Book Review: The Collective by Alison Gaylin
GOODREADS SUMMARY:
Just how far will a grieving mother go to right a tragic wrong?
Camille Gardner is a grieving—and angry—mother who, five years after her daughter’s death, is still obsessed with the privileged young man she believes to be responsible.
When her rash actions attract the attention of a secret group of women—the collective— Camille is drawn into a dark web where these mothers share their wildly different stories of loss as well as their desire for justice in a world where privilege denies accountability and perpetrators emerge unscathed. Fueled by mutual rage, these women orchestrate their own brand of justice through precise, anonymous, complexly plotted and perfectly executed revenge killings, with individual members completing a specific and integral task in each plan.
As Camille struggles to comprehend whether this is a role-playing exercise or terrifying reality, she must decide if these women are truly avenging angels or monsters. Becoming more deeply enmeshed in the group, Camille learns truths about the collective—and about herself—that she may not be able to survive.
Camille Gardner is a grieving—and angry—mother who, five years after her daughter’s death, is still obsessed with the privileged young man she believes to be responsible.
When her rash actions attract the attention of a secret group of women—the collective— Camille is drawn into a dark web where these mothers share their wildly different stories of loss as well as their desire for justice in a world where privilege denies accountability and perpetrators emerge unscathed. Fueled by mutual rage, these women orchestrate their own brand of justice through precise, anonymous, complexly plotted and perfectly executed revenge killings, with individual members completing a specific and integral task in each plan.
As Camille struggles to comprehend whether this is a role-playing exercise or terrifying reality, she must decide if these women are truly avenging angels or monsters. Becoming more deeply enmeshed in the group, Camille learns truths about the collective—and about herself—that she may not be able to survive.
TEE'S THOUGHTS:
KARMA IS A BITCH...
I feel like that is the perfect way to describe The Collective by Alison Gaylin.
Camille lost her daughter five years ago, but her killer Harris Blanchard, the all-American golden boy never faced the consequences of the murder. He continued to live his perfect, privileged life while Emily's was cut short.
Camille makes a scene at a ceremony where Harris is receiving an award and afterward is approached by a mysterious woman who hands her a card. After a bit of digging online, Camille gets involved in The Collective, a group of women who have all lost children to people who have gone unpunished. She soon finds out that the women are our for justice and take the punishment of these criminals into their own hands.
The Collective is a great thriller, a classic tale of revenge, however, I felt the addition of grieving mothers added a new fresh twist on the entire theme.
There is a lot of morally gray areas in this book. There are areas where you will question if the person who was killed was a deserving person, but also you, if you are a mother, will narrowly understand vigilante justice.
Gaylin wrote a great story, there will be times, especially towards the end, that you will get a heavy feeling of dread in your stomach as you turn the pages. It does start out a bit slow, building the story, but stay with it, the second half hits hard and fast, I found myself staying up way past my bedtime, turning the pages to get to the finish to finally see how the story would wrap up. There are plenty of twists in the book that will thrill any thriller reader and keep you guessing...and the ending...it was not expected at all!
The Collective by Alison Gaylin would make a great holiday gift for any thriller lover.
I agree, I think the grieving mothers would give this book a bit of something extra. Fabulous reivew!
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