Rating: 4 out of 5.

3.5 stars rounded up.

This is a solid debut thriller than held my attention and was a quick and easy read. The book is told in present day and nine years prior while the MC, Charlie, was in an elite journalism graduate school. She was a witness to a terrible incident at her school dubbed “Scarlet Christmas”, and has spent the intervening years rebuilding her life and reputation. Now one of her former schoolmates plans to release a buzzy film about the events and she’s determined to stop it so it doesn’t derail her life again.

This was a fun book, especially if you don’t read a lot of thrillers. I had a hard time warming up to Charlie, but I don’t think you’re supposed to like her much. She’s the epitome of an unreliable narrator and lies to herself to protect her sanity. I know that it’s a common tactic to draw the suspense out, but I would have liked to have known what “Scarlet Christmas” was way before it was finally revealed. I mean, if I don’t know what happened, how can I fall for all of the red herrings the author throws in to throw us off?

I did have fun trying to figure out who did what. The storyline itself was fun and kept me interested. The twists aren’t bad and I even fell for a couple of them. The ending was a bit rushed and a bit underwhelming, but there were a few pleasant surprises I enjoyed. If you want to have fun with a bit of intrigue for the afternoon, definitely pick this one up.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books. All opinions are my own.