You Know Her- A Novel by Meagan Jennett
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Web ID: 168498223 reviews
One to remember
An unforgettable story that will continue to resonate with me. I dare any woman to not relate to the phrases we’ve all heard and been expected to accept. The narrative is unsettling, uncomfortable, murder is after all unpleasant. The dialog is beguiling with almost poetic descriptions, gut punchingly brutal, visceral, thought provoking. Sophie is a bartender at a little town in Virginia and on New Year’s she becomes a murderess. She’s so calm it unnerved me. The plot includes Nora, a police officer, new to the town, trying to solve the case. She’s so much more though, a woman in a male dominated field trying to prove herself. Yes, it’s a crime mystery but, look deeper and you’ll find women still attempting to be equal and respected. Was Sophie justified? Each reader will reach different conclusions. I hope it makes you think about what women deal with every day. I won’t forget. Sincerest thanks to NetGalley for providing the digital advance reader copy of “You Know Her” by Meagan Jennett, published by MCD. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
You Know Her
I’m probably going to struggle with this review, much like I did for most of this story. The book summary is pretty vague and just basically introduces the MC’s and the primary storyline: investigating a bunch of murders in a small, rural VA town. From the get-go we know the murderer is a local bartender named Sophie. Another major reveal very early in the story is that both Sophie and Nora, a local detective, are both straight up cray cray. It comes as no surprise (at least to me) that they are drawn to each other. Sophie is a homicidal, man-hating, psychotic, maniac who it appears was abused by men all her life and now lives to end them. Nora, who constantly sees dead people, is a biracial woman who grew up around racist relatives and now, as a cop, is viewed as a diversity hire by her racist and misogynistic coworkers. Yep, she sees dead people, all over the place, especially her home. Yep, straight-up wackos the pair of them are. The author spends waaayyy too much time in their heads. So much so, that the dialog these MC’s have with themselves (or in their heads) was ridiculous and got really annoying and boring really quick. I also didn’t enjoy the authors writing style either, the way that she constantly used analogies and metaphors to describe feelings, emotions, memories, and scenes while telling the story. Good grief!!! Not everything needs to be explained or compared and intelligent readers don’t need a parable for a character’s every thought or behavior. The authors writing style actually dragged out the story longer than it ever had to be. I suppose some readers like that kind of writing and storytelling, and I imagine some writers are more interested in writing some kind of literary masterpiece than just writing a great story. It was around the 20% mark that I got sooo tired of this story and wanted to DNF the book. However, I was well into the second half before closing the book and setting it aside and started reading another book. I needed a break from this story if I was ever going to finish it. After picking the book back up, a few days later, the end came pretty quickly (thank goodness!!!). Based on a twist late in the story, the horrible ending wasn’t a surprise. I don’t like giving bad reviews. Seriously, I don’t!!! I would rather just DNF a book and keep my opinions to myself than give a 1star rating. Just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean that others won’t enjoy it. I’m pretty particular about what I like and don’t like about a story and its characters. However, since this was a free eARC, I felt compelled to honor my commitment to finish the book and provide an honest review. So, here we are, with my crappy review of a book I did not enjoy and wanted to DNF. I want to thank NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, MCD for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Southern Gothic investigative thriller
You Know Her by Meagan Jennett is a highly recommended Southern Gothic investigative thriller. After a long New Year's Eve night at Blue Bell Bar in Bellair, Virginia, bartender Sophie Braam is trying to close up and go home when Mark Dixon demands to be let back in to use the bathroom and asks for a ride home. An ongoing thorn in her side, Dixon is a friend of the owner and often demands free drinks. This night he stole a glass of wine from a bottle that Sophie had been saving for herself, but she finally had enough when he tried to force himself on her while she was driving him home. Sophie killed him. When his body is found a few days later, Officer Nora Martin, who is new to the force, is part of the team looking for the killer. During the investigation, Sophie and Nora become friends, bonding over their shared frustrations at the treatment they have both endured from men even while the body count rises. Sophie is a fully realized character who is a sociopath heading down the road to insanity, which is clear during her murderous rampages. She shares her first-person thoughts in chapters which alternate with chapters from Nora's point-of-view. Nora is also a well developed character who has her own struggles with being a woman with the police department, but she is an intelligent, sane woman dealing with these issues. You Know Her is an excellent well-written debut novel that merges an investigative procedural with a disturbing, vengeful Southern Gothic thriller. Anyone who has ever worked with the public will sympathize with Sophie when she is rightfully ranting about the comments male customers make or the jabs Nora is putting up with. Most people tolerate it, as Nora does, but will relate on some level to Sophie's rage. The murderous actions are over the top at times, which some readers might find too disturbing. Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of MCD via NetGalley.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com