I almost put this down after the first paragraph. Something very….squishy about the way the author describes the mysterious power of her face to draw stories from people. Unsettling. And then continues to throw that face on the page throughout the book. When I was able to forget her face there was some interesting stuff here with the potential for a great book. Unfortunately, this isn’t it. The interweaving of a University sexual assault scandal investigation with unraveling a personal childhood of sexual abuse is a rich narrative opportunity that is presented here with mixed results. There were portions where it hummed—the investigation was compelling and the unpacking of the author’s  dysfunctional family dynamics came into focus.  Too often the paralysis of the main character—because of frustration with the investigation and the unwillingness of her family to acknowledge her paint--traps the narrative in amber. She can’t move—we can’t move. The analysis of her feelings seems to be happening in real time instead of from a thoughtful distance—real time meaning the jumbled, confused state we live in when first going through something.  It’s important that these topics be explored so I was really rooting for this book. NPR spoke well of it. But despite the opportunities for growth along the way, it all seems to happen smack dab at the end as if she were told—we’ve reached our page limit—time to wrap it up.  And that led to a car crash of thoughts  at the end—two different drafts of the same page seemed to follow each other—and an I LANDED ON MY FEET ending that seemed out of nowhere. Wasted opportunity. 

This was a very difficult read. The book is very well done and I was thoroughly invested in the victims of the case discussed, as well as the author and her own personal story. This book made me gasp, shake my head, stop and gather myself,  cry, and scream in anger. It is not for the faint of heart. All the trigger warnings for any and all sexual assault and abuse. Seriously. It is difficult but the case involved is so important. I was fascinated by the investigative work done. 

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This was a gripping and tragic narrative. The stories of these women are heartbreaking. I liked how Krouse told the stories of the interviews. Personally, I found the overall narrative to be too inconsistent. It would jump from one thing to another than a third. Parts jumped between the details of the case and Krouse's memoir.