BookBrowse Reviews Under This Red Rock by Mindy McGinnis

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The story of a girl, the voices in her head, and a brutal murder that pushes those voices into the open.

Since she was a child, Neely has suffered from auditory hallucinations, hearing voices that demand water or praise or criticize her depending on the day. The only real respite she has is in the local caverns, where she never hears them. Neely decides to get a summer job as a tour guide there, meeting and quickly falling for her coworker, Mila. But when Mila is found brutally murdered, Neely's hallucinations begin to intensify, leaving her to question what happened the night that Mila disappeared—and whether she played a role in her death. Under This Red Rock is a twisted psychological thriller and a stark look at mental illness, social stigma, and the ways in which we face our demons.

Neely has endured many losses in her life: her father, who also suffered from auditory hallucinations, left when Neely was young; her mother was killed by a drunk driver shortly after; and her brother, Lance, recently died by suicide because of his worsening hallucinations and overwhelming feelings of loneliness. Neely is left living with her grandparents, Ed and Betsy, who demonstrate unconditional love but can't afford to get her the help she needs. Their efforts make it clear that care and support from family and friends are important factors in the successful treatment of a health condition that presents with auditory hallucinations (see Beyond the Book).

Neely is a unique main character because her hallucinations mean that her reality—and her narration—is often unreliable. However, she's been dealing with them her entire life and has developed rules that help, such as not responding to a voice in public until someone else responds first, thus ensuring the voice is real. These rules give a sense of rationality to Neely's point of view and help the reader better understand what is and isn't true. To further ensure that she acts "normally," Neely has developed keen observational skills and a strong sense of how social interaction is supposed to occur; as she begins to spend time with her co-workers, she is able to pick up on small physical cues that denote relationships between the others as well as provide unbiased and factual advice based on her observations. While some individuals find this behavior strange, others, including Mila, benefit from Neely's unique abilities.

Everyone likes Mila—she's smart, funny, and beautiful—but Neely's admiration borders on obsession. Neely finds herself dreaming of a romantic relationship with Mila, and although their friendship is genuine, it's unclear whether Mila desires more. Regardless, it's Neely's fixation that pushes her to dangerous lengths to solve Mila's murder and, as her hallucinations begin to worsen, causes her to wonder whether she may be the one responsible. Having already established that Neely is an unreliable narrator, the exacerbation of her hallucinations makes her point of view even more uncertain, and the tension builds as Neely struggles to remember what happened the night Mila disappeared.

In her determination to solve the murder, Neely gets help from another co-worker, Tabitha, who is also struggling with the tragedy. Neely is shocked to discover that even "normal" people can become stuck on thoughts and feelings, replaying events and wishing they could go back and change their responses and reactions. Mindy McGinnis skillfully shows that everyone can suffer from anxiety, depression, and negative thoughts, especially in times of stress or in response to trauma, and emphasizes that the discussion of mental health issues is becoming more common. Neely also grows close to her co-worker Brian, who was a friend of her brother Lance. Brian tells Neely things about her brother that she never knew, and when she delves into Lance's internet posts, she becomes even more frightened that she might be capable of doing something terrible. McGinnis does not shy away from using brutal imagery and harsh language to show that Brian's adage—you can never really know someone—is correct. The exploration of the anonymity and lack of common decency sometimes encountered online points to the impact that social media and the internet overall can have on mental health.

As the story races toward its climax, Neely becomes increasingly unstable, struggling with the literal voices in her head as she tries to separate hallucination from truth. A series of flashbacks and short, heartbreaking chapters escalate the suspense until the truth is revealed in a dark twist that readers won't see coming. Under This Red Rock shines a light on the challenges of mental illness through a brutal murder mystery whose conclusion will shock even the most hardened mystery fans.

This review first ran in the April 3, 2024 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.