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A review by joshuamarsella
True Crime by Samantha Kolesnik
5.0
True Crime is the name of a murder magazine that a girl named Suzy has become fascinated with. It’s also the name of the deeply disturbing and dark book I just finished reading. From the very first chapter, we sense something is terribly off with Suzy. Her home life is riddled with sexual and physical abuse at the hands of her mother. Her older brother, Lim, is her only parental figure that shows her any sort of love.
Throughout the book we follow Suzy in the first person POV and we get to hear her thoughts and emotions as her and Lim take off on a road trip during which several sinister occurrences take place. The lingering question that follows us is how much of Suzy and Lim’s sociopathic behavior is a product of their environment? Or maybe they were born that way? Do they enjoy the awful things they do, or are so they damaged that hurting others is all they can do to feel alive? The POV gives us a front row seat into a complicated human being with a sick mind, but also grants us glimpses of the humanity that lingers deep within the darkness of her psyche.
True Crime is an extremely twisted tale based in a realistic scenario, but is also a study in human nature and how destruction of the soul by a lifetime of abuse can affect the lives of people beyond the victims.
Perhaps this is where the cover art came from. This story would be right at home within the pages of the True Crime magazine that Suzy herself adores, making the whole thing pretty damn meta. That’s where the genius of the author shines bright. I highly recommend this book and will read everything Kolesnik writes!
Throughout the book we follow Suzy in the first person POV and we get to hear her thoughts and emotions as her and Lim take off on a road trip during which several sinister occurrences take place. The lingering question that follows us is how much of Suzy and Lim’s sociopathic behavior is a product of their environment? Or maybe they were born that way? Do they enjoy the awful things they do, or are so they damaged that hurting others is all they can do to feel alive? The POV gives us a front row seat into a complicated human being with a sick mind, but also grants us glimpses of the humanity that lingers deep within the darkness of her psyche.
True Crime is an extremely twisted tale based in a realistic scenario, but is also a study in human nature and how destruction of the soul by a lifetime of abuse can affect the lives of people beyond the victims.
Perhaps this is where the cover art came from. This story would be right at home within the pages of the True Crime magazine that Suzy herself adores, making the whole thing pretty damn meta. That’s where the genius of the author shines bright. I highly recommend this book and will read everything Kolesnik writes!