Bradstreet Gate by Robin Kirman

It’s hard to avoid comparisons with Tartt’s The Secret History. Both novels take place in Ivy League schools and both involve a murder that upends the main characters’ lives. this story, however, does have a different way of tackling at the event, with the reader being tossed back and forth in time.

This novel tries. Hard. But it is plagued with unlikable characters with whom the reader feels little to no sympathy, making it impossible to grow too interested in their struggles. The writing is well paced, however, with tight plotting that makes the novel move at a nice pace. There were some missed opportunities when it came to sub-plots that might have made the characters come alive a bit more, which adds to the novel’s frustrating element.

It is a quick read, I suppose, but if you really want a novel that delves into what this one tries to, read The Secret History.