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The Undoing of Violet Claybourne
Emily Critchley
Publication Date: March 4th, 2025
Sourcebooks Landmark
400 Pages
Amazon | Goodreads | Bookshop.org
Genres: Women’s Fiction | Historical Fiction | Mystery
This was a very suspenseful historical fiction book that made me think of the movie Gaslight. The writing style sucked me in right away. The characters are all young adults, and none of them are very likable. Our titular character suffers from OCD as she practices what she calls undoings. She also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and her sisters and best friend use it against her to their advantage.
The story is told from the perspective of Violet’s best friend, Gillian. It is really a tale of the haves and the have-nots and wanting to fit in. The writing was beautiful if you can say such a thing about such a sad story. We get Violet’s background story as well as Gillian’s, and it sets them both on a trajectory neither can ultimately handle. There are lots of dark Academia vibes, and the book is very atmospheric.
The four girls all have faults, and this is what happens when the upper class desperately want to keep their secrets at any cost and the have-nots infiltrate and help them do so. I really enjoyed this story, so much so that I now want to read the author’s first book, One Puzzling Afternoon.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
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