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A review by allisonichole
Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen
1.0
My first red flag should have been the self-proclaimed "feminist serial killer" label. Saffy is the epitome of millennial girlboss feminism, and it makes her point of view absolutely insufferable to read. I almost DNF'd on the first page of Chapter 1, where she says, "Killing bad men is my private hobby... It's my own humble attempt at smashing the patriarchy." GIRL. The Jon chapters aren't much better, I'm afraid. Where Saffy's perspective is grating, Jon's is dull. Because of this, I started to expect that she would have a moment where she realizes the extreme lengths she has gone to for this guy, who isn't particularly exceptional. He does the bare minimum of being nice, respectful, and Not A Criminal, but otherwise is just kind of there. I kept waiting for some bit of self-reflection, especially after Saffy fantasizes about killing Amy due to her jealousy. That's not very feminist of her, after all. Instead, the author seems unwilling or unable to critique the protagonist's perspective. I guess we're supposed to like her because she can kill a man AND rock a pair of stilettos, and that's something to aspire to? I don't mind flawed protagonists, but I think it's important that the reader really understands their motivations and that they have to confront their flaws at some point. While Saffy's motivation is made perfectly clear in the prologue, she spends the rest of the novel with a flippant attitude about her actions. She's also never caught by anyone, is never even really confronted by Jon about stalking and manipulating him, and gets a perfectly happy ending. Nothing about this felt satisfying to read.
Honestly, considering the premise, this book was extremely boring. I was expecting something similar to Promising Young Woman mixed with a dark murder mystery, and instead the entire middle section of the book is these two characters just...hanging out. Two characters who I don't really like that much. Everything here just felt so superficial and half-baked, even the relationship between Saffy and Susie, which I actually would have liked to read more about. The final serial killer reveal didn't even feel satisfying because the build up was so tedious. Overall, while I didn't go into this with particularly high expectations, I somehow ended up disappointed.
Honestly, considering the premise, this book was extremely boring. I was expecting something similar to Promising Young Woman mixed with a dark murder mystery, and instead the entire middle section of the book is these two characters just...hanging out. Two characters who I don't really like that much. Everything here just felt so superficial and half-baked, even the relationship between Saffy and Susie, which I actually would have liked to read more about. The final serial killer reveal didn't even feel satisfying because the build up was so tedious. Overall, while I didn't go into this with particularly high expectations, I somehow ended up disappointed.