Nothing Can Hurt You

Goldberg’s debut, a thoughtful meditation on gender-based violence, focuses on 12 people affected by the gruesome killing of 21-year-old Sara Rose Morgan, a college student who was murdered by her schizophrenic boyfriend, Blake Campbell, in 1997. Beginning with the philandering housewife in Upstate New York who discovered the body, the narrative passes from those who knew Sara to those familiar with Blake, who confessed to the crime, including Blake’s future wife and a local reporter who followed Blake’s trial and subsequent acquittal on the basis of insanity. A subplot about the trial of a serial killer, John Logan, touches on forgiveness, obsession, the lack of empathy for victims, and the glorification of mass murderers. Goldberg’s razor-sharp, intricately constructed tale, with its varied voices, will leave few readers unmoved. Fans of literary thrillers will relish this incisive account of murder and its aftermath. [em]Agent: Julia Masnik, Watkins/Loomis Agency. (June) [/em]