Publication Date: February 1, 2024
Something bad happened last night. My best friend Posey is dead. The police think it was a tragic accident. I know she was murdered.
I’ve woken up with the hangover from hell, a stranger in my bed, and I’ve gone viral for the worst reasons.
There’s only one thing stopping me from dying of shame. I need to find a killer.
But after last night, I can’t remember a thing…
From the author of How to Kill Men and Get Away With It, don’t miss this wickedly witty and utterly addictive novel, perfect for fans of Bella Mackie, Dawn O’Porter and Killing Eve.
**This book contains mention of SA. Please skip this review if this may be triggering for you**
Waking up with a massive hangover from her work Christmas party, Molly’s life goes from bad to worst. The whole world has discovered her on social media, but not for the reasons she had hoped. But when her best friend turns up dead, there is much more than meets the eye in The Murder After the Night Before by Katy Brent.
Molly Monroe wakes up the day after Sparkle Magazine’s work Christmas party nursing a massive hangover. She doesn’t remember anything that happened the night before and most definitely doesn’t remember the man she wakes up next to. Trying to slowly put the pieces back together, Molly drags herself into work, only to receive strange looks from everyone she passes. When she arrives at work, the bomb is dropped. A video was shared on Twitter, showing Molly in a compromising position.
Heartbroken and humiliated, Molly returns home, desperate to speak with her best friend, Posey. But what she finds shakes her to her core—Posey has been home the entire time, dead in the bathtub. The police rule it a suicide, but Molly has her doubts. As she investigates Posey’s death, more questions are raised, and danger is closer than she thinks.
This book was a very captivating read. I really enjoyed the characters and appreciated how Brent explored how social media can affect those involved in assaults. Reading the tweets at the beginning of each chapter and how people perceive Molly was very intriguing. The mystery was compelling but did become pretty convenient. It didn’t feel as believable as I believe it could have been.
My biggest pain point with this book is that it is very heavy, and there is nothing warning readers of that. I don’t believe this book is for everyone. It discusses SA and its aftermath throughout, and that can be very difficult for some readers. I believe it is the responsibility of both the author and the publisher to add warnings for readers. For a book that discusses SA and truly brings a lot of power to the victim, it felt like a huge misstep for me.
The Murder After the Night Before is a puzzle that slowly comes together, filled with twists and turns you never see coming.
KATY BRENT is a freelance journalist and has been in the industry for over fifteen years. She started work in women’s magazines back in 2005. In 2006, Katy won a PTA award for New Journalist of the Year. More recently she has focused on television journalism. Writing a book has always been her dream and lockdown finally gave the time she kept using as an excuse for not doing it.
