Kate Reed Petty's True Story is a startling, eloquent and wildly original novel that works on several levels. It tackles serious issues but also reads like a top-notch psychological thriller--complete with a final-chapter twist that rivals the best of Agatha Christie. Petty keeps readers on edge through her inventive switching among narrative forms, from various first-person accounts to screenplays, college admission essays, e-mails and interview transcripts.
True Story begins in 1999 with a drunken party and possible sexual assault of a high school girl at the hands of two members of the school's lacrosse team. At first the two boast to their friends about taking advantage of the girl passed out in their car, but when rumors spread and legal threats are made, the teammates deny anything happened. True Story follows how the assault and its rumors affect the lives of those involved over the next two decades. Alice can't remember what happened and is so debilitated by the aftereffects of that night that she falls into an abusive relationship with a sociopath. Her best friend, Haley, devotes decades to getting Alice to deal with her past. The night's hazy events are also told from the perspective of Nick, a friend of the two boys, whose guilt leads him to alcoholism. A clearer picture of what happened finally emerges when the lives of those involved finally intersect, resulting in blackmail, violence and murder.
True Story is a dazzling and haunting debut thriller, cleverly structured and ambitiously plotted. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant