Before We Were Innocent
Reese's Book Club
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3.7 • 389 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Reese’s Book Club Pick December 2023
A summer in Greece for three best friends ends in the unthinkable when only two return home. . . .
Ten years ago, after a sun-soaked summer spent in Greece, best friends Bess and Joni were cleared of having any involvement in their friend Evangeline’s death. But that didn’t stop the media from ripping apart their teenage lives like vultures.
While the girls were never convicted, Joni, ever the opportunist, capitalized on her newfound infamy to become a motivational speaker. Bess, on the other hand, resolved to make her life as small and controlled as possible so she wouldn’t risk losing everything all over again. And it almost worked. . . .
Except now Joni needs a favor, and when she turns up at her old friend's doorstep asking for an alibi, Bess has no choice but to say yes. She still owes her. But as the two friends try desperately to shake off their past, they have to face reality.
Can you ever be an innocent woman when everyone wants you to be guilty?
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Unspoken rivalries and slights turn things toxic between two close friends in this chilling psychological thriller. After their friend Evangeline fell to her death on a graduation trip to Mykonos, teenagers Bess and Joni were officially cleared of any wrongdoing. But the tragedy has shaped both their lives, and when Joni suddenly reappears in Bess’ life 10 years later under fishy circumstances, Bess must reconsider everything she thought she knew. Author Ella Berman makes this complex tale unexpectedly relatable—her detailed observations about the girls Bess and Joni were and the women they’ve become made us think about issues of identity, complicity, and guilt. Before We Were Innocent is a twisty story about the choices people make.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the summer of 2008, friends Evangeline, Bess, and Joni from upscale Calabasas, Calif., go to Greece as a high school graduation present, in this twisty psychological thriller from Berman (The Comeback). At a party on Mykonos, Evangeline has a heated argument with Bess; after walking away, Evangeline takes a fatal fall off a cliff while trying to reach the beach. Bess, who was nearby, becomes a murder suspect, and Joni makes up a story for the police, she says, to protect Bess. The two surviving girls wind up spending six months in a Greek prison before being released. Back in California, Joni turns her tragic experience into a multimillion-dollar self-growth business, while Bess, who believes she was responsible for Evangeline's death, becomes a recluse. In 2018, Joni suddenly shows up at Bess's door. Joni may be implicated in a crime, and she needs Bess to lie and provide an alibi for her. The suspense rises as Berman skillfully doles out long-held secrets that lead to the truth behind what happened 10 years earlier on Mykonos. This tale of how the emotional bonds forged in youth can define people's lives long afterward will resonate with many.
Customer Reviews
Before We Were Innicent
Too easy to figure out from the beginning. And then ended without a final ending.
Slow and disappointing
I have to give the book a one star review. I really felt that the story was slow, and that I was let down by the author. I kept waiting for a twist or a shocker that never came. I did end up finishing the book, but I only read the dialogue of the last 100 pages or so. Overall it was a unsatisfying read.
Hmm
Honestly the ending shook me