For three best friends, a summer in Greece in 2008 with no adult supervision was a dream come true. Until it wasn't. There were problems from the time they boarded the plane and they slowly festered as time went on. When a side trip ended in tragedy, a pact was made that would change Bess and Joni's lives. They were charged with the murder of their friend Evangeline, but never convicted. Ten years later, their lives have taken two very different paths. Even so, Bess and Joni come together once again when history may be repeating itself.
BEFORE WE WERE INNOCENT by Ella Berman is a story that vividly brings to life relationships that might have brought out the worst in the young women even though they believed they were best friends. As Bess and Joni's lives were ripped open publicly, it became very clear that social media was not their friend. Words came back to haunt them for years. Ten years after Evangeline's death when Bess and Joni face each other again, questions and suspicions arise. Why did one of them shrink away from the world and why did the other embrace her notoriety to create a public persona? What exactly are they capable of and were they ever loyal to each other?
I found this to be a skillfully crafted and engrossing story about lives that went wrong. Readers are left with a thought-provoking conclusion.
A summer in Greece for three best friends ends in the unthinkable when only two return home in this new novel from Ella Berman. . . .
Ten years ago, after a sun-soaked summer spent in Greece, best friends Bess and Joni were cleared of having any involvement in their friend Evangeline’s death. But that didn’t stop the media from ripping apart their teenage lives like vultures.
While the girls were never convicted, Joni, ever the opportunist, capitalized on her newfound infamy to become a motivational speaker. Bess, on the other hand, resolved to make her life as small and controlled as possible so she wouldn’t risk losing everything all over again. And it almost worked. . . .
Except now Joni is tangled up in a crime eerily similar to that one fateful night in Greece. And when she asks Bess to come back to LA to support her, Bess has a decision to make.
Is it finally time to face up to what happened that night, exposing herself as the young woman she once was and maybe still is? And what if she doesn’t like what she finds?
© 2003-2025 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy