book 2/30 

Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

3.5/5 

I read one of Heaberlin’s other novels We Are All the Same in the Dark last year and absolutely LOVED it! Black Eyed Susans was good, but I didn’t love any of the characters like I loved the protagonist in the former. 

Black Eyed Susans is a thriller following Tessa, who was kidnapped and found buried alive with bones and body of other girls who were killed in rural texas as a teenager. The story flashes between present-day Tessa who is trying to get the man convicted off death row and 15/16 year old Tessie who is recounting her harrowing experience to her therapist before the trial. It’s slower to start, but about 65% of the way through it really picks up speed to a crashing finale.