True Crime - Georgina Lees

 True Crime - Georgina Lees

Pub. Date:   Jan. 30, 2024

She   read

Ten years ago, young student/journalist Katy went missing.  The case was never solved and her mother, Grace, has had to live with subsequent pain and anger.  Now, a true crime documentarian wants to delve into the mystery and interview all the suspects from that time, including the boyfriend she split with, the sleazy professor, and the colleague who appeared to be stalking her.  As they go down the rabbit hole of  investigation, will new clues surface and what will be the human cost of the show? 

It’s been a while since I stayed up late into the night and early morning to finish a book, but this one did it for me.  Well written, engrossing, and quite realistic, the story grabbed me and would not let me go.  As the  twisted story unfolded, I kept wondering where it would go.  At first, the solution seemed a bit questionable to me, but the more I thought about it, the greater the plausibility.

The narrative is told from Grace’s POV interspersed with Katy’s accounting of her last day before she went missing, and a summary of what is revealed in the episodes of the documentary. There are some important topics broached here including the true crime phenomena and the exploitation of victims and those surrounding them as stories are documented.  It is, as the book points out, a painful fact that being white, pretty, and from better socioeconomic status helps for one’s story being covered and it doesn’t hurt to be  blond.  The constant vulnerability of women in society is another critical theme explored here. 

I’m glad I found this book…well worth the read for mystery/thriller fans. 

Thanks to #netgalley and #harpercollinsUK #onemorechapter for the ARC.

*****