Vigilante justice is a sliding slope! 

4.5. 

It’s been five years since Camille Gardner’s 15-year-old daughter, Emily, was murdered by college freshman, Harris Blanchard. But, due to a lack of evidence he got off Scot-free. Knowing that he’s out there living a privileged life, without a care in the world, is too much for Camille to stomach, and she’ll do anything to see him rightfully punished. A business card handed to Camille by a stranger sees her logging onto the dark web – where she finds a group of mothers known as The Collective – who have all lost a child to violence. At first, it’s just a forum for Camille to vent her rage – a safe space to share her grief and loss, and fantasies of Harris’ death. Until she receives a private message from a user stating that The Collective could really make it happen – they could kill Harris for her – all Camille has to do is join them. 

The Collective was a fast-paced, anxiety-inducing, cat-and-mouse game of thrilling psychological domestic suspense with twists aplenty. Camille was in a very dark place at the beginning of the novel, utterly consumed with revenge and hatred towards her daughter’s killer. She had been let down by the legal system, and worse still her daughter had been slut-shamed, and Camille was viewed by the general public as crazy and unhinged for her continued harassment of Harris – a young man who had just won a humanitarian award. By the 80%-mark Camille’s life had spiralled so far out of control in ways she never could’ve possibly have foreseen, and those last few chapters had me on the edge of my seat, cumulating in a shocking, ironic, emotional and chilling conclusion. 

Given the heavy plot The Collective contained its fair share of dark, distressing, and bleak material, but I didn’t find anything to be overly graphic, but it was definitely heart-wrenching. It also posed many a moral dilemma and thought-provoking questions surrounding vigilantism and revenge, what is fair and just, and the far-reaching consequences of taking the law into one’s own hands. I’d even go as far as to characterise The Collective as a cautionary tale. 

I recently purchased this in an audible sale and Laurel Lefkow’s narrational style hit all the right emotional notes. With the exception of one chapter, the novel centred on Camille’s first person POV and Laurel completely nailed Camille’s state of mind thoroughout. 

This is my third read by Alison Gaylin, and I’ve rated all her books highly, and have no hesitation in recommending The Collective. I read this over a day, couldn’t put it down, had to know how far Camille and The Collective were willing to go.