The Collective

Author: Alison Gaylin
Genre: Psychological Thriller
338 pages
Publisher: William Morrow, 2021

Synopsis
Just how far will a grieving mother go to right a tragic wrong?

Camille Gardner is a grieving—and angry—mother who, five years after her daughter’s death, is still obsessed with the privileged young man she believes to be responsible.

When her rash actions attract the attention of a secret group of women—the collective—Camille is drawn into a dark web where these mothers share their wildly different stories of loss as well as their desire for justice in a world where privilege denies accountability and perpetrators emerge unscathed. Fueled by mutual rage, these women orchestrate their own brand of justice through precise, anonymous, complexly plotted and perfectly executed revenge killings, with individual members completing a specific and integral task in each plan.

As Camille struggles to comprehend whether this is a role-playing exercise or terrifying reality, she must decide if these women are truly avenging angels or monsters. Becoming more deeply enmeshed in the group, Camille learns truths about the collective—and about herself—that she may not be able to survive.

My review
The Collective by Alison Gaylin is a fast-paced, highly entertaining psychological thriller. While it doesn’t deliver on character depth or believability, it more than compensates with pure, page-turning fun.

The premise grabbed me immediately, and I tore through this book in a single day. At its core, this is an exploration of grief, revenge, and the fine line between justice and vengeance. Gaylin paints a chilling portrait of how easily someone could get swept up in an underground “collective” dedicated to vigilante justice. Where is the line between righteous punishment and blind revenge? That moral dilemma along with the clever, twisted plotting kept me hooked.

Gaylin’s writing is smooth, accessible, and easy to sink into, making the chapters fly by. I liked the characters well enough, though I never felt connected to them. For me, this one worked best as a quick escape read. Fun and twisted rather than gripping or emotionally resonant. It wasn’t as dark or intense as I’d anticipated, but it still delivered a solid, well-paced story with a touch of sharp, dark humor.

The Collective turned out to be the perfect guilty-pleasure read, capped off with a very solid twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. This was my first time reading Gaylin, and I’ll definitely be reaching for more of her work in the future.

My recommendation: a fun read heavy on plot, short on character development.