Book Review: Night Film (Marisha Pessl)

Night Film, by Marisha Pessl, has been on my shelf for several years; I purchased it the year it came out and completely forgot about it until I started talking with Chelsea (my friend from The Suspense Is Thrilling Me) and she demanded I read it. As one of her favourite books of all time, I knew that I had to add this one to the top of my TBR pile. Chelsea has some fantastic choices in novels and we are usually in sync when it comes to our feelings about books.

We also decided to give this book a read as part of our Suspenseful Clues and Thrilling Reviews book club for October.

Now that I have finished reading it, I am kicking myself for waiting for so long. What in the world was I thinking??!!! This book was a completely engaging wild ride that had me holding on tight and binge reading late into the night. Once I started this book, I could not put it down. Pessl brings a completely original voice to the mystery/thriller/horror genre and will have you holding your breath as she weaves her narrative.

Ah! The twists, the turns, the non-stop action; without providing any spoilers, it will be hard to discuss the book fully, but I will do my best!

The novel opens with the death of Ashley Cordova, a music prodigy and daughter to the mysterious and dark filmmaker, Stan Cordova. Investigative reporter, Scott McGrath, decides to write a piece about her death (which, by all appearances, is a suicide) and soon finds himself moving deeper and deeper into the twisted underbelly of New York City, he starts to find connections to Stan Cordova that he never thought possible and soon wonders if he will be the next victim.

One of the things I appreciated the most with this novel was the multi-media aspect. Pessel includes excerpts from online forums, newspaper articles, police reports and other various materials that make you feel as if you are investigating the murder yourself. It really became sort of interactive and I felt like this was so interesting, especially as the story developed and started to become darker.

I loved that this story sort of had that Black Dahlia vibe to it; something that felt more like TRADITIONAL horror.

The perfect read to get you into the mood for Halloween or just to give you the creeps.

5/5 stars.

LOVED.

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