This book blew my mind. I am DYING for a film adaptation, holy cow. It's "Ready Player One" meets "Black Mirror" and the commodification of true crime, and I could not get enough. Definitely one of my favorite book plots in recent memory.

The year is 2037, and while Earth (aka Earth-) is deteriorating, Earth+, its virtual reality counterpart, is thriving. The biggest business? True crime simulations created by Past Crimes, aka the Disneyland of Death. Forget podcasts and documentaries, people are spending 18+ hours a day immersed in hyper-realistic simulations that recreate the most horrific crimes throughout history--especially those that are unsolved. They can simply observe or participate and search for clues.

Cassie West's job is licensing crimes, aka persuading grieving family members to sell the story and likeness of their dead loved ones. Until one day she finds herself on the other side of things, her life forever altered by one of the biggest and most mysterious crimes in history. Will looking for clues in the simulation solve the mystery, or just lead to more?

This book does such a good job showing the disgusting but seductive nature of true crime, and even as I knew I should be repulsed, I couldn't help but think how fun some of the simulations sounded, even with the side effects. The detail and specificity of this world were fascinating, it felt so full and fleshed out, down to the nuances of laws in Earth- vs Earth+. This is a very well-timed book, too, with all the discourse on AI lately.

If you love true crime, satire, sci-fi, dystopian stories, and high-stakes adventure, add this to your TBR right away. Even if you've never been into all of those things, I encourage you to give it a shot. It's very accessible and thought-provoking, and just a lot of (dark) fun. I predicted a couple of the twists, but some of the big ones had me gasping out loud and reading late into the night. I cannot wait to reread and discuss this one! Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, & the author for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.