Scan barcode
emmaward55's review
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
It sucks to give a bad rating to a book, never mind a review, but unfortunately this felt warranted to me.
Blake's pacing is off, the structure is weird, and logic rarely aligns with the prose. It took me ages to read, maybe because there was zero tension or any real desire in me to solve the mystery. Particularly irksome for me was the immediate cut off in the action the second it peaks in the climax, followed by a big revelation in the epilogue of all places.
Whilst an epilogue can be a great place in a mystery for a final twist that turns the plot on its head, Blake doesn't do that. Instead, it's a continuation of what we know and could easily have taken place in the rest of the novel.
I'm also not comfortable recommending this book to other queer readers, because of the way homophobia and related content is treated. Major spoilers, buta queer character stabbing someone who threatens to out them DESPITE knowing that said queer would be kicked out and made homeless, is something that readers could have found sympathetic. Especially seeing as the argument started because Patrick caught Josh about to cheat on his girlfriend!! At her own birthday party!! (It was also implied that Josh was planning to SA Ruth, but this gets exactly one mention and then Blake returns to slut shaming Ruth and has a character blame her for Josh's death????)
Yeah IDK, there were some gross things that I'm pretty sure Blake didn't intend to add, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. If I'd been the editor on this, I'd have had a fair few thoughts on how to handle the above without it coming across like "nasty closest boy and skanky girl are responsible for Nice Guy TM's murder".
Can't say I'll be picking up another of Blake's books any time soon.
Blake's pacing is off, the structure is weird, and logic rarely aligns with the prose. It took me ages to read, maybe because there was zero tension or any real desire in me to solve the mystery. Particularly irksome for me was the immediate cut off in the action the second it peaks in the climax, followed by a big revelation in the epilogue of all places.
Whilst an epilogue can be a great place in a mystery for a final twist that turns the plot on its head, Blake doesn't do that. Instead, it's a continuation of what we know and could easily have taken place in the rest of the novel.
I'm also not comfortable recommending this book to other queer readers, because of the way homophobia and related content is treated. Major spoilers, but
Yeah IDK, there were some gross things that I'm pretty sure Blake didn't intend to add, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. If I'd been the editor on this, I'd have had a fair few thoughts on how to handle the above without it coming across like "nasty closest boy and skanky girl are responsible for Nice Guy TM's murder".
Can't say I'll be picking up another of Blake's books any time soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Infidelity, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia, Violence, Grief, and Outing
Minor: Drug use and Death of parent
Homophobic slurs. *Child death - an older teenagerstyxx's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
Knife crimereads_eats_explores's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sam Blake is an auto-buy author for me; her murder mystery and crime thrillers are some of the best on the market.
It's Katie’s 17th birthday, and with her parents away, she has a ‘free gaff’, and her house becomes party central. What could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot, obviously, these teenagers have plenty of secrets, and there's plenty of double crossing going on, but no one would envisage the party becoming a crime scene.
After a huge fight breaks out, most of the kids scaper hastily, but Frankie, being the almost irritatingly good girl she is, returns to help with the clearing up along with new friend Jess and her cousin Sorcha. They soon find the body, Katie’s long-term boyfriend Josh, behind a sofa in the kitchen - he's been quite literally stabbed in the back, presumably by someone he and they all knew.
The local Gardai soon leap to the obvious conclusion when they learn that Rob Doyle, a small-time drug dealer with a stabbing conviction on his youthful record, was at the party. But horrified by the chance of a wrongful conviction and the real killer let go free, wannabe future lawyer Jess suggests that these best pals get on the amateur sleuthing and crack the case.
This being the digital age of the 2020s, much of this involves trawling the school’s anonymous “confessions” website, Rave-fess, and piecing together video and pictorial footage from the party where getting a good selfie or reel was a top priority, plus they're racing against time to capture those time-sensitive stories shared in real time via Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok and whatever else the youth are using these days.
This foray into Young Adult fiction doesn't disappoint. Think an Irish ‘Nancy Drew’ style read packed with some very relatable teens, loads of twisty page-turning suspense, and betrayal galore, all played out under the omnipresent and unforgiving glare of social media. This is a book easy to devour in one sitting, and I certainly want to read more books featuring these budding supersleuths! 4⭐
Thank you to the publisher @gillbooks for both a proof copy and an advance copy. As always, this is an honest review.
It's Katie’s 17th birthday, and with her parents away, she has a ‘free gaff’, and her house becomes party central. What could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot, obviously, these teenagers have plenty of secrets, and there's plenty of double crossing going on, but no one would envisage the party becoming a crime scene.
After a huge fight breaks out, most of the kids scaper hastily, but Frankie, being the almost irritatingly good girl she is, returns to help with the clearing up along with new friend Jess and her cousin Sorcha. They soon find the body, Katie’s long-term boyfriend Josh, behind a sofa in the kitchen - he's been quite literally stabbed in the back, presumably by someone he and they all knew.
The local Gardai soon leap to the obvious conclusion when they learn that Rob Doyle, a small-time drug dealer with a stabbing conviction on his youthful record, was at the party. But horrified by the chance of a wrongful conviction and the real killer let go free, wannabe future lawyer Jess suggests that these best pals get on the amateur sleuthing and crack the case.
This being the digital age of the 2020s, much of this involves trawling the school’s anonymous “confessions” website, Rave-fess, and piecing together video and pictorial footage from the party where getting a good selfie or reel was a top priority, plus they're racing against time to capture those time-sensitive stories shared in real time via Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok and whatever else the youth are using these days.
This foray into Young Adult fiction doesn't disappoint. Think an Irish ‘Nancy Drew’ style read packed with some very relatable teens, loads of twisty page-turning suspense, and betrayal galore, all played out under the omnipresent and unforgiving glare of social media. This is a book easy to devour in one sitting, and I certainly want to read more books featuring these budding supersleuths! 4⭐
Thank you to the publisher @gillbooks for both a proof copy and an advance copy. As always, this is an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
More...