Reese's Book Club | December '19: Conviction
Conviction by Denise Mina is the Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine pick for December 2019! In this modern “true-crime” thriller, a woman’s life changes in major ways when a podcast clashes with her past and reveal things that she can no longer keep secret. It sends her on a quest with an unexpected friend where they encounter truths, danger, and major surprises.
For more information about the Author, Reese’s Book Club, or my SPOILER FILLED thoughts on the book - scroll down!
my rating:
Here are some links to purchase the book and/or learn more about Denise Mina:
Book: amazon.com (*as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
Audiobook: audible.com
Denise Mina’s Website: denisemina.com
Denise Mina’s Instagram: *couldn’t find it*
If you would like to find out more about Reese's Book Club and/or follow along as well, here are some helpful links!
Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine Website: hello-sunshine.com/book-club
Complete List of Monthly Picks: hello-sunshine.com/post/reeses-book-club-all-picks
Instagram: @reesesbookclub
Goodreads: goodreads.com
*** spoiler alert ***
Y’all, this book was such a pleasant surprise for me. It hooked me immediately and I finished in two days because I couldn’t stop reading it. I don’t normally enjoy thrillers but book was amazing! I felt like I was reading a true story - a first-hand documentary of a real event. One of the things that I generally dislike about thrillers is the fact that I usually alway guess who the perpetrator was way before the book ends. Sometimes it’s the obvious misdirection, other times it's a lack of originality…but I had absolutely NO IDEA that Dauphine was actually Violeta! However, I did suspect that Violeta was the murderer, but the ending was a total surprise and I loved it! I loved the gotcha-moment and I loved the journey!
The way the story was laid out was also something that I loved about it. She didn’t lay everything out at front, but disclosed things bits at a time, whenever they felt appropriate to share and whenever they shed light on why she acted the way she did. It kept me engaged throughout the entire book.
There are so many themes and lessons to be learned about Sophie/Anna’s story. Obviously, her rape and how she was treated was a HUGE one. The power dynamic between the wealthy and poor was another. The way she and Fin used social media and tenacity, leveraging on his existing fame, was another fascinating one. When Sophie was a no-one, her support was non-existent. Did people warm up to her because she was hanging out with a super famous musician? Was his influence and fame, plus a modern #metoo movement, what helped bring Sophie the support she should have had in the beginning?
Was their only option for true justice to live-stream the confession? I think it was. Based on Gretchen’s ability to get away with everything, the only way to really prove her guilt was to catch it on a live-stream video that couldn’t be doctored or altered in any way. It is what I would have done, because our justice system can be hot-garbage - just look at the rape case or any other real-life case.
All in all, I loved this book! I love podcasts, I love true-crime…so, really, it was no surprise that this book was PERFECT for me!