The Collective by Alison Gaylin

Brenda’s thoughts

What the book is about

Five years after Camille’s daughter is killed at a fraternity party, the young man responsible lives a privileged life without ever being brought to justice. Camille is obsessed with grief and anger. She attracts the attention of a secret group of women,” the collective,” and is drawn into the darkest corners of the internet, the dark web where mothers who have lost their children due to the actions of others share their rage and desire for justice without mercy.

Things turn dark when Camille is asked to complete some tasks, unaware of why and things turn deadly.

Things I loved

Alison Gaylin boldly explores the darker side of grief, playing on our heartstrings while blurring the lines with the desire for revenge, making this a dark, uncomfortable, and engaging revenge thriller. Camille’s pain and anger felt so real and contagious.

Alison Gaylin adds a unique spin to tropes of obsession by exploring grieving mothers as avengers. She plays on their grief and obsession with the person responsible for their children’s death, creating a great sense of dread and a thought-provoking, emotionally-charged page-turner.

I enjoyed trying to piece the clever well-plotted tasks Camille was asked to complete and why. I questioned along with Camille whether the women were avenging angels or monsters. It all comes together brilliantly, unpredictably, and unexpectedly.

What I didn’t love as much

While I thought the story’s climax was exciting with escalating stakes and wrapped up in a twisty way, the motivation didn’t pack the punch I was looking for.

I received a copy from the publisher on EW

Lindsay’s thoughts

Easy and entertaining!

Camille is introduced to an online group for grieving mothers who have lost a child and struggle move on. Camille finds comfort knowing she is not alone. This group shares their emotions and thoughts encouraging and empowering the members to create retribution fantasy situations where they seek vengeance on the person responsible for their child’s death.

A truly unique, dark and enthralling plot. The book started off strong! Although it lost steam for me after halfway, it kept me interested and entertained from beginning to end. The writing was smooth, making it easy to fly through the chapters. I liked the characters but never felt connected or truly invested in them. For me, it was a matter of enjoying this as being a fun, escape read, not a gripping, believable one. It wasn’t as intense as I had expected, but it was a solid suspenseful story that I enjoyed escaping into.

Overall, it was a good experience reading this author for the first time. Go into this one expecting a fast paced, unique, entertaining read. Nothing deep or gripping, but extremely easy to escape into and get lost in.

Penny for your thoughts!!! Have you read this one? Want to add it to your TBR list?