With the release of This Book Will Bury Me, Ashley Winstead continues to entertain her legion of fans with her brand of crime fiction—novels that take familiar tropes and twist them just enough to make them feel fresh and unexpected. Winstead consistently manages to push the boundaries of genre expectations in a way that honors tradition while also stamping the work with ingenuity.
This Book Will Bury Me takes an unvarnished look at “true crime” obsession with an immersive, impassioned plot, fascinating characters, and a devastating, yet cathartic conclusion. With every turn of the page, readers can feel the heart beating just below the surface—both the character’s and their own.
When Janeway Sharp’s beloved father dies suddenly, she finds herself floundering, unable to process the shock to her system. Looking to find connection anywhere she can find it, Jane logs on to some “armchair detective” message boards populated by people hoping to help authorities solve unsolved crimes. It is there that she meets a group of friends who easily welcome her into their “club.”
After finding some notoriety for helping to solve a crime, this newly formed band of online investigators hear of a major new crime that is about to become the entire nation’s obsession. Three female college students are murdered in their sorority house in Delphine, Idaho and the police are unable to find even one shred of evidence pointing to a culprit.
Winstead uses the first half of This Book Will Bury Me to expose readers to the workings of online True Crime communities. Readers are privy to the online postings among the group as well as their offline chats. It’s only after more murders occur that this group of friends decides to meet in person and travel to the location of the crime—thereby allowing for more in-person interviews and exploration.
Jane Sharp is the POV character for the entire novel, which gives readers unique insight into her personality and motives. Emotionally damaged by the loss of her father, readers get the sense that helping others is a means toward healing for Jane. There is important discussion throughout the novel about the types of people who are drawn to True Crime and Armchair Detection, which any fans of crime fiction will find both fascinating and enlightening. Certainly, Ashley Winstead is committed to highlighting both the positive and negative sides of “citizen crime solvers.” The multiple cases that form the plot of This Book Will Bury Me gives opportunities to expose many of the flaws that can occur, as well as showing how a fresh set of eyes (even untrained ones) can sometimes lead to breakthroughs.
This Book Will Bury Me is written in a style that feels very much like a personal confession. Jane Sharp talks directly to the reader and often makes non-sequitur comments that only gain meaning as more is revealed to the reader. Early on there is reference to another author’s non-fiction book about the Delphine Cases and the involvement of Jane’s group of friends—a book that seems to have made them societal pariahs. Besides discovering who committed these horrible murders, it is finding out what secrets that non-fiction work contained that will keep readers turning the pages late into the night. There are some shocks in both the murder’s solution and in the exposed secrets, but maybe it is witnessing how Jane comes to terms with her own father’s death that leaves the most lasting impact for most readers.
True Crime fans will flock to Ashley Winstead’s This Book Will Bury Me for obvious reasons, but this novel that uniquely examines society’s obsession with murder will appeal to all fans of crime fiction. You would most definitely be doing yourself a disservice by missing it.
BUY LINKS: This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead
Disclaimer: A print galley of this title was provided to BOLO Books by the publisher. No promotion was promised and the above is an unbiased review of the novel.
