This week we are discussing Murder at the Book Club by Betsy Reavley Prologue - Ch. 6.
Spoiler Warning!!! This post is full of spoilers for Murder at the Book Club by Betsy Reavley.
Trigger/Content Warning!!! This book has scenes and discussion of such themes as: fatphobia, description of violence, violent crime.
Discussion:
Michaela: Welcome friends! This month we are delving into the world of mystery and muuurrrrddddeeerrrr with Murder at the Book Club by Betsy Reavley. I have read a few crime novels (and I do love me a crime TV show, love ‘em so much) but I’ve only read ones from the perspective of the investigator and this one seems to be from the perspective of everybody which honestly I have found to be a little confusing at times.
Jacilyn: The perspective jumping in this book is frankly, badly done. We don’t delve into review type commentary too often or deeply, but it’s relevant to the story itself in this case. I’m having a difficult time remembering which character is who and I’m finding myself having to re-read sections because I was confused about what I just read. I love reading books from multiple perspectives, but it doesn’t make sense when the narrative jumps from one perspective to another from paragraph to paragraph.
What I can say about the ladies of this book club though is that they all seem to be fairly awful in their own way. They all seem to view each other in the most bitter, hateful ways and I simply cannot understand how this book club functions when they all hate each other so much? Was the fight between Toni and Kim a common occurrence? Or was this an unusual meeting? Unfortunately, the story just isn’t giving us those pieces of necessary context, at least not yet.
Michaela: I think the story is keeping some context out of it to keep the mystery alive for longer which I’m fine with. But switching perspectives or inner narratives so frequently is making it hard for me to keep straight what each character thinks about another. Which apparently is very important when it comes to the book club. There’s so many women and they all seem to dislike each other and yet meet in this club every week for years. Why are they TORTURING themselves? I mean honestly why?
Toni’s motivation to stay in the book club seems to clearly be that she likes attention and she likes gossip. It seems like many of the women in this club feel similarly with how their inner monologues think about the others. What I got from the other characters' reactions was that the fight between Kim and Toni wasn’t an every meeting occurrence but it also is common enough that many of the women are annoyed at it.
They are all so mean to each other, why put yourself through it if you dislike 90% of the people participating? Is gossip really worth it? Do they like the drama of it? Personally, it all gives me anxiety and I would have quit going to that book club after the first incident like this that I witnessed.
Jacilyn: I honestly cannot tell if everyone’s inner monologues about each other (including the damn detectives, but we’ll get to them in a bit) are *supposed* to imply that they’re all misogynistic, fat-phobic, shallow people, or if the inner monologues are a reflection of how the author really sees “ugly” people.
I think the story is trying to get us to suspect that Kim is the killer, but it’s one of those things that seems a little too set up to be believable. I could potentially see her being involved in a detached way, but I don’t think she personally beat Toni to death. Beatings are crimes of passion, which typically indicate a personal connection, so I’m guessing the perpetrator does know Toni. But honestly, I’m also a bit confused on how the detectives, Barrett and Palmer, are conducting the case. It confused me that they came to Gerald and told him his wife was murdered *before* they even made a concrete ID of the body. Perhaps they’ll have a different impression of the cause of death than I do.
Michaela: The fat phobia, mom-shaming, and other such judgements are very strong with these women and/or this book. I’m not a fan of it but it definitely paints a picture of who these women are and how they think.
I think the book is leading us to suspect Kim or Gerald but those both seem much too obvious and too convenient. Kim seems like a pretty normal person who is struggling and coping in her own way, not a healthy way mind you. I find Gerald to be very strange. The detectives noted how he kind of jumps from one emotion to another very quickly and kind of randomly. I can’t tell if he’s just weird to make you suspect him or if he is a suspicious person. Still not convinced he did it, maybe involved but I don’t think it was him directly. I think we’re also led to believe it’s Toni’s ex-husband, but he too feels like a convenient suspect. However, his and Toni’s reasons for why they divorced are quite different.
Honestly, the most suspicious person so far to me is Toni. She seems to have been a very secretive, sneaky, and judge-y person who clearly makes enemies out of her “friends”.
She was also found in a very public spot which even further promotes it being a crime of passion because it would most likely have been a “in the moment” event rather than thought out.
Jacilyn: Gerald does seem weird, but again, I can’t tell if he’s supposed to or if it’s just the writing. I do find his relationship with Toni to be creepy and gross. I’d bet money that Toni married him so quickly because she’s obsessed with being the very best and better than the rest…. and in her mind, she needs money to do that. Money, and a man who appears to dote on her entirely. I’d also bet money that Toni’s ex husband’s version of the divorce is closer to the truth than hers is.
How the body was found is another part of this story that’s confusing me. In the first chapter, when the person walking her dog comes across the body, the witness had been lured off the path by her dog, and she had to maneuver over some thickets. That makes it seem like the body was at least partially hidden. But when Marion and Barbara went to the common to see if the victim was Kim, I was under the impression that it was a super public place. Is this an inconsistency, or is the body from the beginning someone entirely different?
Michaela: I think Gerald is quite creepy but I also feel bad for him at some points too. I get the weirdest vibes from him. I think they’re wedding photo was very telling, as was the fact that he didn’t seem bothered that she didn’t show up after the book club. When Kim didn’t arrive back home that night her husband called Marion and I would assume some other friends of Kim’s. But Gerald didn’t, why? Suspiccciiiooouuusssss.
I think it’s possible that it’s a difference of park descriptions in the UK vs the US that makes the location confusing. This story takes place in England and ‘commons’ tend to be fairly open spaces with groupings of trees and bushes along a path. Whereas when I think of a US ‘park’ I imagine something still with open space but much thicker with trees and more places to hide and hiking trails.
But I think the main issue is writing inconsistency or the detective vs bystander perspective. Unreliable character narration. Maybe we’ll learn more as we continue to read. What I imagined when reading was that the dog let the woman off the path and she stumbled across the body but that there was probably a path on the other side of this little wooded space that the fight might have taken place. It clearly was not that hard for the body to be discovered so either the murderer wanted the body to be found or it happened too fast for there to be a plan.
One of my biggest problems with this book right now is writing inconsistencies. The murder location being one but also the timeline. Marion calls Barbara and while talking says “you haven’t talked to anyone since book club have you?” implying that it has been longer than the literal 16 hours since then. Then how she talks about Kim’s disappearance makes it sound like days. I was very confused and had to reread the passage and double check the time and date stamp at the beginning of the chapter. I don’t want to be too nitpicky with this book but one thing that really bugs me when reading a book is when there is inconsistency in the writing unrelated to the characters actions.
Jacilyn: I feel like Toni is the creepy one in the marriage, not Gerald. It’s a very odd relationship, and I think he’s being taken advantage of. I can’t decide if Gerald not being surprised when Toni didn’t show up is suspicious, or if it’s a sign of how often Toni just fucks off into the sunset with no word.
I also don’t want to be nitpicky, but I think it’s necessary for us to talk about the inconsistencies in order to discuss the story. We aren’t very far into the book yet, so perhaps we have some surprises coming for us that will change our minds and get us on board. Perhaps it’s been intentionally unreliable narration all along. You’ll have to come back for our next discussion to find out!
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