5/5. Audiobook. What an incredibly powerful and poignant book! There was no debate for me in giving this book 5 stars as it was such incredible writing. It explored so many different themes, most importantly, life and death, what redemption really means for “evil” people, and the idea of an alternate universe where people are different because they have made different choices. Notes on an Execution is such an effective novel. From reading the summary I was curious as to whether the author would want readers to feel a certain way about Ansel, the main character. I knew it was written from the perspective of a police investigator, his mother, and his ex-wife’s sister, but we were also given Ansel’s perspective. This book is different because the author does not want you to feel one way or the other about Ansel; it is left up to the reader. The author writes in such a way that you will make your own judgments about what happened; there is no hand-holding or leading readers to an obvious conclusion. I was left with so many thoughts and questions once finishing. This is the sign of a great book– it leaves you thinking long after it has ended.