Jennifer Finney Boylan

When the body of a college friend is discovered twenty years after her disappearance, Judith, the only witness who can testify to the innocence of the chief suspect, is forced to confront dark secrets from her past that compromise the healthy life she has built for her family.

A Novel

Long Black Veil

Ryan Mateyk

POPSUGAR 2020: A book written by a trans or non-binary author

This book was strange. The main plot was honestly really interesting and original. A group of college friends are exploring an old abandoned prison, and one of them goes missing. 35 years later, the missing girl's body turns up in the same prison they explored back in the day and her husband from the time is immediately targeted as the suspect. His best friend, who the friends all presumed had died, and who can prove his innocence is now living as a trans woman, and nobody, not even her husband and son, know of her past. 

If the book was just this premise, I would've rated it higher, despite the awkward dialogue between most of the characters (especially Casey... who talks like that!?). But interspersed throughout, there were lengthy meditations on gender and identity that felt more like the author's personal thoughts, rather than her character's. And the last ~40 pages - absolutely deranged! I don't even know what was happening and it made for a poor ending to an otherwise decent book.

it was fine? i really liked the beginning but it set up an atmosphere that it did not carry through, the ending was rushed, some of the prose was really gorgeous but it didn't make the rushed story better. 

Long Black Veil A Novel

Reviews