Narrator Mara Wilson uses an urgent and precise tone as a middle-aged millennial looks back at the murder of Karlie Richards, a North Carolina college student. Pearson uses the framework of the standard whodunit to explore a variety of colorful characters. Joy Brunner, Karlie's former roommate, finds a letter in a book that may exonerate the mentally challenged young man who is serving time for the murder. Wilson ramps up the tension as Joy investigates the crime, falling through "true-crime" Internet rabbit holes. Wilson matches Pearson's juxtaposition of Joy as a student and Joy as a middle-aged woman. Wilson also projects Joy's bittersweet nostalgia for her friendship with Karlie when the real killer is revealed.

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Like any good whodunit, Pearson seeds the story with many fertile leads (a prowling cult, an affair with a married professor), but the book's real mystery is one that won't be resolved in the final twist: Where do we draw the line between devotion and obsession?

Oprah Daily

Pearson bursts onto the scene with gripping murder mystery fueled by the craziness internet. Through dual timelines, the mystery unfolds in unexpected ways and truly captures how crime makes us obsessive but also sheds a light on how murders affect those around it who don't make the headlines.

Debutiful, best June debuts

Character-driven and deliberately paced . . . crafted with uncommon depth.

Toronto Star

Gripping . . . Pearson's observations-particularly about girlhood, social anxiety, and millennium-era evangelical culture-will stay with you for a long time.

Indyweek

Bright and Tender Dark is so propulsive that I couldn't stop reading it, but so beautifully and perceptively observed that I wanted to slow down and linger over every sentence. There are many mysteries in this book - most obviously, there's the decades-ago murder of a charismatic college student-but Pearson is also interested in the things we do, and don't, know about the people closest to us, and how we are sometimes strangers to ourselves. Anyone who's ever been obsessed by a crime story will find a facet of themselves in this wise, compelling, and gripping book.

Rachel Monroe, author of SAVAGE APPETITES