Book Review: Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver

Wow. That’s all I can say. Wow.

*Trigger Warning* The act of suicide is dealt with substantially in this book.

Goodreads Blurb

Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver

When strangers take part in a series of group suicides, everything suggests that a cult is to blame. How do you stop a cult when nobody knows they are a member?

Nine suicides
One Cult
No leader

Nine people arrive one night on Chelsea Bridge. They’ve never met. But at the same time, they run, and leap to their deaths. Each of them received a letter in the post that morning, a pre-written suicide note, and a page containing only four words: Nothing important happened today.

That is how they knew they had been chosen to become a part of the People Of Choice: A mysterious suicide cult whose members have no knowledge of one another.

Thirty-two people on that train witness the event. Two of them will be next. By the morning, People Of Choice are appearing around the globe; it becomes a movement. A social media page that has lain dormant for four years suddenly has thousands of followers. The police are under pressure to find a link between the cult members, to locate a leader that does not seem to exist.

How do you stop a cult when nobody knows they are a member?

Review

I read a tweet the other day that totally rang true with me: when you read an amazing book that you want to share with the entire world, you can’t find the right words to do it justice in a review. That’s exactly how I am feeling today.

I believe that the blurb of Nothing Important Happened Today is enough to hook anybody in. So, I’m just going to write the various things that stood out to me about this book and hope it is enough to seal the deal.

This really goes deep into the topic of suicide. And that includes some intense details of the act itself that some may find uncomfortable to read. On both counts, however, the author does not hold back.

The narrative of this book switches between third person and the collective first person. We get to see the People of Choice go about their everyday lives, but only after they receive the news they are to die the following day. Still, it is enough to help us at least understand each character, even though we can’t really become attached to them. We learn that overall, each character is in some state of depression. They may not exactly want to die, but it makes the entire process more acceptable and perhaps easier to carry out.

However, the best insights we get is from this mysterious first person narrator. They provide a dark and uncomfortable insight into today’s society that will send thrills down your spine. They discuss how we are happy to ignore bad things and that despite the many great things life can provide us these days, on a whole, we are more depressed than ever. This narrator also goes deep into cults; how to set one up and ultimately how to get away with murder. It is nothing short of disturbing.

This is my first book by Will Carver but I can assure you it won’t be the last. This is a unique author I just have to get more of.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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