The premise of this novel is uniquely clever--it reads like a television transcript of a true-crime documentary. The narrators range from suspects to investigators, producers, friends and family, teachers, bosses, and other commentators. It's challenging to figure out who's telling the truth, partial truth, or outright lying. And it's a commentary on the obsession with true-crime entertainment.
Because of the structure, it's not like a character-driven novel. I didn't get a sense of the characters other than their interviews. There is very little backstory on any of them, although their interplay reveals a general sense of integrity.
From the publisher:
When sixteen-year-old Sara Parcell goes missing, it’s an utter tragedy—and an entertaining national obsession—in this thoughtful and addictively readable novel that offers a fresh and provocative take on whodunits and true crime.
Sara Parcell disappeared without a trace on a crisp April morning in Frederick, Maryland. Her tragic story was a national obsession and the centerpiece of a controversial television docu-series that followed her disappearance in real time--but is it possible that everyone missed the biggest secret of all? Ten years after these events, the people who knew Sara best are finally ready to talk.
In this genre-bending novel, Daniel Sweren-Becker fashions an oral history around the seemingly familiar crime of a teenage girl gone missing--yet Kill Show, filled with diabolical twists and provocative social commentary, is no standard mystery. Through “interviews” with family members, neighbors, law enforcement, television executives, and a host of other compelling characters, Sweren-Becker constructs a riveting tale about one family’s tragedy—and Hollywood’s insatiable desire to exploit it.
By revealing the seedy underbelly of the true crime entertainment machine, Kill Show probes literary territory beyond the bounds of the standard whodunit. It’s a thoughtful exploration into our obsession with the mysteries, cold cases, and violent tales we turn to for comfort. Groundbreaking, fast-moving, and informed, this is a novel about who’s really responsible for the tragedies we love to consume.
#52bookclub prompt 11: title starting with the letter "K".
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