Summary:

When Wendy Slater's boyfriend is killed like the opening scene of a slasher movie, she begins to narrate what is almost never shown---the aftermath---with both a sharp sarcasm and a poigniant throughline of genuine love in an unexpected place. As she stays with Simone, a friend of her late mother, and her niece Viv, she begins to pick apart her own story and attempt to discover the truth of what happened that night. This book explores found family, abuse, and how the bonds between women can overcome trauma. It also investigates bias, what is said and not said, and how stories are told. The Mysterious Thing That Occured is a mystery within a horror movie, with inspiration from Jennifer's Body, that decides to take all of horror's most beloved tropes and gleefully dance on their graves.