Heartbreaking, beautifully written and meticulously researched memoir.

Absorbing, haunting and beautiful. I hope that Ms. Perry finds the peace that she deserves.

A heartbreaking, devastatingly honest account of the murder of Perry's mother, of Perry's survival as an adolescent in the aftermath. Through compelling writing and her insightful reflective voice, she tells not only her mother's story and her own, but a story of how our culture treats women, especially working class women, poor women, and single mothers. This is an important, deeply moving, andd powerful book.

Perry's account of her mother's murder and its long aftermath is a gripping, heart-wrenching read. Many details of the murder made this story a sensational news item, from the youth and beauty of the victim, to the fact that 12-year old Sarah was in her room only feet away during the crime. Perry is aware of every cultural fault line of class and gender that made her mother's case one that people loved to talk about and then easily dismiss. Her account is so meticulous and careful, even when the details are closest to home, her integrity is almost fearsome. The memoir covers her mother's case, some family history, and then her own story moving forward. She determined early on that she would not become a statistic herself, doomed to failure, but "succeed" in every measure she could. In writing this book, Perry's real goal was to try to bring back the living, breathing mother she couldn't save that night, and in that, it succeeds as far as a book can.

3.5 stars but I rounded up. This was definitely an intriguing story and well written for a memoir. Many of the descriptions (some of them quite graphic) were beautifully described with metaphors that were on point. We get to hear it all. The life before the murder, her mother's backstory (even before she was born), the murder itself, and the consequences Perry lived with for witnessing such a horrific thing.

So so so so so so great.

Wow, this book. It's heartbreaking without being sentimental, horrific without being gratuitous, sparsely written while still being completely absorbing. It's about the murder of Crystal Perry in 1994, while her daughter, Sarah Perry is hiding in her bedroom, aged 12. Perry draws a vivid portrait of her mother and her life, as well as the difficulties Perry herself faced after the murder, when being passed from one family member to another. This is definitely going to be one of my top books of the year. Highly recommended.

This is a brutal but necessary read. The amount of work and research that Perry put into recreating her mother’s life and her own traumatic childhood is astounding, and should be applauded. She makes every person come to life, especially her beautiful but troubled mother. Perry details the realities of grief, it’s shifting facets, and the wide-ranging it has on individuals, communities, and families. Those looking for a more straightforward true crime account will likely not find what they’re looking for here, but will find a well told account of the aftermath of trauma and the long road to justice. It’s a long read (my only qualm — while Perry is an excellent writer, the structure did not have me tearing through this. But it is certainly a read that merits being savored slowly.) I would recommend this for those who enjoyed The Fact of a Body.

TW: abuse, physical and sexual violence

The detailed and profound effect her mother's murder had on her is hard to read. But the family dynamics and relationship expectations provide context to this complex story that involved so many people.