A review by bookishrealm
Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell

2.0

This was not it. I think I was anticipating so much more and that ending did not help.

Reader, I Murdered Him is a YA historical mystery/re-telling loosely based on Jane Eyre. It follows main character Adele as she is sent to an all-girls boarding school. In a strange turn of events, Adele becomes a vigilante of sorts to assist in protecting those who seemingly cannot protect themselves.

What Worked: There wasn't much that I enjoyed the book to be honest. I think that there were some important conversations about the agency of women or lack thereof; however, outside of that there isn't much that I would state that I enjoyed.

What Didn't Work: Oh, where do I begin? This book was SO SLOW. I made it through 50 percent of the book before anything truly happened. Even after Adele became of vigilante, it felt as though there was more talking and planning then action. However, the icing on the cake for me as a reader was the ending. While I can't provide exact context because of spoilers, I will say that it was extremely disturbing. I didn't see it coming and it honestly disgusted me. According to other reviewers (because I haven't read the original source material), it was out of the character's normal behavior and something that readers of Jane Eyre found disturbing. Regardless of my familiarity with the original material, I still found it to be disturbing as well.

Overall, this isn't one that I would actively recommend to anyone.