With Malice

by LiterallyLenny - 7:56 PM

What's it about?

"Eighteen-year-old Jill Charron wakes up in a hospital room, leg in a cast, stitches in her face and a big blank canvas where the last six weeks should be. She discovers she was involved in a fatal car accident while on a school trip in Italy. A trip she doesn’t even remember taking. She was jetted home by her affluent father in order to receive quality care. Care that includes a lawyer. And a press team. Because maybe the accident…wasn’t an accident.

As the accident makes national headlines, Jill finds herself at the center of a murder investigation. It doesn’t help that the media is portraying her as a sociopath who killed her bubbly best friend, Simone, in a jealous rage. With the evidence mounting against her, there’s only one thing Jill knows for sure: She would never hurt Simone. But what really happened? Questioning who she can trust and what she’s capable of, Jill desperately tries to piece together the events of the past six weeks before she loses her thin hold on her once-perfect life." - Goodreads Synopsis

My Thoughts (No Spoilers):

I can't really make up my mind about this book. I really loved certain parts of it, but then seriously hated other parts. It had an extreme case of unreliable narrator, making the story even more mysterious. But then again, there were times where the main character just really bothered me, because in addition to being an unreliable narrator, she was incredibly clueless. I think what bothered me the most was that she did not once second guess the character of her best friend. She worshiped Simone and that was that. It was just all very close-minded and in the end I don't think she grew as a character at all.

The plot was fantastic. I've heard people say that it is a spin off of the Casey Anthony trial, which is very clear to see once you get into the story. This being said, it was all quite predictable but the whole case had you second guessing the entire time! It left me on the edge of my seat to find out what really did happen.

The ending...was awful. Yes, it was not a surprise ending, but it was in no way a satisfying ending. It really bothered me how Jill handled everything once her memories started to return. Almost like she was thinking "Oops. Too late now! Oh well..." and that REALLY irked me! For me, the book just ended...there was no closure and no end result for anyone.

I listened to this on Audible and for the last 10 minutes of the audiobook, my mom was listening as well. After about 5 minutes my mom chirped up and said "I have no idea how you've listened to this girl for so long. After 5 minutes I cannot even stand to listen to her whine and complain." Yup. That pretty much sums that up, Mom!

Overall, I would probably only recommend this to people who were looking for a quick summer mystery. Nothing more. It was a good book, but I probably wouldn't read it again.

I gave With Malice 3 shiny stars.