“Cartwheel” by Jennifer du Bois
Jennifer du Bois’ brilliant novel was inspired by the real-life Amanda Knox, the American student in Italy accused of murder. The author assures us that her story of Lily Hayes in Buenos Aires is fictional, and astonishing fiction is.
Lily and Katy, not yet twenty-one, are American roommates studying abroad. Both are attracted to Sebastian. He is the boy next door but hardly fits the cliché. He soon becomes Lily’s lover though she suspects he has eyes for Katy as well. Then Katy is murdered. Her bloodied body is discovered by Lily who becomes the prime suspect.
On the night of the murder, Lily was out drinking and drugging. Despite this and Sebastian’s lying to protect her, we find it difficult to believe Lily is capable of the crime. Her prosecutor does not have that problem.
Jennifer du Bois lets us in on the inner lives of her fully-drawn central characters. With its shifting points of view and startling revelations, “Cartwheel” is a crime novel like no other.
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