A “creepy, satisfying thriller” from the author of You Owe Me a Murder and One Lie Too Many (Entertainment Weekly, “8 Seriously Scary Summer Reads”). For fans of We Were Liars and The Girl on the Train comes a chilling, addictive psychological thriller about a teenage girl who cannot remember the last six weeks of her life. Eighteen-year-old Jill Charron’s senior trip to Italy was supposed to … Eighteen-year-old Jill Charron’s senior trip to Italy was supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime. And then the accident happened. Waking up in a hospital room, her leg in a cast, stitches in her face, and a big blank canvas where the last six weeks should be, Jill comes to discover she was involved in a fatal accident in her travels abroad. She was jetted home by her affluent father in order to receive quality care. Care that includes a lawyer. And a press team. Because maybe the accident . . . wasn’t an accident. Wondering not just what happened but what she did, Jill tries to piece together the events of the past six weeks before she loses her thin hold on her once-perfect life.
“This multimedia project is a perfect thriller to stow in your beach bag.”–Teen Vogue
“Prepare for lots of twists, right up until the very last chapter.”–Seventeen
“[A] page-turning psychological thriller.”–Bustle
For those who like a suspenseful and riveting novel.”–Glitter Guide
“This book will have you turning pages as you try and decide what you believe and who you can trust.”–Parade
“Cinematic scene breaks and propulsive reveals will keep the pages furiously turning in this slow-burning but explosive thriller.”–Booklist (starred review)
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I really enjoyed With Malice, and gobbled it up in a few nights. It’s a psychological thriller about a 18-year-old girl Jill who wakes up in the hospital with no recollection of how she got there. She quickly learns she was in a car accident while on a study abroad program in Italy with her best friend Simone. Simone died in the crash, and Jill is suspect #1 — but she can’t remember anything about the trip at all!
I loved how Jill’s narrative alternated with witness accounts, police interviews, and news reports, so you could gradually piece together the puzzle along with Jill. I also liked how Jill was a likable character, but with flaws, so she seemed relatable and real. And Eileen Cook’s writing was a pleasure to read. You’ll either love or hate the ending, but even if you don’t like it, it’s worth it for the ride! Highly recommend.
If you’re in the mood for a twist-filled psychological thriller, then look no further than With Malice. In Malice you’ll meet Jill Charron as she first wakes from coma with more than a month missing from her memory. A month in which she went to Italy and supposedly killed her best friend, Simone, by driving them both over a cliff. If you like unreliable narrators (Girl on a Train etc.) then you’ll find Jill utterly intriguing as she tries to unpack what happened to her and Simone in Italy. Even as her ‘memories’ begin to return neither Jill nor the reader is certain if they are ‘true’ memories or merely her brain filling in the details of stories she’s heard from others, as her therapist warns may happen.
It should be noted that while With Malice shares some similarities with the Amanda Knox story, it is very much its own unique mystery.
Verdict: A quick whodunit, which will leave you guessing to the very end and beyond.
I am really glad this has been interesting and well written so far. I hate it when there’s a mystery that I HAVE to know the answer to and the book is otherwise awful.
How to piece together the past (an audio review)
I enjoy unreliable narrator stories although they also annoy me. Part of me knows to question everything – and part of me wants to believe the best in the girl/woman. Jill is 18, so she straddles the line. She’s a senior in high school, but is also graduating in a few weeks. When she wakes up in the hospital with no memory of the pas six weeks, she struggles to make sense of her life. Of what happened. Of how she’s going to cope with her new life.
I wanted to like Jill. I certainly understood the desire for perfection, and the need to win at any cost. I try not to be competitive like that, but little moments creep up on me. I also knew Jill wasn’t all she appeared to be. So I tried to hold her at arm’s length.
I didn’t see the ending coming – although maybe I should have. The signs were clearly in the book when I looked upon it retrospectively. I don’t read a lot of YA, so some of the maturity of the characters surprised me – I wasn’t so knowledgeable at eighteen, that’s for sure. More a sign that kids today live in a different world.
I want to mention the narrator, Whitney Dykhouse. I’m not a huge fan of high voices but this Ms. Dykhouse had the perfect voice for the story. I enjoyed this book and will be heading off to listen to more.
Compelling characters weaving a web of intrigue — twists and turns that definitely caught me by surprise! Highly recommended!
I tore through this 2016 psych thriller from Eileen Cook, in which a study abroad trip goes horribly sideways, resulting in one girl’s death & her best friend’s hospitalization w/ multiple injuries…and complete amnesia about the 6 weeks leading up to the fatal collision.
Loved the twisty, turny, always second guessing reality of it. Great read, perfect for the beach!
Right from page one, I was hooked! This was an excellent YA thriller with some twists I wasn’t expecting.
I read this book 2 years ago and the story has stuck with me. It’s a good one!
Cook’s twists and turns will keep you on the edge of your seat as you, along with the protagonist, piece together clues and memories, trying to figure out what really happened, however reluctant you might be to accept the truth.
I thoroughly enjoyed With Malice by Eileen Cook. It’s a meticulously crafted psychological thriller that unfolds slowly, allowing the reader to immerse herself in Jill’s headspace. I was so invested in what Jill was feeling and uncovering that it became one of those novels where it is difficult not to scan down the page to see what’s coming next. Well Done!