Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead

September 1, 2023

Nine years ago, Charlie Colbert fled a bloody scene at her elite journalism school on Christmas Eve, more culpable than she's willing to admit. She's since built a career as editor in chief of a major magazine but then learns that a film is being made that promises to reveal the truth about the event. Now she'll protect herself at any cost. With a 200,000-copy first printing; Hollander is director of content strategy at Marie Claire. Prepub Alert.

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December 11, 2023
Hollander treads familiar ground with her so-so debut thriller about the discovery of dark secrets pertaining to a campus tragedy. Nine years ago, a mysterious event dubbed “Scarlet Christmas” by the press left six journalism graduate students in New York City “in serious or critical condition.” Three died at the hospital, including Cate Anderson, whose twin, Stephanie, was the first to discover the victims. In the present day, Stephanie, now a popular TV news anchor, plans to make a feature film about the tragedy timed to its 10-year anniversary. The announcement of her plans alarms narrator Charlotte Colbert, a Manhattan magazine editor who was present for the violence but doesn’t remember exactly what happened. All she knows is that she was not a victim on that fatal night, and that she’s fearful of what renewed focus on the case might turn up. Hollander doles out details about the central incident gradually, misdirecting even savvy readers as the truth about Scarlet Christmas comes to light. Unfortunately, the characterizations are thin and the reveals don’t land with the force they’re meant to. There’s not enough here to set this apart from the pack.

February 1, 2024
Thirty-two-year-old Brit Charlotte ""Charlie"" Colbert seems to have it all. She's the editor in chief at the Sunday supplement of a prestigious newspaper and resides in a stunning townhouse in New York with her gorgeous, wealthy fianc�. But Charlie is still haunted by the tragic multiple stabbing she survived at her prestigious journalism school nine years ago. Several of her classmates weren't so fortunate. Charlie has repressed her memories of the night, and she's horrified when she learns that a former classmate turned high-powered journalist is planning to produce a movie based on the murders. Charlie will go to any lengths to stop it, especially once her memories start to come back in therapy, leading her to fear she might bear some serious responsibility for the bloodshed. Though Hollander's debut at times stretches credibility in terms of Charlie's complete ignorance of the aftermath of the tragedy, it's an undeniable page-turner, and readers will be eager to find out both what happened the night of the attack and just how far Charlie will go to hide her possible complicity.

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