The Shards: A novel

Bret Easton Ellis has been avoiding his past as if it were the plague. In his senior year at the Buckley School, friendships were tested, relationships formed and broken, and a serial killer roamed the city. In 1981, Bret is in a relationship with Debbie, best friends with Thom and Susan, but also in an undisclosed relationship with Matt and Ryan. Everything seemed normal, until the day Bret met Robert Mallory.

The new student is met with welcoming arms while Bret views him with suspicion. As summer becomes fall and senior year progresses, Bret’s worries about Robert increase. Three young women have been found dead in proximity to Bret’s and his friends’ homes. A fourth has gone missing, and Bret believes Robert may be involved. However, Robert has gained the trust of Bret’s friends and Bret is on the outside looking in.

The Shards is the latest compelling drama narrative from Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho). Ellis provides one of his best works in this roman a clef, where the paranoia arrives at the beginning and steadily creeps up the reader’s spine, threatening to overtake them. A story where love messes you up, lust can derail everything, and fear is a constant comfort. A masterful book.