Bingo Square: Review
I saw Malin’s review of this a few weeks ago and picked it up because I enjoy a good mystery novel.
Lucy left her home town Texas five years ago and hasn’t been back since, settling in LA. Her best friend Savvy (Savannah) was murdered back then, and everyone suspected Lucy. Hell, even Lucy occasionally suspects Lucy but she doesn’t remember that night. She isn’t exactly living the most fulfilling life but she is surviving except now she’s about to have to face her past because 1) she and Savvy are the topic of the 2nd season of a popular true crime podcast, completely removing her anonymity in LA and 2) her grandmother, the only person that seems to have never doubted her innocence, wants to throw an 80th birthday party and she wants Lucy there.
The novel intersperses transcripts of the podcast with Lucy’s first person narrative. Lucy and Savvy were genuinely best friends and Lucy doesn’t want to think she would have killed her best friend but she also doubts herself. In addition to the mystery, the novel gets into small town living, and the grievances and secrets as the podcast brings everyone’s secrets to light.
The novel itself was tight paced and kept me interested, I also wasn’t sure where it was going to go, and Lucy was a sharp witted and funny narrator, even when she made some decisions that seemed a bit self destructive – but those are kind of the norm for this genre.