The Brave Bookshelf Dispatch
Books, brave conversations, author news, writer advice, and one internet thing I’m probably overthinking.
Dear Brave Reader,
I have a question for you.
If you believed the Menendez brothers’ accounts of the sexual, physical, and psychological abuse they suffered at the hands of their father, would you still find them guilty of murder?
I’ve been thinking about this since watching Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Content note: Discussion of sexual abuse, family violence, murder, and racial injustice.
And I have some thoughts.
The brothers admitted to killing their parents. That isn’t in dispute. But what has stayed with me is the question of why.
Their defense argued that years of abuse and fear led them to believe their lives were in danger. The prosecution painted a very different picture: two privileged young men who murdered their parents for their inheritance.
And then there was all that spending after the murders.
For the prosecution, that supported the argument that greed was the motive.
But I saw it differently.
What if spending that money wasn’t about greed? What if it was about freedom?
I kept wondering whether buying expensive things was their way of saying one final fuck you to a father they described as controlling and abusive.
I wondered whether money had been another weapon in that household. Another way to demand obedience. Another way to remind them who held all the power.
That’s my interpretation, not something I can prove. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
And their mother?
That part made me angry, too.
The brothers alleged that she knew about the abuse and failed to protect them. If that’s true, I find it heartbreaking and infuriating. A parent is supposed to be the person you can turn to when someone hurts you.
What happens when that person looks the other way?
Of course, I don’t know everything that happened behind closed doors. None of us watching a dramatized television series can claim that we do. And the distinction between understanding someone’s actions and legally justifying them matters.
Still, I keep returning to one uncomfortable question.
How much should a history of abuse change the way we judge someone who commits a terrible act?
I don’t have a tidy answer. But I do think it’s a conversation worth having.
📚 From My Brave Bookshelf: A Lake with No Bottom by H. D. Hunter
Speaking of painful histories and the truths people would rather bury, I recently finished A Lake with No Bottom by H. D. Hunter, and this one gave me a satisfyingly thrilling read.
The story follows Sidney Cromwell, who moves from Atlanta to rural Forsyth County, Georgia. All he wants is to fit in at his new high school.
But after nearly drowning in Lake Lanier, he begins experiencing terrifying visions and encounters with spirits connected to Oscarville, a Black community whose history lies beneath the man-made lake.
And those spirits have unfinished business.
One of the things I enjoyed most was Sidney and his new friend, Amy Jade. I found both characters endearing.
And the anxiety surrounding being the new kid at school?
Been there. Done that.
I know how uncomfortable it can feel trying to find your place somewhere unfamiliar, especially when all you want is to belong. I thought H. D. Hunter did a wonderful job capturing that feeling.
I also loved the folklore surrounding Lake Lanier.
There’s something about a haunted lake, mysterious deaths, buried history, and spirits demanding to be heard that immediately gets my attention.
Add in the gothic elements Hunter weaves throughout the story, and I was sold.
But what makes the premise especially disturbing is the human element.
Sidney is trying to uncover a history that people around him would rather ignore. And the more that history is denied, the angrier the spirits become.
The supernatural horror is frightening, but so is the idea of an entire community refusing to acknowledge the suffering that came before it.
For me, the mix of folklore, gothic atmosphere, history, and characters I genuinely cared about made this a satisfying thriller.
If you enjoy supernatural stories with a historical backbone and a little gothic darkness, this one might be worth adding to your bookshelf.
This book is a part of a book tour with Toppling Stacks Tours.
Check out my full review and get the book:
Before You Go…
I’m curious about where you stand on the Menendez brothers.
If you were sitting on that jury and believed the abuse they described, would you have voted guilty or not guilty?
And can you understand why someone might commit an act of violence without believing that act was justified?
I’d love to hear your thoughts, even if they differ from mine.
Until next time, keep reading bravely.
Kim Bartosch
The Brave Bookshelf Dispatch • Young Adult Author • Bookilicious
P.S. Do you like watching true crime or retellings of true crime murders? I must admit it’s been my guilty pleasure lately. 😅😅