The Night of the Crash by Jessica Irena Smith

Hey, it’s Diego.

Last week, I read The Night of the Crash by Jessica Irena Smith.

And I wasn’t sure where I landed at first, but now I’m clear.

Let me give you my spoiler-free, unbiased review.

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The Night of the Crash by Jessica Irena Smith – Review

Steppy, a true-crime podcaster, wakes up in hospital after a car accident with no memory of the last few weeks. The night of the accident, her mother was brutally murdered, and her own brother is the main suspect. She now has to piece back why she was even in town when she’s not close to her family and why she was investigating the ongoing case of a missing girl.

This book is a domestic thriller set in a small town in Colorado.

Smith’s writing is invisible, which is the best type. No awkward similes or metaphors, it also doesn’t get ahead of itself revealing things we shouldn’t know just yet. I appreciate it’s also not overly descriptive, but you get a sense of the spaces with a couple of lines. And the dialogue flows naturally.

In The Night of the Crash, we follow Steppi through two timelines: before and after the accident. The plot is built around figuring out the mysteries (what happened to Steppi’s mom, her accident, and the missing girl?).

Steppi is a proactive character; she’s into figuring things out, which makes for a compelling read. That said, it was somewhat repetitive at times when Steppi had to relearn things that she already knew before the accident but forgot about due to her amnesia.

The book explores the theme of “are people born evil or does their upbringing play a part in their adult lives?”, but doesn’t commit too much to it.

There was no romance, no sexual scenes, no swearing, and no graphic violence. The story isn’t thrilling; it’s an investigative piece with character interactions at its center.

So, what about the ending? (No spoilers obviously)

The ending wraps everything up nicely. When I finished it, I got the sense that the writer could have made the book about 25% shorter if they had chosen to tell the story differently, but we got there in the end. We also get to hang out with the characters after the end in a denouement.

I enjoyed The Night of the Crash, but that’s no surprise because I enjoy proactive female protagonists in stories where we learn details as we go along. I’m not a fan of amnesia plot devices, but this one didn’t get too much in the way; we just hammered the same plot points a beat longer. Definitely recommend if you like these kinds of stories.

Similar Books to The Night of the Crash?

• Broken Bayou by Jennifer Moorhead

• The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey

That’s all for this week.

See you next time.

— Diego Dunne

P.S. Let me know how I did today by replying to this email or by tapping on the poll below:

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