Reviews with content warning for Rape - Dead Dead Girls

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia

25 reviews

hawkmates's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

the book excelled in diversity, especialy in the romance, but i wasn't fond of the way this book was written for some reason. it took a while for the writing style to *finally* click which was strange because i usually enjoy murder mystery books. this book felt boring for some reason. i also wasn't fond of the rushed ending or of the pacing to how the killer was revealed. it genuinely felt as if the writer was just trying to rush to the plottwist. i think this book would've excelled if the writer didn't clearly rush to publication which really sucks because i really wanted to enjoy this book. but it took me so long just to finish it.

few issues with the plot:
- did we ever meet celia's fiance because i genuinely don't remember if we did?
- having the racist cop who literally called the protagonist the n slur on multiple occassions get with another black woman at the end was straight up bizarre. and everything with him playing with another woman (i think her name was maeve) barely got addressed. yeah the protagonist says he's bad and just watches the romance from afar in disgust but NOTHING USEFUL gets done about it. the guy's racism is practically looked over and the black woman he gets with doesn't seem to find out about it.

edit: i just found out this book is apart of a series so maybe the issues i had would be solved there.

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rockinrodriguez's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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social_eyes's review against another edition

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3.0

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heather667's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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zoepagereader's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I had high hopes for this going in, how could I not when it’s a historical fiction mystery set New York during the Harlem Renaissance? But unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. I did not fully under any of the characters and felt that all of them had only been written at the surface of their stories. I still don’t really understand the motive for murder and still think it should have been someone else.

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venusdapoopiehead's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

i could definitely tell that this was a debut novel, the writing felt very simplistic, and even a little flat at times. there was also some times where the author seemed to do more telling not showing, rather than showing not telling, which isn’t to say her writing was bad-i just think the author’s writing style is very typical for a new writer to have, however i definitely think she has room to grow and i might give her other books a try to see if her writing style may have improved. but overall tho, good story, good plot, just good, don’t really have much complaints. i loved the characters and they way they’re written, and even if the twist at the end was kind of predictable (atleast it was for me, cause sometimes i tend to somehow perfectly predict what’s gonna happen in a book) i still liked it. if you’re looking for a nice book that you can read when you just wanna turn your brain off and relax without thinking too deeply, this might be it for you.

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leniece94's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced

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

2.75

I really liked this book, I think beyond the lingo of the 1920s, it gave a lot of thought to the social structures that also existed at the time that the main character has to navigate.I think Louise is such an interesting depiction of arrested development; her life took a shocking turn and she kind of stopped moving forward emotionally. It’s been a decade, and she has just been drifting through her life without much thought, and it’s interesting to see that when the stakes are high. She does so much without thinking of the wellbeing of her and the people around her, and she can do so selfishly and not really absorb the lessons that come each time. She is really in her own head in a way that puts her in danger, and I think by the end of the book that’s really felt, and you can see that when she talks to her sister and connects to her. Overall, I’m very excited to see how she grows in the second book.

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kryskross's review

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challenging emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

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gothnailcare's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I so wanted to like this book. The characters were lovable and I admired the author's dedication to describing clothes and social spaces, but the book's pacing and the shifts in narrative style worked against the story, page after page. I am not the kind of mystery reader who makes demands of the author with regards to who knows what & when they're given the agency to figure it out. Is the reader given information to determine who the killer is before the detective? Or does the detective know something the reader doesn't? Whatever the answer, I am usually happy to be along for the ride and observing at any distance as long as the narrative plays these cards well, but I can't say I felt this book succeeded.

Additionally, there were a number of loose ends I assumed would be tied up at the end of the book, but explanations for these never materialized. I have to assume that some of this is done for the purpose of setting up the next book. But if I'm not sure whether a book is setting up a second novel or whether it's littered with red herrings, well...

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readsandsuch's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

The last 100 pages dragged on and really brought the overall story down. I also didn’t really like Louise, especially towards the end. She made so many decisions that made no sense and so many dangerous choices with no concern to anyone else.

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