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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
Axe murders depicted graphically; blood and discovery described in sensory detail; violence is central
Language
Barely any
Period-authentic language; minimal profanity
Sexual Content
Barely any
Nothing explicit; sexual tension and implied relationships
Substance Use
Barely any
Alcohol used to cope with the household's suffocating atmosphere
Emotional Intensity
A lot
A house as a psychological prison, the violence that grows in silence, unreliable witnesses to a crime no one claims
What this book is about
August 4, 1892. Andrew and Abby Borden are found murdered with an axe. The prime suspect is their daughter Lizzie. Sarah Schmidt's debut novel reimagines the Borden murders from inside the house — from Lizzie's perspective, from her sister Emma's, from the maid Bridget's, and from a stranger who was there. The prose is claustrophobic and strange, the house oppressive, the truth deliberately withheld. One of the most unsettling literary takes on a true crime story ever written.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
graphic murder scene descriptions
deeply claustrophobic atmosphere
deliberate narrative unreliability
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