Only She Came Back is a riveting YA thriller that takes some murky twists and turns. The oppressive heat of its setting bears down, turning up the dial on our characters until they crack.
This is a book that deals so well with its atmosphere and setting. The desert feels like its own character, particularly as it is so central to the mystery. You know there are lies and secrets hidden out there that only the barren landscape and a few people truly know. The extremity of it really feeds into the tension as well. The book is so immersed in survivalist style philosophy and that drive to live no matter what is a fascinating ethical dilemma at its heart. Harrison weaves in this exploration of abusive relationships and manipulation, which feels sensitively portrayed and nuanced. It is all in that murkiness and ambiguity. This is precisely where the truth is hidden, but also where the easiest point of manipulation is. You have to ponder through and almost construct your own truth for much of the novel. Of course, all is eventually revealed but you are still left with a sense of unease and an ever present lack of trust. Even at the final page, I feel like the truth is still somewhat in your hands.
The characterisation is such a strength of this story. Everyone is flawed and Harrison almost revels in those flaws to create their three-dimensional natures over the course of the book. Sam is chasing fame and enjoying living out her true crime obsessions, while Kiri is kept at arm’s length. She always feels slightly unknowable, even when you are seeing her perspective. If she is at arm’s length, Callum is miles away though. He is one you have to keep an eye on through these flashback narratives. You are constantly being asked to question everything around you. Almost all of our narrative voices are unreliable in some shape or form or have hidden agendas influencing their presentation of events.
Also, Harrison keeps this book at boiling point throughout. The pressure is palpable and you can feel it weighing down on everything. It feels like it is just on the verge of cracking. There is a consummate feeling of the oncoming storm, coming in to destroy everything but also reveal the truth in its brutality. Harrison conveys this brilliantly through stark prose that captures so much in just a few lines. However, even this is duplicitous. Behind that starkness is a glib sensationalisation that hides the dark and bloody truth.
Contrasting this is the artificial sort of truth of these survivalist social media excerpts. These are harsh and cruel, revealing a lot about the relationship between Kiri and Callum. They boast of being tough to survive but the reality is grimy and uncomfortable to read at times. Harrison imbues this with an exploration of the artificial reality of society today. Even Sam’s initial connection to Kiri is one forged from a desire to become someone notable. Her characterisation allows for an interrogation of the ethics of true crime narratives—particularly how they can often turn real people into cartoonish, exaggerated stereotypes and tropes. The armchair detective allure of these cases minimises the real life consequences and humanity within the cases in favour of theories and speculation. I thought Harrison depicted this in a great way that allowed for a lot of discussion and development over the course of the story. The reader themselves become complicit in it, as after all, you too want to know the truth of what happened that night in the desert.
Only She Came Back lives constantly on the precipice and sizzles with secrets. Count me thoroughly intrigued by Margot Harrison.
Only She Came Back is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
Will you be picking up Only She Came Back? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
A chilling contemporary thriller about an unlikely friendship between a true-crime fan and a former high school classmate suspected of murdering her boyfriend, perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Courtney Summers.
On July 28 at 6:30 p.m., Kiri Dunmore walks out of the desert wearing her boyfriend’s sweatshirt, covered in his blood. Dazed and on the verge of unconsciousness, she tells a cashier that he’s still out there and most likely dead. The disappearance of Callum Massey, a “survival guru” with hundreds of thousands of YouTube followers, rocks the nation. And Kiri is a prime suspect.
Back in Kiri’s hometown, true-crime fanatic Sam is completely hooked on the case—especially now that she recognizes the suspect as shy Katie from high school. Although they didn’t know each other well, that doesn’t stop Sam from reaching out to befriend her old classmate.
But when Kiri starts to confide in her, Sam realizes there’s more to the story than she had imagined. Can she keep Kiri’s secrets even though revealing them could put her where she’s always longed to be—at the center of the story?
