They say my father killed himself. I don’t think so. He was my best friend. He was my rock. He would never take his own life. No. Somebody killed him. I’m sure of it. I just have to prove it. If I don’t, we can’t collect on his life insurance. We’re already in too much debt. Without that money, we’ll lose everything. He would never do that to us. I just know it, and I’ll prove it, too, even if I … would never do that to us. I just know it, and I’ll prove it, too, even if I lose everything in the process.
If you like amateur sleuths and coming of age stories, this book is for you.
Get it now.
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A school project blog that solves a father’s murder.
(Note: I’m an ARC reader, and this is my honest, no-punches-pulled review.) Please note that I am giving this a 4.5 stars!
Warning: I would not read this if:
(1) You’ve recently had a death in the family – someone you really loved.
(2) You are depressed as hell and are contemplating suicide.
(3) You are having serious angst issues because school is hell and should be A-bombed.
(4) You are in serious financial crisis and are about to become homeless.
Not kidding. There is something in this writing that bypasses your usual protective mechanisms and can really hurt you. That’s the amazing yet dangerous power of the author’s manner of writing. I haven’t seen something like this in years!
This book is written via blog entries, a year-long school project worth 50% of your grade. And you want to go to Harvard. Then your dad dies, and the police says it’s suicide because your mom refused a proper autopsy. So the police says your father offed himself, and that’s that. That also means that any life insurance is dead as a door nail, too.
The entire story centers around the combined online blogs of two very close friends whose friendship is sorely tested, and the fallout is dreadful. (Can you say GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION? Do they REALLY do that in high schools? Damn! Glad I graduated in 1980!)
Length: Long novella.
Character development: Because everything is written in the first person, made sure that you look at the titles to know who’s talking – Delilah or Alex – or you will be VERY confused, so don’t do what I did initially! You are always in their heads, and I am amazed on the vernacular used because even though most are words I’ve never said or heard, I did get the picture. Very good and consistent character development using a very interesting mode to do so. Kudos!
Emotional factor: OMG… very emotionally charged. (See warning at the top.) I knew this wasn’t the right time to read this one, but I knew I better drudge through it all because it deserved a read for a review, and it was worth it! The payoff was great! And the angst! This is for REAL high school angst from someone who had to know it firsthand.
Speed of action: As in most online diaries, you need to pay attention to the entry dates. Speed of action was pretty swift without feeling rushed.
Predictability: No predictability at all. That was so refreshing.
Credibility issues: I know Delilah is smart and very determined to get to the bottom of her father’s murder (rather than the ruled suicide), but I wonder if she really could understand how to read and comprehend immense banking statement entries. As for Alex, could she really have broken into Delilah’s father’s former business?
Grammar and technical errors: After I got around the vernacular stuff, I can tell this author had an editor (or is very, very good himself as a perfectionist!) No arguments here!
This was an amazing book and definitely worth the read. Just make sure you abide by the warning above, and I know you will enjoy it.
Russel Nohelty wrote a delightful mystery. The book started out with the closeness of father and daughter. Then with a bullet it shatter their lives. Delilah Clark and Alex Dewitt are the two main characters, of My Father Didn’t Kill Himself , assignments in one of their classes was to write what they went through for the entire year in a journal. The two friends used on-line journaling or blogs. You have the entire story being told through blogs.
The blogs let you into the thinking process of the Delilah and Alex. The blogs allow the reader to see the transfer of Delilah from prepping to Goth and her inner struggles with suicide. I relate with Delilah in the Gothic stage of the book because of my mental illness, bipolar. I have seen the wrong end of mental wards and institutions.
Delilah struggled with proving her Dad innocence, not committing suicide. She and Alexis struggled with their daily lives, as it comes out their blogs, I was hooked. It was a train wreck, and I couldn’t stop reading or watching.
Nohelty wrote a book with characters, who made me care what happened to them. The characters drove me through the book. It’s a must read. I recommend it.
BRING THE TISSUE YOU’RE GOING TO NEED IT!!!
I wasn’t sure what I thought I would find when I agreed to read this with all the emotions that would bombard a person in this situation. Its a well written, easy to follow, heartbreaking, gut wretching tears that you would share with character. Your faced with a lot of challenges, clue hunting, little pieces coming together to keep you captivated and held till the last word was read. You can’t help but fall in love with the characters as their personalities transform into real people. Russell really did an amazing job making the scenes so realistic you felt everything they did. Great job with getting into the nitty gritty with the right results.