Melanie THEE Reader's Reviews > The Murder After the Night Before

** spoiler alert ** "The bad stuff will keep coming, Molly, no matter what you do. But the good stuff, the moments that take your breath away, the moments when you can’t see anything bad because you’re so dazzled by happiness, those moments you’ve got to work for."

Plot Summary: When Molly Monroe wakes up with a killer headache and no memory of the night before, she understandably freaks out a bit. The handsome (clothed) man in her bedroom can only tell her that A. They did NOT have sex and B. When he found her, she seemed very upset about something. Once she leaves her apartment, she finds out that she's now the star of a viral video that was taken the night before. The folks on the internet behave....exactly as you would expect. Just when you think her day can't get any worse, she returns home to find her roommate and best friend Posey, dead in her bathtub. The police rule it an accidental death, but Molly knows better, especially since Posey was investigating the disappearance of a teenage girl named Lulu Lawrence. Especially since she was being threatened to drop her investigation.....

TW: sa, murder, slut shaming, cyberbullying, attempted drugging, attempted murder, death threats, death of a parent (flashbacks) anxiety and depression, gaslighting, grief

What I liked about the book:
1. Great cover, beautiful cover. But seriously, this cover is what made me want to buy the book 😂 I was a huge fan of Katy Brent's previous novel: How To Kill Men and Get Away With It. So, when I saw that she had written another book, that it was 99 cents on Kindle and that it had THIS cover? I had to buy it.

2. Brent does such a good job of depicting how women are treated in society as a whole, but especially how women are treated online. Every woman with a social media account knows what I'm talking about it. CAN I GET AN AMEN? When Molly's video goes viral the comments she receives are horrific, and sadly realistic. It doesn't matter that Molly was too intoxicated to consent to anything. The internet doesn't care that she was straight up sexually assaulted: that won't stop the demons on twitter from victim-blaming! She's the "character of the day" and the internet does what it does best: kicks her while she's down and calls her a slut. Once the news of Posey's death reaches the public, the ridiculous conspiracy theories are added on to all the slut shaming. Molly is now accused of being *insert every derogatory term created about women* AND a murderer! How deliciously relevant *glares at the internet* YES, I'VE SEEN ALL THE UNHINGED CONSPIRACY THEORIES ABOUT THE PRINCESS OF WALES, I HOPE Y'ALL FEEL LIKE SH*T NOW, EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO OUTSIDE AND TOUCH GRASS. *Clears throat* Ok back to the book....

3. I also love that Molly wasn't a "perfect victim." Women shouldn't have to be perfect angel babies for the public to care about them when someone hurts them. Period. Molly is dealing with a lot, and she's doesn't handle her struggles in the heathiest way. She's still grieving the death of her mother (she died when she was 17), she wants to be a serious journalist, but at 32, she feels stuck writing at a teen magazine, so she drinks to escape from it all. Molly felt real. Even when she was annoying the hell out of me, she felt like a flawed, complicated, 3-dimensional human being. More of this please. Additionally, Posey isn't the perfect victim either, Molly finds out that Posey had made some disastrous choices in her romantic life. But guess what: she didn't deserve what happened to her and she still deserves justice.

What I didn't love about this book:

1. I know law enforcement can be incompetent, but Posey has bruises on her body and they're like "Welp. Looks like she had too much to drink and accidentally drowned" DETECTIVE OLIVIA BENSON WOULD BE ASHAMED.

2. Most of the men in this book were straight up cartoon villains. There's Patrick, the awful married nextdoor neighbour who Posey was having an affair with, there's Jesse, the awful married but separated landlord who Posey had a one-night stand with, then there's Posey's boss, Oliver, who was initially her friend but gaslights her when she wants to further investigate Lulu's disappearance. The only "good guy" in the book is Jack/Josh and even he's keeping secrets. I pretty much guessed who murdered Posey at around 50 percent of the book. I was actually disappointed that I was right 😭 I think Brent could've done something really cool- subverted expectations and whatnot- and had the "good guy" be the murderer. That's actually more realistic, women aren't just afraid of the straight up monsters in society, the "good guys," the "nice guys" can be equally terrifying. But oh well *deep sigh*

3. Molly's chaotic "investigation." I acknowledge that she was grieving but MY GOODNESS THIS GIRL WAS MAKING SO MANY WRONG CHOICES. I would describe the vibes of her investigation as "PARKOUR." Accusing folks of being murderers left and right, but letting those same men into her home when she alone was just.....wow. Immediately trusting Josh/Jack when he was a complete stranger (I get that he was one of a few people being nice to her BUT STILL) When her boss Robyn offered to go with her to question a potential suspect and she was like "NAH, I'LL JUST GO ON MY OWN." MA'AM. Also, she didn't back up any of Posey's files, there was no saving on thumb drives, no emailing information to herself. NOTHING. There was no plan, no strategy, just vibes and the Virgo in me was SCREAMING.

Despite the book's flaws, I could not put it down. I appreciate how Brent handles dark subject matters with respect and sensitivity. I had a hunger to know if there would be any kind of resolution at the end and that last chapter was heartbreaking and CHILLING.

I know I usually only do songs for couples, but Molly Monroe's song is When the Party's Over by Billie Eilish. I listened to it immediately after I read the book, and it was perfect.