Everything You Want Me to Be

Everything You Want Me to Be by Mindy Mejia
Published by Atria/Emily Bestler Books on January 3rd 2017
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Psychological
Pages: 352
Format: eBook, Kindle Book
Source: NetGalley & Atria/Emily Bestler Books

Full of twists and turns, Everything You Want Me to Be reconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerizing young woman, during which a small town’s darkest secrets come to the forefront...and she inches closer and closer to her death.
High school senior Hattie Hoffman has spent her whole life playing many parts: the good student, the good daughter, the good citizen. When she’s found brutally stabbed to death on the opening night of her high school play, the tragedy rips through the fabric of her small town community. Local sheriff Del Goodman, a family friend of the Hoffmans, vows to find her killer, but trying to solve her murder yields more questions than answers. It seems that Hattie’s acting talents ran far beyond the stage. Told from three points of view—Del, Hattie, and the new English teacher whose marriage is crumbling—Everything You Want Me to Be weaves the story of Hattie’s last school year and the events that drew her ever closer to her death.
Evocative and razor-sharp, Everything You Want Me to Be challenges you to test the lines between innocence and culpability, identity and deception. Does love lead to self-discovery—or destruction?

**Special thanks to NetGalley & Atria/Emily Bestler Books for supplying my copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

Everything You Want Me to Be was quite a read. Well, I love psychological thrillers. Now, with all the psychological thrillers published every week it’s a challenge to write a capturing one. Yet Mindy did it.

Hattie Hoffman is a young woman with a very dangerous mind. As the title imposes, she can be whatever people want her to be. No one knows who the real Hattie is. But Hattie is brutally murdered and there are lot of dark secrets involved.

Mindy Mejia captures the reader right from the start. A murder is discovered. A young woman is stabbed to death and her face is so damaged that no one can recognize who she is. But of course that what forensics are there for. Unbelievably, the victim is Hattie. Sweet lovely Hattie whom everyone loves. So, who could do that? And what did really happen in the few hours before her death? A lot of people are involved. And when people are involved, secrets are exposed.

Mindy takes us through the whole year before Hattie’s murder. Tension builds as we come closer to her death. I kept guessing and thinking. I couldn’t put down the book. I came close yet, not that close. There are lots of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. Is Hattie a victim or is she a villain? Well, this raises quite a good question. Can anyone be totally guilty or totally innocent?

So, what is that brilliant about this mystery? It’s Mindy’s way of building her complex characters. Hattie’s character is one of a kind. You love her yet hate her at the same time. Quite a complex character with layers of secrets. Also the rest of the characters are carefully sculpted. You can feel the turmoil building and the depth of the emotions that torture and drive them. Also the way Mindy lays her questions in the reader’s mind and makes us think is brilliant. Can love destroy us or save us? A very good question.

One last thing… the book cover is perfect. Nothing could describe Hattie more!