A review by for_esme_with_love
Maggie Terry by Sarah Schulman

2.0

This book was recommended to me by the staff of an anarchist book store, and I really wanted to like it. I love the mystery genre, but it is challenging to find a whodunit story with a diverse cast or radical politics. Because of this I was looking forward to reading a mystery published by a feminist press. I tried to like Maggie Terry, I really did, but it was a struggle to finish. While I appreciated Schulman's diverse characters, as well as her commentary on addiction, police violence, gentrification, and the Trump administration, unfortunately these people and themes were not successfully woven together to create a good novel. The plot was minimal and none of the characters were likeable or interesting. The worst offense that Schulman committed was the solution to the mystery which did not make a shred of sense. The only things that inspired me to finish the book were the rave reviews I saw on Goodreads, and unfortunately I came away feeling like I had wasted my time.