederick, Maryland. Her tragic story was a national obsession and the centerpiece of a controversial television docu-series that followed her disappearance in real time–but is it possible that everyone missed the biggest secret of all? Ten years after these events, the people who knew Sara best are finally ready to talk.
In this genre-bending novel, Daniel Sweren-Becker fashions an oral history around the seemingly familiar crime of a teenage girl gone missing–yet Kill Show, filled with diabolical twists and provocative social commentary, is no standard mystery. Through “interviews” with family members, neighbors, law enforcement, television executives, and a host of other compelling characters, Sweren-Becker constructs a riveting tale about one family’s tragedy—and Hollywood’s insatiable desire to exploit it.
By revealing the seedy underbelly of the true crime entertainment machine, Kill Show probes literary territory beyond the bounds of the standard whodunit. It’s a thoughtful exploration into our obsession with the mysteries, cold cases, and violent tales we turn to for comfort. Groundbreaking, fast-moving, and informed, this is a novel about who’s really responsible for the tragedies we love to consume.
My thoughts:
As soon as I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it…and I absolutely loved it. It’s one of the most unique, thought-provoking books I’ve read in some time.
While this book is fiction – it’s a true crime fictional novel that takes a hard look at our society’s obsession with all things true crime. It’s really quite brilliant in the way it is executed and I had to remind myself that this is not a real case. I loved how it was written – completely in interview format of the people who were involved in the case of the missing girl, ten years after the fact. This involves the family, friends, neighbors, the local law inforcement who worked the case as well as the people on from the television show, both ground level people and executives as well as others.
This was such a chilling, harrowing tale of how easy it is to be consumed by these cases, and how quickly it can all get out of hand. As I mentioned, I had to repeatedly remind myself that this was fiction, not a real case, but still I found myself completely consumed by what I was reading, totally captivated by what was happening. There were some unbelievable twists and turns that managed to catch me completely off guard and I loved that. I thought I had my finger on the pulse as to where things were heading but I was definitely not expecting the turns this one took.
If you like true crime, I highly recommend this one, even though it is fiction. It is so readable, so addicting you will fly through it like I did!
