Miracle Creek

This book accomplished exactly what it set it out to do. The execution was spot on and after listening to the author's interview at the end of the audiobook, I can definitely see that the author communicated what she wanted the reader to understand impeccably.

Two ideas stood out to me from the interview that I could clearly see in the execution of the narrative - one: “litigator's dream” and two: “multiverse”.

Miracle Creek is essentially a fictionalized court trial and during the proceedings, we get alternate POVs from essentially everyone affected by the tragedy that happened a year prior. All the victims start out with a strong conviction against the defendant but during the trial, more secrets come to light that sway their thoughts and opinions. Where the author's intention and experience as a litigator with the idea of “litigator's dream” comes into play is truly when the lawyers go back and forth revealing with evidence and witness testimonies crucial information that impacted not only the trial but the victims' perspective of the defendant. The many revelations were expertly uncovered and theatrically displayed for the jury, essentially extracting the information that would corroborate all of each opposing counsels' arguments.

The “multiverse”, on the other hand, was subtly overplayed throughout the book and this took me a while to decipher because it's ultimately why I wouldn't give this book 5 stars. The author incorporated the idea that if there were one deviation from the chain of events that led to the tragedy, there would be a less tragic outcome. Through the characters, the author explored the many variations that could have occurred if one decision by any of the characters was made differently. I think it was through this idea that it was decided Matt should get more chapters than his wife Janine because of the sordid relationship angle. However, Matt is a despicable character as he exhibited all the white male privileges with zero recognition and Janine was a much more nuanced person whose flaws could have been further investigated and would have made a better read.

The nuance of all the characters (except Matt because he was too one-dimensional, a coward that hid behind his ego with zero redeeming qualities) was the main reason I enjoyed reading this book overall. Elizabeth was probably my favorite character because it was made clear from the beginning that the suspicions about her actions the day of the tragedy were justified, but the unraveling of her personality and feelings throughout the trial spanned from cringe-inducing and sad to tragic and understandably heart-wrenching. Her interactions with her son were clearly hurtful and wrong, but her last chapter revealed so much lost potential of their relationship the day of the tragedy and vividly portrayed her extensive character development. Through her chapters it was hammered in how the unforeseen consequences of the actions of a collective group of people are out of control.