I've never been a fan of true crime because I don't like how it focuses so much on the perpetrators. This book completely challenges that by telling the story from the POV of the key witness to an attack and a victim of another. The writing was excellent and captured all of the emotions the characters were going through so well while touching many important topics including slut shaming, homophobia, and the general ineptitude of law enforcement. It is not an easy book to read, especially with everything Ruth goes through even before she meets the Defendant, but it's worth it.