If
I Die Tonight
by Alison Gaylin brings psychological suspense stories to
a whole new level. The focus of the plot emphasizes the relationship
between parents and children and how social media plays a
role. The I-GEN generation characters that keep secrets and
isolate themselves, allows readers to realize it is sometimes
impossible for parents to really know their children.
The plot begins with Wade, a teenager’s, suicide note,
then flashes back five days and unfolds from the perspectives
of Jackie, Connor, Pearl, and Amy Nathanson. Amy files a police
report claiming that she was carjacked by a teenage boy. Another
boy, Liam, rushes to help and is hit by the car. The case
quickly consumes social media, transforming Liam, a local
high school football star, into a folk hero, and the suspect,
a high school outcast named Wade Reed, into a depraved would-be
killer. His mother, Jackie, and brother Connor are convinced
Wade is innocent but must face their own life changes as they
too are seen as pariahs.
Gaylin has the uncanny ability to develop likable and dysfunctional
characters. A shining character in the story is police officer
Pearl Maze. She has problems that must be worked out with
her father. But as a cop, she is very astute at realizing
there is more to the crime than meets the eye and she is a
great judge of personality. Suspense ratchets up as Pearl
tries to figure out if Wade is innocent or guilty.
Readers might not see the last of Pearl since Gaylin is thinking
of writing a Pearl novella. “I can definitely see a
possibility of doing a series with her. I wrote her backstory
because I’ve always been haunted by the stories I’ve
read about toddlers picking up guns and accidentally killing
a parent, wondering about what effect that would have on the
child. In writing Pearl, I saw an opportunity to introduce
that idea. She describes herself as, ‘a murderer before
she could even read.’ I imagined what toll that could
take on an otherwise level-headed person. Pearl is a complicated
young woman who tends to isolate herself from others. Overall,
she is a basically good and moral person and a keen judge
of character.”
Jackie Reed, a single mother of two teenage boys, loves and
embraces them, always believing in them. Her sons Wade and
Connor alternate between being the older wiser brother and
the dependent one; even though Connor is the thirteen-year-old
and Wade is seventeen. They rely on each other for stability
and support and want to protect one another.
Gaylin noted, “Secrets. I write about secrets in most
of my books. We really do not fully know someone. There are
characters in this book who are willing to let others go down
just to make sure their secret does not get out. What I like
to do when I start writing is to find out everyone’s
secrets. In this book, I felt for Jackie because I am also
the parent of teenage children. I love writing a twisting
plot, but this is probably my most character-driven novel.
A lot of the twists come out of characters lying to each other
and to themselves.”
Also, a character in the story is social media. It creates
fake news, victims, and heroes, and allows everyone to keep
secrets and manipulate those around them. What should scare
people the most is how it can destroy when instantaneous posts
become permanent.
This engaging tale stresses family relationships and the role
of social media in society today. As with her other books,
Gaylin takes readers on an emotional roller coaster ride with
her many twists.
|
