Book Synopsis:
Do you know what happened already? Did you know her? Did you see it on the internet? Did you listen to a podcast? Did the hosts make jokes?
Did you see the pictures of the body?
Did you look for them?
It’s been nearly a decade since the horrifying murder of sixteen-year-old Joan Wilson rocked Crow-on-Sea, and the events of that terrible night are now being published for the first time.
That story is Penance, a dizzying feat of masterful storytelling, where Eliza Clark manoeuvres us through accounts from the inhabitants of this small seaside town. Placing us in the capable hands of journalist Alec Z. Carelli, Clark allows him to construct what he claims is the ‘definitive account’ of the murder – and what led up to it. Built on hours of interviews with witnesses and family members, painstaking historical research, and most notably, correspondence with the killers themselves, the result is a riveting snapshot of lives rocked by tragedy, and a town left in turmoil.
The only question is: how much of it is true?
My Review:
Penance is an incredibly gripping, dark and gritty book that is unlike anything I’ve read before.
Firstly I thought this book was very well written as although it’s actually a fiction book, it’s written as if it’s a true crime book which makes the story seem very real. I often tried googling things from the book to find out more about it and only remembered that it was fake when a search brought up no matching results.
The story is told in sections, each part focussing on a different character and their side of the story. None of the characters are very likeable but as the story goes on and you find out more about their backgrounds I did start to feel a degree of sympathy for them. I went between being disgusted by their behaviour to wanting to try and help them at times. I think the characters do help highlight some of the problems teenagers may face and how little help they often get. It’s made me very nervous for my kids becoming teenagers.
The setting of this book is an interesting one and the author describes some of the town’s history alongside the murder investigation. It’s a town that has seen its fair share of ups and downs, including some very tragic events which helps build the atmosphere in the story as the reader is made to feel that anything can happen in this town.
Overall I thought this was a fantastic book that I’d definitely recommend to others. The book opens at the end, detailing the gruesome murders and quickly throws the children right into the story. I found it a very gripping read and there always seemed to be something happening to ensure I kept reading. The book is very dark, with vivid descriptions of the victim’s injuries which might not be to everyone’s tastes. The ending was interesting and although I was initially disappointed with how it ended, I’ve slowly grown to find it very clever as it has made me question everything I read.
Huge thanks to Tandem Collective for letting me take part in this read-along and for my copy of this book. I highly recommend it to all fans of crime fiction or thrillers. It would also make a great book club read as there would be lots to discuss but please check trigger warnings before reading.
About The Author:
Eliza Clark has relocated from her native Newcastle back to London, where she previously attended Chelsea College of Art. In 2018, she received a grant from New Writing North’s ‘Young Writers’ Talent Fund’. Her debut novel, Boy Parts, was released by Influx Press in July 2020, and it has since been Blackwell’s Fiction Book of the Year. In 2022, Eliza was chosen as a finalist for the Women’s Prize Futures Award for writers under thirty-five, and she was selected as one of Granta‘s Best of Young British Novelists in 2023.
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