Released eight years after Reena Virk’s tragic death, Under the Bridge explores the events leading up to her demise. Godfrey spent six years researching the case, conducting numerous interviews with the accused to create a thought-provoking story. Under the Bridge taps into the psyche of eight teenagers (seven girls and one boy) to unpack the dangers of mob mentality and highlight how bullying can have fatal consequences. Rather than remaining objective, Godfrey tried to empathize with everyone involved, resulting in a refreshingly humane true-crime story.

In an interview with Leslie Jamison for The Paris Review, Godfrey opened up about her writing process for Under the Bridge. “I wanted to very carefully portray the lives of the teenagers, and the victim Reena, before the crime so the reader could see them not as studies but as people, with lives that were once so innocent and normal,” she said. “I hoped if I could be as observant and detailed as possible about the tensions and characters involved, the reader would be able to understand without relying on the authorial voice for a simple explanation.”

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