Little Threats
-
-
3.7 • 22 Ratings
-
-
- $10.99
-
- $10.99
Publisher Description
Both a taut whodunit and a haunting snapshot of the effects of a violent crime, Little Threats tells the story of a woman who served fifteen years in prison for murder...and now it's time to find out if she's guilty.
In the summer of 1993, twin sisters Kennedy and Carter Wynn are embracing the grunge era and testing every limit in their privileged Richmond suburb. But Kennedy's teenage rebellion goes too far when, after a night of partying in the woods, her best friend, Haley, is murdered, and suspicion quickly falls upon Kennedy. She can't remember anything about the night in question, and this, along with the damning testimony from a college boy who both Kennedy and Haley loved, is enough to force Kennedy to enter a guilty plea.
In 2008, Kennedy is released into a world that has moved on without her. Carter has grown distant as she questions Kennedy's innocence, and begins a relationship with someone who could drive the sisters apart forever. The twins' father, Gerry, is eager to protect the family's secrets and fragile bonds. But Kennedy's return brings the tragedy back to the surface, along with a whole new wave of media. When a crime show host comes to town asking questions, believing the murder wasn't as simple as it seemed, murky memories of Haley's death come to light. As new suspects emerge and the suburban woods finally give up their secrets, two families may be destroyed again.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In one night, Kennedy Wynn’s teenage life became a living nightmare. Awakening from a drug-induced blackout, she couldn’t remember anything about the previous evening—when she apparently killed her best friend. Fifteen years later, she’s out from prison with no clue how to be an adult and almost nobody on her side, even her twin sister. Kennedy’s release stirs up interest in her case, along with secrets that many would prefer stay hidden. Author Emily Schultz’s finely honed thriller led us through a nerve-racking maze of dubious memories and questionable intentions. As she explores themes like female friendship and adolescent rebellion, Schultz raises genuinely interesting questions about age and culpability in the criminal justice system. All the while, Kennedy’s dark journey toward the truth takes shocking, Gillian Flynn–level twists and turns. Little Threats is exactly the kind of thriller you want on a cozy night in.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 2008, Kennedy Wynn, the protagonist of this taut psychological thriller from Schultz (The Blondes), is released from prison 15 years after she pleaded guilty to the murder of her best friend, Haley Kimberson, whose body she found in the woods outside Richmond, Va., where the teenage girls were partying the night before. The state's preponderance of evidence against Kennedy persuaded her to confess to the crime, even though she couldn't remember what happened that night. Kennedy's twin sister remains convinced that Kennedy really does remember, the boyfriend Kennedy and Haley once shared taunts her, and a crime show host encourages those closest to Haley to revisit the evidence. Much of Kennedy and Haley's relationship unfolds through the writing exercises Kennedy does while in prison, leaving the impression that of all the people involved in the tragedy, Kennedy has done the most introspection, while those left on the outside remain trapped in old enmities and insecurities. The resolution, though satisfying, relies a bit much on dysfunctional family tropes, but the emotional energy of the story carries the book through. Schultz knows how to keep the reader engrossed.
Customer Reviews
Surprising twist!
I loved the authors use of multiple views from different (and important) characters! Genuinely felt for the main character Kennedy, and loudly exclaimed “WAIT WHAT” probably two or three times!