True Story by Kate Reed Petty

Viking, 2020

ISBN-13 : 978-1984877680

Available:  Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

Alice Lovett is a strong, damaged character who survives by way of the life of a ghostwriter. It’s a thankless job, yet one she seems to relish. Living out the fantasies, triumphs, and tragedies of others might keep her sane.

It might help keep her own demons at bay.

True Story alternates between formats: narrative, screenplay, journal, and others: as the reader can discern, it might be a welcome defense mechanism against the horror that occurred one fateful evening when Alice was a teenager. The inventiveness of the novel, including the horror movie scripts where Alice displays her inner turmoil in a safe manner, makes it an entertaining read, as the forms come flying at the reader in a dizzying speed, yet each one fits perfectly into place in this puzzle of a story.

During a party in 1999 when the high school team celebrated their championship victory, Nick Brothers encountered Alice. Did something terrible happen?

Nick denies it. Alice can’t remember anything from the evening. However, the demons plague her. Nick and Alice both unravel over the course of the next sixteen years. With Nick devolving into alcoholism, and Alice struggling to trust anyone, life is bound to collide in disastrous ways.

While not a horror novel, True Story is an effective psychological thriller that mixes in other genres well and carries a strong message.

This one deserves all the accolades.  Recommended.

Reviewed by David Simms

Editor’s note: True Story is a nominee on the final ballot for this year’s Bram Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in a First Novel.