Day One By Abigail Dean

‘Day One’ is the latest book by Abigail Dean.

What really happened on Day One? Everyone has their own version of what happened to the school that day: The survivor, who escaped but is now trapped in a lie. The newspapers, hellbent on turning a tragedy into a spectacle. And the outsider, who claims it never really happened at all. They all want the truth. But who’s ready to face it?

I’ve read a couple of books about school massacres, ‘Nineteen Minutes’ by Jodi Picoult and ‘We Need To Talk About Kevin’ by Lionel Shriver and they are definitely books that leave a lasting effect when you reach the final page.

I read Abigail’s first book during the peak of lockdown called ‘Girl A’ and it’s one the best debuts that I’ve read in a long time, so I was really looking forward to reading ‘Day One’ and it was just as gripping.

‘Day One’ is seen from the narrative of Marty, the survivor of a school massacre and Trent, a conspiracy theorist who’s convinced Marty is not quite the innocent that she’s left people to believe after her mother and children were gunned down at a school event. The story follows the characters leading up to the anniversary of the event as well as those effected by the terrible day.

The story is bleak and dark one that made for addictve reading, the dual narratives and different perspectives really added an interesting slant to the story. It’s mind boggling how people can get absorbed in conspiracy theories and how easily influenced they can be. Trent is an innocent character that’s easily lead, with no father and a stepfather who isn’t the nicest, he finds solace in the web, particulary when he realises that he knows the shooter. Marty is a character that I found hard to like but I think that’s purely on how she was written. She’s unrelliable, dishonest and you hae to wonder if she’s who she says she is.

‘Day One’ is a taunt and atmospheric story that is certainly unsettling to read in parts particularly the children’s perspectives, but it was a book that hooked me from the first page.

You can buy ‘Day One’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.