The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
msteinhaus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The narrator is unbelievably self-centered. She has an agenda for every conversation in the book, ignoring or seeking out people only as they fit her investigative needs. She treats friends and family incredibly poorly, making up or seeking them out again only when she needs something else. And all of this happens in ways that, to me at least, go well beyond simple immaturity, especially given that she is supposedly in her mid-20s and has already lived on her own, learned some hard lessons in relationships, etc.Â
The narrator's emotional experience of events is also hard to understand. For example, she forgets finding the victim of a violent assault unconscious in a pool of blood, repeatedly. She also straight up ignores the victim's partner, with whom she was supposedly close, for an extended period of time after this traumatic event. This emotional disconnect combined with her self-centeredness makes her come across as almost narcissistic in her pursuit of her own agenda and ignorance of others' experiences. Â
Finally, whatever source recommended this book to me as a cozy mystery was misleading! There is intense on-page violence, racial and ethnic discrimination and exploitation, and the plot centers heavily around drug abuse and related violence/death. Oof.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Hate crime, Murder, and Violence
eeviereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Moderate: Death, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Deportation, Death of parent, Racism, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Drug abuse, Suicide, Medical content, Infidelity, and Addiction
ruthiedr89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Ableism
Minor: Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Racism, Classism, and Sexism
emily_mh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Car accident, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Violence, and Addiction
Minor: Body shaming, Medical content, Alcohol, Sexism, Bullying, Racism, Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, Deportation, Ableism, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Addiction, Misogyny, Colonisation, Death of parent, Vomit, Drug use, Hate crime, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
Major: medical emergency, false legal accusations Moderate: imprisonment, break-in Minor: loss of a loved one, gambling, police corruption, extortion, disordered eating, blackmail, sick loved oneemaire22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Murder, Blood, Death, Infidelity, and Hate crime
supernova_reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Vomit
Moderate: Xenophobia and Racism
Minor: Police brutality and Hate crime
kbairbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Vomit, Hate crime, and Panic attacks/disorders
blandblanket's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Pros: Diverse cast, easy to follow, pretty decent mystery, good writing, developing love triangle (if you like that!)
Cons: One of the worst fictional detectives, rushed ending, loose emotional ends (family/friendships)
So wonderful to see some Filipino representation in this genre! It's what attracted me to the book in the first place.
I wouldn't say it's a light read (more on that later), but it is an easy read in terms of pacing and language. There is also a diverse cast who have their own styles about them, though some get more fleshed out than others as there is a large cast. The mystery was also decent and not super-complicated.
While I did enjoy the book (binged it in one day!), it was kind of stressful to go through as a woman of color. Mysteries tend to be stressful with characters doing spur-of-the-moment things that put them in danger or they have awkward questioning sessions -- I get that. But I dreaded whenever Detective Park would appear in a scene because it always led to Lila or another person of color being accused of a heinous crime in such a bizarre way that barely made sense.
Plus, I have to echo other reviewers regarding the ending as it felt rushed with no real sense of pay-off aside from knowing who did it. Detective Park offering some "comfort" to the main character did not help the ending either as he felt more like an antagonist until maybe the end -- and that's a generous "maybe". No other character who actually helped Lila really got that "check-in" moment her at the end which caused the ending to land flat a little bit in terms of emotion.
Moderate: Xenophobia, Hate crime, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Racism, and Blood
Minor: Confinement and Fatphobia
While it does not contain police brutality, it does contain stressful moments with law enforcement that BIPOCs may find stressful/tiring/enraging.