Description
From the internationally bestselling author of I Am Not Who You Think I Am—a New York Times Thriller of the Year—comes Lilith, an incendiary powerhouse of a novel that strikes straight at the wounded heart of America.
Mother. Hero. Villain. Killer.
After her son Lydan suffers traumatic injuries in a school shooting, single mom Elisabeth Ross grows enraged at men in power. If they won’t do anything to help end this epidemic of violence, she will. Believing it’s her destiny, she sets out to awaken the world to the cowards these men are and commits her own shocking act of violence.
Going by the name Lilith—the first wife of Adam who fled Eden rather than serve a man—she posts a video of her crime that reverberates throughout society.
Praised by some, demonized by others, and hunted by the FBI and vigilantes alike, Elisabeth must keep her identity a secret as she tries to care for her son.
As events take startling twists, Elisabeth begins to question her act of violence and the very roots and mythology of violence itself. Was her act justified or has she become the monster that the original Lilith was accused of being?
As the FBI draws closer, and Lydan starts to display odd, terrifying behavior, Elisabeth plots to avoid capture and keep her son safe at all costs, fearing she’ll never escape what she’s done without losing her son forever.
Written with Rickstad’s singular command of language, human insight, and unnerving suspense, Lilith is a tale of our times. Tragic and profound, it echoes in the mind and lingers in the blood.
My Thoughts
This exploration of a mother’s response to her son being injured in a school shooting made me feel a lot of things. I don’t think there’s a parent out there who hasn’t thought about how they would respond if their child was injured or killed in a senseless act of violence like a mass shooting. The one reaction that no one talks about publicly is meeting violence with violence and exacting revenge on the people who make these mass killings possible. I’ve seen several reviews call this book a “punch to the gut.”
It certainly is that.
It is also a brilliant story of an anti-hero who does the things others only dream about in their darkest dreams. In the hands of a less-capable author, this would be a melodramatic mess but Rickstad turns this into an Everywoman story that tensely explores the journey of a mother who is hurt, terrified, and very, very angry.
I would describe my reaction to this book as a “hammer to the head and heart.” It challenges the reader’s belief system and prompts serious thinking about how we as individuals and collectively as a civilization respond to horrific violence. I am left conflicted and would welcome discussion with others. That’s saying A LOT because I am a solitary reader. I’ll be recommending this for book clubs for sure.
Publication Date: March 19, 2024
Published By: Blackstone Publishing
Thanks to Netgalley and the Blackstone for the review copy