BOOK REVIEW: Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

This is a book review for Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin. I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The scheduled publication date for this book is August 11, 2015. 

At seventeen, Tessa became famous for being the only surviving victim of a vicious serial killer. Her testimony put him on death row. Decades later, a mother herself, she receives a message from a monster who should be in prison. Now, as the execution date rapidly approaches, Tessa is forced to confront a chilling possibility: Did she help convict the wrong man?

This book was seriously creepy from the beginning. At seventeen, Tessa is found buried under a pile of Black Eyed Susans. But she isn't alone . . . she is buried with the bodies of five other girls. At seventeen years old, Tessa doesn't remember anything from her kidnapping or anything about the man who took her. When she wakes up in the hospital, she becomes a media sensation because she is the only survivor of the "Black-Eyed Susan Killer." She is also blind. This author does an amazing job of weaving the two sides of the story: the story of seventeen year old Tessa's therapy sessions leading to her testifying against the man accused of kidnapping her and the story of adult Tessa coming to terms with the fact that the Black Eyed Susan Killer may not be in jail after all. 

As an adult, Tessa can see but she is terrified, both for herself and for her daughter, Charlie. As much as she wants to, it is clear that she has not been able to move on from what happened to her. But how can she? I think if I were buried with the dead bodies of other girls, I would go crazy too. So Tessa doesn't find it very odd that the ghosts of the other girls talk to her. And when someone mysteriously plants black-eyed susans in her yard several times over the course of fifteen years, regardless of where she is living, she is quick to dismiss it as just someone obsessed with her case. I will say that it took a few chapters for me to get into this book, but once I did, I could not put it down. I can't even tell you how irritated I got when my husband tried to talk to me with FIFTY pages left. Come on . . . don't do that! Argh. This book had so many twists and turns, but it is the kind of book you really have to think about. With the different timelines and the different characters and even the forensic science the book throws at you, it takes a bit of brain power. And the ending had such a big twist that I really should have seen coming. There are characters that seem minor that end up having a much bigger impact than you would think. 

Okay, I know I being cryptic. I have to be. If I reveal too much, it will give it away. But seriously this is a great book. Scary stalkers, secrets, beautiful flowers that I will never, ever look at without getting creeped out, a little romance and a crazy, twisty ending. Loved it. The only thing that I didn't like was that the ending was a little anticlimactic. After all the secrets had been revealed, I expected a bit more confrontation. Other than that, I loved this book from beginning to end!

Buy/Borrow/Skip: If you like mysteries, buy this one!