Book Review: Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

Format: Hardback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 11th August 2015
Pages: 354 pages

The Blurb
Seventeen-year-old Tessa, dubbed a ‘Black-Eyed Susan’ by the media, became famous for being the only victim to survive the vicious attack of a serial killer. Her testimony helped to put a dangerous criminal behind bars – or so she thought.

Now, decades later the black-eyed susans planted outside Tessa’s bedroom window seem to be a message from a killer who should be safely in prison.

Haunted by fragmented memories of the night she was attacked and terrified for her own teenage daughter’s safety, can Tessa uncover the truth about the killer before it’s too late?

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The Review
Black-eyed susans is the story of Tessa, the only survivor of a serial killer case in Texas. The story jumps between Tessa at 16, before the attack, and Tessa in the present day, as an adult with responsibilities.

When I first started reading the novel, I was a little confused, I thought Tessa at 16 and present day Tessa were two different people experiencing the same situation. It might be because as a teenager she was nicknamed Tessie or it could be that I was reading when I was very tired and stupid!

You essentially try to piece together the crime scene and the events associated with the murders. I don’t think anyone really knows what happened or even, who the mastermind behind the attacks is. The answers are there for you though, but I won’t spoil them in this review, you must read the book!

I’m a big fan of becoming a detective and trying to determine who committed the terrible attacks. One review on Goodreads suggested that there was a lot of psychology associated and I totally agree. Tessie went to see a psychiatrist and the killer clearly had psychological issues.

The nature of the novel is quite creepy and I do believe Tessa had every right to suffer at the hands of her emotions and experiences. I can’t imagine laying in a grave with dead victims can be the easiest thing to deal with.

I sometimes hate when novel’s are compared to others, especially when they’re great in their own right and don’t need to be endorsed by something else. Black-eyed susans is the perfect example of this, Julia’s writing is brilliant and keeps you enticing throughout. Please don’t compare to Gone Girl because they’re just not the same.

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