Review: "Gaslit" by Megan Davidhizar

Gaslit by Megan Davidhizar
Published January 2026 via Delacorte Press
★★★

It's New Year's Eve, and when Ella's plans go awry, she pivots to babysitting her cousin—except when she gets to her aunt's house, the door is open. Her aunt and cousins are inside—and the air isn't breathable. And despite Ella's best efforts, she can't save them all. It seems like a terrible accident...but things don't quite line up. And the police aren't moving fast enough. And it looks like Ella will have to take things into her own hands...

This one is full of twists and turns and red herrings. I highlighted a passage early on that I knew was going to be either a clue or a red herring (or even both), and I was right, but lo and behold, there were numerous other twists that I didn't see coming. Some of them worked a little better for me than others (vaguesauce to avoid spoilers), though what was interesting is that a lot of the surprise elements weren't really about who was responsible but around the circumstances surrounding the events.

One thing maybe worth noting: Ella and her teenage cohorts are...uh...absolute dummies at times. Some of that is pure Ella, who withholds information from most of the characters in the book because she's afraid of being looked at differently, then gets furious with them when there is actually reason to wonder whether an ask-no-questions policy is actually a good idea. Some of it is teenage stupidity (it's not clear to me how good a job the police would eventually do, but Ella at least is convinced that they would do nothing). There's vague mention of the possibility of consequences at some point, but I honestly wouldn't have minded something more concrete. (This isn't even a "don't interfere with police investigations"—it's a "if you're going to interfere with police investigations, don't be incredibly short-sighted about it.")

Overall, though, a quick and engaging read with plenty of surprises to keep things interesting.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.