Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This book is co-written by two authors, Tess Gerritsen and Gary Braver, which is a nom de plume for an English professor at Northeastern University, Gary Goshgarian. As this story takes place at that university and is about a murdered female English major who had an inappropriate relationship with her professor… there is something very creepy about having an English professor from that university as a co-author. At least to me. I found the book itself an interesting read, aside from this creep factor. The authors chose to lead with the young woman’s death and work backward, from the perspectives of the student, the professor, and the detective investigating her death. The authors did a good job having the student’s thesis mirroring the theme of the book, with echoes of the #MeToo movement thrown in for good measure. I didn’t particularly like Taryn (the student), yet the authors are skilled enough to make her empathetic despite this. Chapters ended on mini-cliffhangers, propelling the story forward. But, given the subject matter, location, and the profession of one of the co-authors, I couldn’t quite get past the “ick” factor. I received an ARC of this book, but that did not affect my review.