Before We Were Innocent by Ella Berman Summary

Before We Were Innocent by Ella Berman is a psychological thriller following three teenage friends whose Greek vacation ends in tragedy when one dies mysteriously. Best friends Bess and Joni are cleared of involvement in Evangeline's death but face relentless media scrutiny. Ten years later, when Joni becomes entangled in a eerily similar crime, she asks Bess for an alibi, forcing both women to confront their buried past.

Ella Berman is a British-American author who grew up in Los Angeles and London, where she studied psychology before working at Sony Music. Her debut novel, The Comeback, was selected as a Read with Jenna book club pick. Before We Were Innocent became a Reese's Book Club pick in 2023. Raised by former hippies, she lives in London with her husband and daughter, and her third novel, L.A. Women, releases in August 2025.

Before We Were Innocent appeals to readers who enjoy psychological thrillers with emotional depth, dual timeline narratives, and complex female friendships. Fans of true crime stories and books exploring media manipulation will find it compelling. The novel particularly resonates with readers interested in how trauma shapes identity and the dark side of intense teenage friendships. Those who appreciated The Comeback or Reese's Book Club selections will likely enjoy this suspenseful page-turner.

Before We Were Innocent delivers a gripping combination of suspense and emotional complexity that makes it worth reading. As a Reese's Book Club pick, the novel successfully balances thriller elements with thoughtful exploration of friendship, guilt, and media obsession. Berman's dual timeline structure effectively builds tension while examining how a single traumatic event can shape two lives in drastically different ways. The book's exploration of teenage friendship intensity and moral ambiguity creates a compulsive, thought-provoking read.

Before We Were Innocent alternates between two timelines: the 2008 summer in Greece when eighteen-year-old Bess, Joni, and Evangeline vacation together before college, and 2018, ten years later, when the past resurfaces. The Greece timeline reveals the escalating tensions between the three friends culminating in Evangeline's death. The present-day narrative follows Bess's isolated life near the Salton Sea being disrupted when Joni reappears seeking help with another suspicious incident. This structure gradually unravels the truth behind both crimes.

Bess and Joni take opposite paths following the tragedy in Before We Were Innocent. Joni capitalizes on her infamy by becoming a motivational speaker, embracing the public spotlight focused on their darkest moment. Bess chooses the opposite route, making her life "as small and controlled as possible" to avoid risking everything again. She lives in isolation near the Salton Sea, haunted by the past. This contrast explores how the same trauma can fragment people in fundamentally different ways.

Media scrutiny is central to Before We Were Innocent, with Berman exploring "the relentless obsession of a media determined to capture every moment of a tragedy". After Evangeline's death, the media "ripped apart their teenage lives like vultures," dissecting every text message, photo caption, and email exchange. This trial by media defines both women for the next decade. The novel examines how public judgment and constant scrutiny impact young women's identities and life trajectories, creating personas they cannot escape.

Before We Were Innocent delves into the intensity and darkness of teenage friendships, inspired by Berman's own diaries where "everything felt critical". The novel examines power struggles between friends, showing the girls "constantly testing everyone around them". The Greek summer masks underlying conflicts and manipulation within their trio. Berman portrays both the profound connection and toxic elements of intense adolescent bonds, exploring how these relationships can become defining and destructive, especially when complicated by guilt and secrets.

Before We Were Innocent reads "like true crime" according to Reese's Book Club, combining the compelling mystery elements of the genre with literary fiction depth. The book mirrors real cases of young women scrutinized by media after suspicious deaths abroad. Berman creates authentic detail around police investigations, fabricated alibis, and public trials by media. Unlike straightforward true crime, the novel prioritizes psychological complexity and character development, examining how trauma and suspicion warp identity rather than simply solving the mystery.

Ella Berman was inspired to write Before We Were Innocent after reading her teenage diaries during London's February 2021 lockdown. She was struck by "the level of intensity" in her friendships, recognizing how "critical everything felt at that time". This sparked her desire to write about "teenage friendship, the dark side as well as the good". Everything else—the deaths, media trial, and present storyline—developed from this core concept of examining the complexity and power dynamics of intense adolescent relationships.

The Greek setting in Before We Were Innocent represents both freedom and isolation for the three eighteen-year-olds experiencing their "last summer of freedom before college". The sun-soaked Aegean coast creates an idyllic backdrop that masks escalating tensions and poor judgment. Being abroad and away from parental supervision amplifies their recklessness and the consequences of their actions. Greece becomes the site of lost innocence—a paradise that transforms into the setting of a tragedy that will haunt Bess and Joni forever, making it impossible to separate the beauty from the trauma.

Before We Were Innocent transcends typical thriller conventions by prioritizing character psychology over plot twists. Berman, who studied psychology, crafts a "coming-of-age novel with a dark twist" that examines how trauma impacts identity formation. Rather than focusing solely on solving the mystery, the novel explores moral ambiguity, asking readers to remain conflicted about the characters' guilt and innocence. The emphasis on female friendship dynamics, media manipulation, and long-term trauma consequences creates depth beyond standard suspense, blending women's fiction with thriller elements.