Under the Bridge

Now a forthcoming major TV series starring Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone

A future true crime classic featuring an introduction by Mary Gaitskill

'Dreamy, mysterious and ultimately terrifying' Megan Abbott, author of Dare Me

'A swift, harrowing classic' Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation

British Columbia, 1997.

One moonlit night, fourteen-year-old Reena Virk went to join friends at a party and never returned home.

In Under the Bridge, acclaimed author Rebecca Godfrey takes us into the hidden world of the seven teenage girls - and boy - accused of a savage murder. As she follows the investigation and trials, Godfrey reveals the startling truth about the unlikely killers.

Laced with lyricism and insight, Under the Bridge is an unforgettable look at a haunting modern tragedy.

'A modern day Crime and Punishment that keeps you on the edge of your seat. A stunning book' Gary Shteyngart, author of Lake Success

'Under the Bridge is brilliant, enthralling, heart breaking and disturbing' Nadine Matheson, author of The Binding Room

'A tour-de-force of true crime reportage' Kirkus Reviews

'Mixes novelistic suspense with a journalist's key eye for detail' Bustle

'Hypnotic, obsessive, wonderfully transformative' John Guare, author of Six Degrees of Separation

Under the Bridge is brilliant, enthralling, heart breaking and disturbing. The feral nature of teenagers committing the most atrocious of crimes is a vivid and horrifically true interpretation of Lord of the Flies. A story of a brutal and senseless death that will haunt you long after you've turned the last page -- Nadine Matheson, author of THE BINDING ROOM
Extraordinary. Compelling yet deeply disturbing, Under the Bridge reads like the very best crime fiction -- Lucie Whitehouse, author of RISK OF HARM

A swift, harrowing classic perfect for these unnerving times

-- Jenny Offill, author of DEPT. OF SPECULATION

Dreamy, mysterious and ultimately terrifying

-- Megan Abbott, author of DARE ME
A modern day Crime and Punishment that keeps you on the edge of your seat. A stunning book that manages to terrify and enlighten at the same time. I reread it on a regular basis to remind myself what the best, most empathetic crime journalist can be like -- Gary Shteyngart, author of LAKE SUCCESS
A brilliant, compassionate retelling of a horrific murder O, the Oprah Magazine
Both tragic and cathartic New York Times

Lipstick, platform shoes, and braces have never felt more menacing. The book reads like a breezy bestseller, but it's Godfrey's in-depth reporting that gets under your skin

GQ
Godfrey skillfully blends hard-nosed journalism with a literary lyricism that far and away transcends that of her true-crime colleagues Elle.com
Godfrey, who mixes novelistic suspense with a journalist's key eye for detail, does a terrific job of presenting the facts and letting readers decide how to judge the accused Bustle
A tour-de-force of true crime reportage. Godfrey reconstructs a horrific murder with a vividness found in the finest fiction, without ever sacrificing journalistic integrity Kirkus Reviews
Hypnotic, obsessive, wonderfully transformative -- John Guare, author of SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
Under the Bridge is a fine piece of reportage and a shocking rendering of the tragic end of one young life and the dark and sinister beginnings of others. Godfrey writes with stinging insight and an urgency that moves the story from teenage hush and whisper to the reality of the coroner's office and sad, fatigued cops. The prin­cipals are all victims - of schools and communities and families that don't care - and perpetrators - harming one another and themselves in this startling fall from innocence -- Anthony Swofford, author of JARHEAD

Haunting . . . phenomenal cinematic raw material

Hollywood Reporter

Rebecca Godfrey was an award-winning novelist and journalist. Her first novel, The Torn Skirt, was a national bestseller and a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Under The Bridge received one of Canada's largest literary awards, the British Columbia Award for Canadian Nonfiction, as well as the Arthur Ellis Award for Excellence in Crime Writing. She held an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College, and received fellowships from Yaddo and The MacDowell Colony. She taught writing at Columbia University, and lived with her family in upstate New York. She died in 2022.

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