Nothing Can Hurt You by Nicola Maye Goldberg

Inspired by a true story, this haunting debut novel pieces together a chorus of voices to explore the aftermath of a college student's death.

On a cold day in 1997, student Sara Morgan was killed in the woods surrounding her liberal arts college in upstate New York. Her boyfriend, Blake Campbell, confessed, his plea of temporary insanity raising more questions than it answered.

In the wake of his acquittal, the case comes to haunt a strange and surprising network of community members, from the young woman who discovers Sara's body to the junior reporter who senses its connection to convicted local serial killer John Logan. Others are looking for retribution or explanation: Sara's half sister, stifled by her family's bereft silence about Blake, poses as a babysitter and seeks out her own form of justice, while the teenager Sara used to babysit starts writing to Logan in prison.

A propulsive, taut tale of voyeurism and obsession, Nothing Can Hurt You dares to examine gendered violence not as an anomaly, but as the very core of everyday life. Tracing the concentric circles of violence rippling out from Sara's murder, Nicole Maye Goldberg masterfully conducts an unforgettable chorus of disparate voices.

What's it about?

The long-reaching aftermath of a girl's murder.

What is it?

An interconnected series of vignettes each focussed on a woman with some connection to the murdered Sara.

What isn't it?

A crime novel - there's no whodunnit to be solved and the questions raised go unanswered.

Why do you recommend it?

It's *really* good - Goldberg does such a great job of writing from different perspectives and characters (if maybe not always the best of orienting me to the *when*). It's engaging and interesting and I don't know why I'm not seeing more people talk about this book. I really enjoyed it!

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