5 minute read
CLAIRE CONSIDERS She Had to Die by Rebecca Barrett
“Four people are dead. There has to be a reckoning. You know that.”
So speaks Hugo August, a Vietnam-hardened Mobile police detective, as he and his partner, Junior Knight, unravel a tangle of murders in small-town Spanish Fort, Alabama. Grounded in authentic late-sixties detail, these deaths form the backbone of a gritty, gripping story in Rebecca Barrett’s “She Had To Die” (2025). After a twisty, intriguing plot, the reckoning is surprising yet utterly believable—just as Barrett skillfully delivered in the first book in this series, “The Rat Catcher” (2023).
A taut historical police procedural with a noir gloss, “She Had To Die” opens strong: a well-connected, beautiful woman, known to be “friendly,” is found shot dead in a shabby motel. The few people on site unconvincingly deny hearing gunfire. The victim, Ruby Stanton, is young and undeniably beautiful. Yet, as Junior observes: “[T]o be shot through the heart in a dingy motel in no-man’s land. That was tawdry.”
Hugo and Junior, friends since childhood, are pulled from the Mobile Police Department to investigate because Ruby was a close relative of the local chief of police, Buzz Stanton. Their involvement raises suspicions—Hugo begins to wonder if they’re being set up as scapegoats. “Something heavy was about to go down and Hugo and Junior would be in the crosshairs.” Or perhaps they’re a smokescreen, as Buzz and a rejected, love-sick deputy named Boo hint at vigilante justice. As the body count rises, Hugo and Junior ask: “Was Ruby Stanton the unknown curse? Or was she cursed?”
The title stems from Junior’s harsh exchange with Alma, a woman embittered by her unrequited love for Boo. “Don’t you see? She had to die. As long as she was alive, no one could ever be happy.” With those words, Alma becomes one more potential suspect—along with Boo, Ruby’s married lover or his wife, and several others.
Readers meet Ruby gradually, just as Hugo and Junior do, through the gossip, confessions, and half-truths of townspeople. In a place like Spanish Fort, everyone knew—or claimed to know—Ruby. Much of what’s said is malicious, but Hugo and Junior agree: whoever Ruby was, she didn’t deserve to die in a dingy motel room.
A college dropout,—whether from grief over her father’s death or too much partying depends on who’s telling the story—Ruby worked in a law firm. She kept flexible hours, did little actual work, but was romantically involved with her boss, an attorney willing to create a scandal and an economic disaster by divorcing his shrewd wife for Ruby. That messy situation makes both husband and wife suspects. But the list of potential killers only grows as more murders occur.
Though rumors paint Ruby as frivolous and promiscuous, another portrait emerges through Nelson, her childhood neighbor. Born with brain damage, Nelson never matured mentally, and Ruby became his only true friend. Her apartment is filled with children’s books she read aloud to him. Nelson’s role is both pivotal and poignant, complicating the view of Ruby as just a “party girl” and revealing her tenderness and loyalty.
Even with its fast-moving plot, “She Had To Die” is ultimately character-driven, anchored by Hugo and Junior’s deep friendship. Their bond—protective, brotherly, and sometimes imbalanced—gives the book its heart.
Hugo, a Vietnam veteran, suffers from PTSD, which Barrett portrays with realism and sensitivity. He also bears scars from childhood as an orphan and from an unattainable love. Junior, the softer of the two, feels guilty for not serving in Vietnam. He lives with his doting grandmother, whose warmth provides welcome contrast to the novel’s darker turns.
A third key character, Evie, a forensic team member introduced in “The Rat Catcher,” rounds out the trio. While she doesn’t get as much page time here, Evie is a sympathetic character caught in an unrequited love triangle: Junior loves Evie, Evie loves Hugo, and Hugo loves Bebe. As Hugo reflects, “The heart wanted what the heart wanted. Junior wanted Evie, Evie wanted Hugo, and Hugo wanted Bebe. No one was happy because love was cruel that way. And now, Alma wanted Boo who had wanted Ruby who had wanted… Who had Ruby wanted?”
Readers don’t need to start with “The Rat Catcher” to enjoy “She Had To Die,” but doing so enriches the experience. Together, the novels build a layered world of history, mystery, and flawed but memorable characters.
All told, “She Had To Die” is an outstanding novel—intricate, immersive, and compulsively readable. It’s the kind of book that keeps readers up past midnight, turning pages hungrily. Barrett avoids clichés, delivering fresh, compelling storytelling and characters readers will care about long after the last page.
