Roxanne Reviews "Carrie Carolyn Coco"

Roxanne reviews Carrie Carolyn Coco: My Friend, Her Murder, and an Obsession with the Unthinkable by Sarah Gerard.

I used to be a wimp when it came to true crime books.  Reason being, with the news bombarding us with so much tragedy, why do I need to read more?  But I’ve changed my tune after reading former New College of Florida Writer in Residence Sarah Gerard’s Carrie Carolyn Coco:  My Friend, Her Murder, and an Obsession with the Unthinkable.   

I loved reading Sarah’s previous fiction (Binary Star to name one) which usually focuses on messy dysfunctional relationships, and also liked Sunshine State, her book of nonfiction essays that weave her growing up in Florida with eccentric Floridian characters.

Carrie Carolyn Coco is far different in most aspects.  True, she still does a deep dive into Carolyn’s teen years growing up in St. Petersburg and presents a beautiful tribute to a friend who she was just getting to know.  But what I found most thrilling was the brilliance of Sarah’s organization and display of compelling facts about Bard college that both the victim and her roommate/assailant attended.  Revelations come slowly, but the reading in between is fascinating as she generates biographies of both sides.

Sarah’s book is informative and moving.  The court case in search of justice is well told and again braided with Bard history and New York City anecdotes, where Carolyn lived and was murdered.  Much like David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon, I was shocked and sincerely moved by what people with connections and finances can get away with in regards to the judicial system.