Reviews

Better the Blood by Michael Bennett

Only show reviews with written explanations

year23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The first 50 or so pages and I thought this would be a five star book. But the plotting got really confusing for me and didn't let up for most of the book, in large part because I think the cuts between different characters/scenes didn't flow well AND the character development was too shallow.

At the same time - the exploration of Maori cultural heritage, identity, and the impact of colonization and on-going prejudice was compelling, informative, and heartbreaking.

I think the themes around policing and how racism shows up within that institution were not as strong given that there's still an underlying assumption that police are good or needed (in light of the core mystery at play and the fact that the MC is a detective). Trying to have an ACAB sort of insight when your MC is a police officer (and even if they do face racism and oppression as a result), undercuts the point a bit. Also having the people who are raising questions about that very problematic institution also be terrorists - I do think the author is trying to raise important issues around policing, racism, and the injustice inherent in the justice system but I think it was muddy in execution.

cooloopy's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I think the plot, the history/culture, and the overall themes and messages are really interesting and compelling. I learned a lot culturally from this book, which I’m not sure I’ve ever said about a murder mystery book before. However, I really struggled to connect with the author’s style of writing and the characters in the book.