This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
After the unexpected death of her beloved father, college student, Jane Sharp is left reeling. His death was so sudden, and she’s completely unmoored by it.
In search of distraction, she ends up becoming obsessed with True Crime, and finding a new home in underground forums where armchair detectives investigate real life cases.
She finds a particular group of people who show her the ropes, and who before long she considers true friends. After making a name for themselves with a case in Florida, they’ve become top tier of their like within the online space.
When news hits of the gruesome deaths of three college girls in Delphine, Idaho, the whole world is captivated, and online sleuths from all around scramble to gain access to the details of the investigation.
Jane and her online friends are determined to beat everyone else to the scoop, and end up traveling to Idaho where they can have a real boots on the ground investigation.
This story unfolds mainly in a kind of confessional format. It’s set a year after the events that ultimately went down in Idaho, and has Jane breaking her silence and exposing the true story of what happened after their crew ended up there.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Leslie Howard, and highly recommend that format. It felt like a true confessional, and really helped to bring the story to life for me. I’m not sure if I would have been as hooked into it if I had just read a physical copy.
I’ll be honest, I put off reading this for so long because I’d heard some negative buzz that it was exploitative of the Idaho College Murders case. After reading the novel, I do see why some people may assume that’s the case, or even feel that after reading it, but I have to respectfully disagree.
In my opinion, this really isn’t about the murders at all. It’s actually a fascinating exploration of the True Crime subculture and the phenomenon of armchair detectives. A topic worthy of discussion.
I think perhaps the author may have said she was inspired by the case, but I think when we say ‘inspired’ it’s more in the spirit of exploring the absolute public firestorm that came from those crimes, the whys and ramifications of the media coverage, and of the public interest.
I liked the way the author dove into this subculture of armchair detectives. I felt like each of the characters in Jane’s group had their own reasons and motivations for being there. I felt like she really tried to show all sides of the community, both good and bad.
At the end of the day, I ended up enjoying this so much. I feel the topics explored are important, particularly those surrounding the True Crime community and the phenomenon of armchair detectives. The goods, the bads, and the uglies. The details of the case mirroring the Idaho case so closely, I can see why that makes people uncomfortable, but I still feel like it’s well done.
It really opens up a lot of great issues for discussion, and maybe that uncomfortability is part of the point. I feel like this would make an incredible book club book because you are sure to have opposing opinions, both on the book itself and the subjects explored.
Thank you to the publisher, Tantor Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is the first I’ve read from Ashley Winstead, but I’m definitely interested in picking up more!