by Katy Brent
Publisher: HQ Books, 2024
Publisher’s blurb
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…
Review
by Jacqui Horwood
Katy Brent is a UK author, and The Murder After The Night Before is her second novel. The book is aimed squarely at young people in their 20s and early 30s. While the book has all the hallmarks of a light rom com, it traverses some very tricky terrain.
Molly Monroe wakes up the morning after her work Christmas party with an almighty hangover, no memory of the night before and a strange man beside her. She goes to the magazine publishers where she works and makes a horrifying discovery that blows her world apart. She has been caught on video in a sex act and this video is now a viral sensation. Her day get worse when she finds the dead body of her best friend. The official verdict is suicide, but Molly refuses to believe it.
Molly is publicly shamed and humiliated by the video and we watch as the now familiar online hashtags, abuse and memes start. I found the chapters on this plotline upsetting and it was difficult to reconcile the humour with the subject matter. It is however an interesting exploration of public shaming and people’s need to comment and point the finger.
This book is also about the long-term impact of grief and loss. Molly lost her mother in her early teens and her father is absent from her life. While the grief is a decade old, Molly is still impacted by it. It has held her back from realising her potential and when we meet Molly, she is stuck in a rut and unable to make decisions for herself.
As Molly investigates her friend’s death, we see her grow as a person and reclaim her reputation and her future. We accompany her along her traumatic path to redemption. The mystery itself takes on a few twists and turns as Molly discovers that the people she thought she knew are hiding secrets.
Don’t be fooled by the vibrant pink cover, this book is no light rom com.