3.0
Ill Will
ByPublisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Two sensational unsolved crimes—one in the past, another in the present—are linked by one man’s memory and self-deception in this “haunting [and] strikingly original” (The New York Times Book Review) novel of literary suspense from National Book Award finalist Dan Chaon.
“Ingenious . . . [Ill Will] walks along a garrote stretched taut between Edgar Allan Poe and Alfred Hitchcock.”—The Washington Post
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly
“We are always telling a story to ourselves, about ourselves.” This is one of the little mantras Dustin Tillman likes to share with his patients, and it’s meant to be reassuring. But what if that story is a lie?
A psychologist in suburban Cleveland, Dustin is drifting through his forties when he hears the news: His adopted brother, Rusty, is being released from prison. Thirty years ago, Rusty received a life sentence for the massacre of Dustin’s parents, aunt, and uncle. Now, after DNA analysis has overturned the conviction, Dustin braces for a reckoning.
Meanwhile, one of Dustin’s patients has been plying him with stories of the drowning deaths of a string of drunk college boys. At first Dustin dismisses the talk of a serial killer as paranoid thinking, but as the two embark on an amateur investigation, Dustin starts to believe that there’s more to the deaths than coincidence. Soon he becomes obsessed, crossing all professional boundaries—and putting his own family in harm’s way.
Includes an exclusive conversation between Dan Chaon and Lynda Barry
“Ingenious . . . [Ill Will] walks along a garrote stretched taut between Edgar Allan Poe and Alfred Hitchcock.”—The Washington Post
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly
“We are always telling a story to ourselves, about ourselves.” This is one of the little mantras Dustin Tillman likes to share with his patients, and it’s meant to be reassuring. But what if that story is a lie?
A psychologist in suburban Cleveland, Dustin is drifting through his forties when he hears the news: His adopted brother, Rusty, is being released from prison. Thirty years ago, Rusty received a life sentence for the massacre of Dustin’s parents, aunt, and uncle. Now, after DNA analysis has overturned the conviction, Dustin braces for a reckoning.
Meanwhile, one of Dustin’s patients has been plying him with stories of the drowning deaths of a string of drunk college boys. At first Dustin dismisses the talk of a serial killer as paranoid thinking, but as the two embark on an amateur investigation, Dustin starts to believe that there’s more to the deaths than coincidence. Soon he becomes obsessed, crossing all professional boundaries—and putting his own family in harm’s way.
Includes an exclusive conversation between Dan Chaon and Lynda Barry
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesIll Will Reviews
3.0
“this book was literally all over the place. super hard to follow and features just about every content warning you could think of.”
Limited character growthStrong villainUnlikableAction-packedLoose endsNonlinear narrativeTwistyUnsatisfying conclusionDenseHard to followTakes getting used toAbuseAnimal abuseBigotryChild abuseChild lossDeathDomestic violenceExplicit sexual contentGriefMisogynyMurderRacismReligious intoleranceSelf-harmSexual assaultSubstance abuseViolence
“I finished this book in 2 days (forgot to update my progress yesterday) and I lovedddd this book. The writing style was unique and reminded me of a few books (somewhere between Misery by Stephen King and AGGGTM). I can see why some people may not like this book due to the ending. The ending is very abrupt and it is not a happy one. I still enjoyed this book, probably I love books with insane/crazy POVs. Some of these characters are very disturbed and it was an interesting read to say the least.”
About Dan Chaon
Dan Chaon is the acclaimed author of Among the Missing, which was a finalist for the National Book Award; You Remind Me of Me, which was named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, and Entertainment Weekly, among other publications; Await Your Reply, which was a New York Times Notable Book and appeared on more than a dozen best-of-the-year lists; and Stay Awake. Chaon has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award in Fiction, and he was the recipient of the 2006 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio, and teaches at Oberlin College, where he is the Pauline M. Delaney Professor of Creative Writing.
Other books by Dan Chaon
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
