Everything You Want Me To Be

Emily Bestler Books | January 3, 2017

Full of twists and turns, Everything You Want Me to Be reconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerizing young woman, during which a small town’s darkest secrets come to the forefront…and she inches closer and closer to her death.

High school senior Hattie Hoffman has spent her whole life playing many parts: the good student, the good daughter, the good citizen. When she’s found brutally stabbed to death on the opening night of her high school play, the tragedy rips through the fabric of her small town community. Local sheriff Del Goodman, a family friend of the Hoffmans, vows to find her killer, but trying to solve her murder yields more questions than answers. It seems that Hattie’s acting talents ran far beyond the stage. Told from three points of view—Del, Hattie, and the new English teacher whose marriage is crumbling—Everything You Want Me to Be weaves the story of Hattie’s last school year and the events that drew her ever closer to her death.

Evocative and razor-sharp, Everything You Want Me to Be challenges you to test the lines between innocence and culpability, identity and deception. Does love lead to self-discovery—or destruction?

Praise

“Tantalizing…Ms. Mejia displays the enviable ability and assurance of such contemporaries as Megan Abbott and Laura Lippman.” Wall Street Journal 

“Mejia’s well-drawn protagonist brings the rural community alive and imbues the narrative with delightful, dry humor.” People Magazine’s Best New Books Pick

A “harrowing thriller.” Us Weekly’s Wonderful Winter Reads

“Fans of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl will devour this fast-paced story.” InStyle

“A haunting story with suffocating tension that will crawl deep beneath your skin.” The Suspense is Thrilling Me

“An excellent book full of surprises, fans will be thrilled to find that this is one tale that falls into that very slim category of rare ‘one-day’ reads.” Suspense Magazine