This was a perfect read for dark times, centring as it does on misinformation and charlatans who ferment unrest online. You can recognise many real life situations and characters here: Richard D Hall, Tommy Robinson, Jake Davison, Dunblane, but the story is complex and original. Beginning with a school shooting, it weaves together so many important themes: community, misogyny, friendship, love, truth and conspiracy theory. It's so sad, no one is left unharmed by events, but so beautifully written and constructed that I read it in an afternoon. 

loosely based on the sandy hook elementary shooting and the awful conspiracy theories that surrounded it (fuck you alex jones). the disjointed narrative and different POVs made the story so much more compelling, especially the victim’s POVs. the twist was v predictable but i felt it didn’t negatively impact the story bc “being suprised” wasn’t really the point of this book

Beautiful and sad.

In Day One we are immersed in Stonesmere primary school, an idyllic Lake District town, where things will never be the same again after a masked shooter opens fire on the crowded school theatre.

The grief, anger and chaos can certainly be felt from the opening pages right through until the final moments and Dean really does a fantastic job of anchoring you within that terrifying moment. Multiple timelines and POVs that don’t really dive deep enough is where it unfortunately begins to get a bit messy.

In an interview Dean notes she really struggled writing this book, in fact she rewrote it twice and unfortunately this struggle is quite apparent. While her outstanding writing skill does shine through in places, it doesn’t mirror the heights that she was able to reach with Girl A.

I think if you approach the book as a slow burning mystery rather than the intense thriller it is marketed as, you will get much more enjoyment.

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