The Twisted Thread by Charlotte Bacon

The Twisted Thread by Charlotte Bacon is a murder mystery with characters you wouldn’t necessarily expect to be involved in the story.

Book Description
“When beautiful but aloof Claire Harkness is found dead in her dorm room one spring morning, prestigious Armitage Academy is shaken to its core. Everyone connected to school, and to Claire, finds their lives upended, from the local police detective who has a personal history with the academy, to the various faculty and staff whose lives are immersed in the daily rituals associated with it. Everyone wants to know how Claire died, at whose hands, and more importantly, where the baby that she recently gave birth to is—a baby that almost no one, except her small innermost circle, knew she was carrying.

At the center of the investigation is Madeline Christopher, an intern in the English department who is forced to examine the nature of the relationship between the school’s students and the adults meant to guide them. As the case unravels, the dark intricacies of adolescent privilege at a powerful institution are exposed, and both teachers and students emerge as suspects as the novel rushes to its thrilling conclusion.

With The Twisted Thread, Charlotte Bacon has crafted a gripping and suspenseful story in the tradition of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, one that pulls back the curtain on the lives of the young and privileged.” – The Twisted Thread


My Thoughts
The Twisted Thread is a story about a scandal and a murder of a young girl who had a bright future ahead of her. The boarding school is highly prestigious and when Claire is found dead it makes news fast. Then, when they find out about a baby she had – it is even bigger news. How did nobody except her closest friends know? Who killed her? Why did they kill her?

I started out liking the book and having high hopes for how it would play out. I’m not usually a fan of a novel switching to a large amount of different perspectives. Unfortunately, that is what this book consists of and it didn’t change my mind about not liking this type of a format to a novel. The characters aren’t all likable or even relatable. Reading through the story through different eyes is annoying, at least for me.

The story itself is quite chilling with twisted threads that you aren’t quite sure where it will eventually end up.

If reading from numerous perspectives doesn’t bother you, I think this book would be a great read for you. If you find that style of writing annoying, I’d say pick another book.



* Thank you to the publisher of The Twisted Thread, Voice, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.