Reviews

The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz

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readbymo_'s review

5.0

So well written.

This book could easily be an award winning film. The prose was very descriptive, I could see Billie, gun in hand, so much hurt in her eyes, as I read this book! I would recommend it to anyone who wants to leave this world for a moment. I was definitely fully engrossed in this novel. Benz is a phenomenal writer.

jamicuns01's review

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4.0

3.5 stars. A 30 something black woman comes back to the place where her daddy died, 30 years earlier, searching for answers. Memory is a tricky thing bc you remember what you want to remember but that is all she has to work with, the memories of those who were there when her daddy died. She dives into the racist past and present of the Mississippi Delta, and reveals that we have a ways to go before we can claim victory over racial inequality.

audiobookmel's review

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5.0

4.5 stars

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

Chanelle Benz is a new-to-me author, but when I saw that Bahni Turpin was the narrator, I decided to look further into the story. I liked the sound of the book blurb, so I decided to give this book a go. I’m really glad that I did. I had a great time reading this story and trying to figure out what was going on this small town on the Mississippi Delta.

Billie James is a half white, half black girl who is originally from a small town of Greendale, Mississippi. She moves to Philadelphia with her mother (the parents were split up prior to his death) when she was just a toddler after her father dies in an apparent accident. Now she’s going back to Greendale to cleanup her father’s house that she has inherited thirty years after his death.

After some strange occurrences around the house, she starts asking about things more. She’s talking a lot with the closest neighbors, a white family that has had connections with her family, going back to slave times. She’s also talking with her father’s brother and her father’s girlfriend at the time of his death. The more she digs, the more questions she has.

I really enjoyed this crime mystery set in the South, where there is a lot of history. Even in the present, you can see the differences between the different races, but this really isn’t a story about race. Race is brought up as it is part of the culture in the town and does have its place in this story. But this is mostly about Billie trying to learn more about her father and what happened to him and even what happened to her around the time of his death.

If you like crime stories set in small towns where everyone is connected in some fashion, this would be a great story for you to try. I really look forward to reading more books by Chanelle Benz.

Narration
As I said, Bahni Turpin is the reason this book really caught my eye. I’ve listened to her narrate several different types of stories and I always enjoy her narration. I really believe that she brings out the characters in the stories, with a wide array of voices and the perfect inflection in their tones to match their personalities. If you’ve never listened to Bahni Turpin, you’re really missing out and should give her a try.

**I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

booksnbrains's review

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3.0

I've lived in Mississippi now for 11 years, and I'm still shocked by the overt racism. This book explores some of that history with the backdrop of a 30-year-old mystery. Billie James returns to the Mississippi Delta town where her father died 30 years before in what was labelled an accident. She begins poking around and inevitably pisses off those with secrets. It's not an original plot, but it's written well and contains some great insights into the Delta. So why 3 stars (more like 3.5)? I wanted more - more from the characters, more about the setting. It felt too surface-level at times for the heft of its subject matter, but it's overall a good book.