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Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know: A Review

Today I will be reviewing Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed. As always, there will be spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk.

~~SPOILERS AHEAD~~

Khayyam Maquet should love her holiday with her studious parents in Paris. But instead she finds herself at a crossroads - her sometimes kind-of boyfriend is ghosting, she may have blown her chance of getting into her dream college, and all she wants is to go back home to Chicago to figure out her life. 

But things change when she meets Alexandre Dumas, a descendant of her favorite writer. On top of that she finds letters to a mysterious woman, who just might give Khayyam another chance. 

Meanwhile, centuries before, Leila is trying to hide her love from the pasha, and survive as she is ‘gifted’ a position of favor in said pasha’s harem. As Khayyam begins to trace the threads of Leila’s life, the lives of these two women will intertwine as both lives are changed forever. 

~~TIME FOR MY THOUGHTS~~

I’m rather sad to say that I didn’t like this book. It felt like a chore to read, and my issues with the characters and the plot only made it worse. 

For starters, this book was presented as a feminist and poc narrative, but both protagonists spend the majority of the book bending to the will of men, and not even nice, respectful men. Being a feminist and hating all men do not go hand in hand, but these characters, and Khayyam especially,  are at the beck and call of the men in this story, above their own autonomy. Leila is not much better, making strong, well-grounded decisions and suddenly throwing them all away for a man despite the fact that it might very well get her killed. 

Another thing that wrankles with me is that, from what I can tell, this book has some good poc representation, especially in that of the two leading ladies. But Khayyam makes me feel like she’s ‘not racist towards the french’ in the way that Emily in Paris is a love letter to France instead of a bunch of Americans taking a shit on French culture. Khayyam is such a cool intersection of cultures, race, and religion (she’s French, Indian, American, and Muslim), and I think it would have been really cool and interesting to take a look at how all of these intersecting identities affect Khayyam, regardless of where she is*. 

Instead she spends so much time confused over which boy she should pick (she calls them ‘problematic faves’ - more on that later), that the story (these two women centuries apart coming together) that I came here for comes second. 

Back to Khayyam’s ‘problematic faves’, or more accurately, her use of that term. It makes sense that a seventeen-year-old would speak like most of gen z, however, sometimes the volume of gen-z buzzwords in what Khayyam is saying reminds me of Riverdale, and not in a good way (side note: is anything involving Riverdale good? I mean seriously, would anyone ever say ‘I beg your misogynistic pardon?’ unironically?). 

For a complete change of subject, where were Khayyam’s parents? Their few appearances are only to further the plot progression (and by plot I mean what should be the subplot of which boy Khayyam is going to pick), despite the fact that their daughter breaks and enters on multiple occasions. They let said daughter run around Paris with a guy that they met once (and the only thing they know about him is that he’s related to Alexandre Dumas), and though I appreciate that they are giving their daughter more independence, I’m a little concerned that they didn’t seem to fear for Khayyam’s safety at all. 

The story has such a cool premise, but I feel like so much of it is spent mooning over different men (almost entirely on Khayyam’s part by this point, since Leila’s major paramour died) that it takes a back seat, and could be lost entirely without really affecting Khayyam’s journey at all. I don’t see a lot of character development in Khayyam, and she sort of comes across like ‘i’m not like other girls’ in the way that Bella from Twilight isn’t like other girls. 

Later in the story, in an effort to prove that she really is feminist, and she doesn’t need men at all, her two love interests are demonized (which is fair, both of them are flawed, but given the fairly positive view that the reader has gathered of them from the previous 200-ish pages, it’s kind of out of nowhere), but that doesn’t erase the fact that Khayyam has been pining for the both of them throughout the book. I also think that Khayyam could have been a lot less damaging with how she handled the situation. She didn’t try to communicate sensibly and instead hurls insults at them until they both leave (In the case of Zaid, it kind of makes sense, he was not good to Khayyam, but Alexandre’s feels a bit less justified). I understand that given that she is 17, she may not be the most mature person in the world, but I think her outburst is kind of sudden and poorly handled. 

She chooses herself, yes, but at the cost of some, if not glowing relationships, then half-decent ones. I feel like the book fell into the common pitfall of ‘romantic relationships are the be all and end all of teen life’ which is simply not true. 

Khayyam is so focused on being feminist and defying the patriarchy in the present that she forgets that the whole point of this was to discover Leila’s story, and take down the patriarchy by telling it. The whole point of Alexandre appearing at all (his connections to the Dumas family helping discover Leila) is thrown out of the window when Zaid shows up, just like it has been for the last few hundred pages. Khayyam, and by extension Leila, are jerked around by men, the patriarchy, despite Khayyam’s whole deal supposedly being defying said patriarchy. 

Khayyam reminds me of how white cishet male authors write feminists - spewing all the relevant rhetoric until a man comes along and ‘fixes’ it. I guess the only reason that i’m so bothered by it is because this is presented as a masterful feminist story, but all Khayyam really does is say feminist things while she is a doormat for the male characters. It doesn’t even feel like quality observations, because she spews all of this hate towards famous men - not entirely without reason - but she doesn’t acknowledge the cultural influence that these men had. She does not separate art from artist from gender. 

Nevermind that these men are helping the plot move forward, and without them there would likely be no plot at all. Khayyam’s main personality trait is supposedly being feminist and not needing men, yet she consistently bends to the will of men for the sake of the plot or drama, both of which are in such contrast with how the reader has expected Khayyam to be that they feel almost physically painfully out of place. 

In short, I think that this book had a really amazing plot idea and a lot of things going for it, but the way is was executed in contrast with my expectations based on the synopsis and the author’s note make me feel massively let down. The book has pitfalls that while not always massive, are commonplace enough and reoccurring enough that I couldn’t ignore them, and subsequently couldn’t find myself enjoying the book, no matter how hard I wanted to. 

- Marigold

*note: I know that the race, religion, and/or cultural identity of a character, especially a poc character, should not be their only personality trait. However with Khayyam, I feel like it is not addressed in any way at all, despite the fact that within the first few sentences of the book it is put in a position to be a focal point. I just feel as though her saying vague things like ‘that lady was kind of rude to me’ leaving the insinuation that she (the woman) is racist, or ‘it’s paris so i probably won’t get shot by a cop’ (which is a fair thing to say, I just think that if you’re going to mention that you might as well add something to make me invested in that idea with regards to the character personally. That didn’t happen, therefore it feels very abstract; since she’s not in America, where such a comment would be most relevant it falls flat) really leaves out the audience and makes it hard for them to relate or sympathize with Khayyam’s struggles against racism. It feels performative, obligatory and perfunctory when it would have been such an effective device to get readers invested in Khayyam’s life, regardless of whether she was in the US or not. There are no flashbacks to help ground the things that Khayyam references, so it’s far too easy to forget that she said them at all, and that in her hometown she has a very good reason to be concerned for her safety (in special regards to the cop thing).

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Lana’s Review

Today I will be reviewing Lana’s War, but Anita Abriel. As with every other review I do there will be spoilers, so read at your own risk. 

~~SPOILERS AHEAD~~

/trigger warning: mentions of nazism/

Lana Antanova just lost her husband to the Gestapo in 1943. With nowhere to go, Lana is recruited to the French Resistance, where her status as a Russian Countess will serve her well in getting intel on the French Riviera. There she meets Guy Pascal, her partner, and after a while they fall in love. Lana also meets and protects Odette, a little Jewish girl hiding from the Gestapo raids in Nice. 

One night, Guy simply disappears. Lana moves with a man, Charles Langford, who has been in love with her since they met on the train to Nice back in 1943, and Odette to England. Later, in 1954, she moves to Paris and opens up a boutique. One night, she reconnects with Guy, who has been tracking a former Gestapo officer, Alois Brunner. That’s why he was missing. Lana decides to follow Guy to Syria to finally track Brunner down once and for all. 

I thought that the concept of this book was great. I liked Lana’s connection to Odette, which made sense for Lana because she is a very sympathetic character. However, I felt the execution was off. A lot of the time, it felt like I was reading an okay Wattpad fanfic, there was a lot of info dumping that I felt didn’t need to be there half as much as it was. The dialogue felt forced, and I couldn’t really find myself to care about Lana, whose emotions flipped like a light switch. 

I also felt like I wasn’t really reading a novel set in WWII. Yes, there were references to the Gestapo and Nazism, but otherwise I could just as easily be reading a perfectly contemporary book. 

I also felt that Lana’s Russian heritage hardly featured at all. When I was reading the synopsis of the book, I was led to believe that Lana being of Russian nobility would a core plot point, but I hardly got that at all. Lana was raised in France, admittedly, but I still felt that the synopsis misled me. 

In the final act of the book, Guy and Lana reconnect as if nothing happened. As if Guy hadn’t just disappeared one night and everything is well and good. Which I find remarkably unrealistic. Lana has been separated from Guy for about ten or eleven years, and the idea that she suddenly meets up with Guy and everything is fine again seems off. Lana might want a return to what they had back in 1943, but I think at some point she should have realized that they both changed. I think she should be a little more angry at Guy for abandoning her and Odette, but I hardly got any of that at all. 

In short, I think this book started with a fantastic idea, but the execution didn’t really deliver. It’s not a bad book by any means, but I just didn’t like it or enjoy as much as I hoped I would. 

-Marigold

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Rhapsody in Review

Today I will be reviewing Rhapsody, by Mitchell James Kaplan. As with every single review I do, there will be spoilers, so read at your own risk. 

~~SPOILERS AHEAD~~

Katharine ‘Kay’ Swift is a remarkably talented pianist. Married to James ‘Jimmy’ Warburg, Kay starts to compose music after seeing a stunning performance of Rhapsody in Blue by composer George Gershwin. This kicks off a ten-year love affair until George dies at the untimely age of 38 due to a brain tumor. 

I love this book. It was short, and it kept me turning pages. I love Kay, and her approach to sexuality and extramarital relationships is fascinating. What I found particularly interesting was that I didn’t hate her for cheating on her husband. It reminds me of Evelyn Hugo - both she and Kay loved their partners in marriage and those outside of it. I didn’t hate Kay, Jimmy, or George for their role in each other’s lives. 

The musical element was nice, and I also really like that after the ending of the book, there is a small section pointing out historical facts that may have been changed for the flow of the story. I really like that the author included that detail, as a sort of extra addition to the book that also provided some historical clarity. 

In short, I think that this book is really good. I like the pacing, how it starts at the end, then leaps back to the beginning and then traces the journey back to where the book opened. I like the characters, and I like how though music is a primary focus in the book, but it does not monopolize every facet of the story. 

-Marigold

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Review of Thieves

Today i will be taking a look at Dance of Thieves, by Mary E. Pearson. As always there will be spoilers, so read at your own risk. 

~~SPOILERS AHEAD~~

Kazimyrah is an agent of her queen. Born in a particularly poor area of the kingdom called Brightmist, Kazi learned to fend for herself, and she became a renowned petty thief simply known as Ten. But those days are behind her and Kazi has to travel to new lands to arrest enemies of her queen. This mission is put on hold for a bit however, when Kazi gets captured, along with the mysterious and powerful Jase Ballenger. They work together to escape, finally coming to Tor’s Watch, Jase’s home. And all the while they are developing feelings for each other. Kazi has to bring home the fugitives or choose Jase, for a thousand tomorrows. 

I liked this book. I think. I didn’t really have any major feelings on it. It flew by pretty quickly, but I often found it difficult to get my bearings. I know that Mary E. Pearson has written another trilogy, the Remnant Chronicles, and even though I didn’t love this book I am interested in reading those. 

So much of the hype I have seen around this book portrayed it as enemies to lovers, but I disagree. It feels more like strangers to lovers. Jase and Kazi just happened to be on opposite sides, but they certainly weren’t the sort of enemies that come to mind for me when I think enemies to lovers. 

I wish I got to see more of the queen, and there is a decent chance of that given that there is a sequel, Vow of Thieves. However, I don’t think I’ll read it. Dance of Thieves introduced me to the universe that Kazi in Jase live in, but I don’t think I want to see much more of that universe. My lukewarm feelings on the book as a whole doesn’t really bode well for the sequel. 

If you’re looking for something ya with some spice and a fantastical universe, I think this would be a good pick for you. I just didn’t find it particularly thrilling or engaging.

-Marigold 

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A Story in the Stars

Today I will be reviewing A Bend in The Stars by Rachel Barenbaum. As with every other review I do, there will be spoilers, so read ahead at your own risk!

~~SPOILERS AHEAD~~

It is 1914 in Russia. Miri Abramov is on the cusp of becoming one of Russia’s only female surgeons. Her brother, Vanya Abramov, is trying to put together the last few pieces of Einstein’s theory of relativity. As the grip on the Jewish community tightens, Miri and Vanya have to make the near impossible choice to stay or flee. 

Vanya, along with Miri’s fiancé Yuri, head towards Brovary to document a solar eclipse. Miri stays behind, and she meets a mysterious and surprisingly gentle soldier called Sasha. Eventually the pressure becomes too great, and Miri has to escape with Sasha in toe. They cross Russia together, Miri struggling with her growing feelings for Sasha and her loyalty to Yuri. 

In the end, Sasha sacrifices himself after getting engaged to Miri, Yuri finds someone else and Vanya and Miri go to America. 

I absolutely adored this book. It immediately sucked me in, and I devoured 300 pages in a single afternoon. Miri and Sasha’s romance feels completely natural and I was genuinely heartbroken when they were split up. The characters development is very well done, and their most notable characteristics do not define them. 

The flow of the story feels very natural, and there were several moments when i was pretty sure that these characters were real (which they are not, I’m sad to say). Either way, I think this is an absolutely magnificent book. 

It’s easily become one of my favorites, and I think that this is a wonderful book for a lot of people. 

-Marigold

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Into the Review

Today, I will be reviewing Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor. As per usual, there will be spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk. 

~~SPOILERS BELOW~~

The story starts with Hope Walton, a fragile sixteen-year-old, at her mother's funeral. There she is told by her father that she is being sent to stay with her Aunt Lucinda in Scotland. Hope is understandably confused and outraged by this decision, but goes nonetheless to find that her mother is not dead, as she and everyone else in her small town had presumed. 

Her mother, Sarah Carlyle, is in fact in the Middle Ages, and has been trapped there for quite some time. Sarah, along with her new friend Phoebe and her brother Collum, must travel back to that time and rescue her mother within 72 hours. 

And while all of this is happening, Hope has to reckon with her heart when she meets a captivating boy by the name of Bran Cameron, who is not who he seems to be. 

Overall, I liked this book. It kept me turning pages, although I wasn’t terribly invested in the characters. Hope reckons with the whole time travel business remarkably quickly, despite being shown as someone who has severe anxiety and crushing claustrophobia. 

I didn’t feel that the story involving Sarah or really any of the other characters was sidelined, and I thought that the way the time travel was explained made sense. The use of opals in the story also made sense and I felt that it was explained well. 

The romance between Hope and Bran didn’t feel terribly forced, although I wish I got to see their feelings develop more slowly and more presently. Bran showed up for his big moment pretty late in the story, and I feel like a lot of the feelings on both sides kind of appeared out of nowhere after he showed up. He appeared for a little while in the beginning of the book, and then a lot in the end. The middle didn’t really give me an opportunity to care about him very much. 

All in all, I liked this book. It wasn’t absolutely riveting, but I think it was very well balanced and thought out quite well. If you like time travel, then I think this book is a perfectly fine choice if you like young adult literature. 

-Marigold

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The Vanishing Plot

On today’s reviewing block we have The Vanishing Sky, by L. Annette Binder. As always there will be spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk

~~SPOILERS AHEAD~~

/trigger warnings/: WWII Germany, N*zism

To be honest, I don’t think I could tell you two things about the plot. I know that it follows one family, but all of the members are scattered to the wind across Germany. Etta, the mother, is desperately trying to keep her family together while her son, Max, is suffering psychological trauma and her husband, Josef, is retreating from life in general. Meanwhile her other son, Georg, decides to take matters into his own hands and make the perilous journey home. 

I think this book is beautifully written. It paints a beautifully bleak picture of families still living in Germany during the last year of the war. It walks the line of being anti-Nazi and still putting the characters in a sympathetic position. It’s elegant prose that isn’t too much of a chore to read. 

That said, I don’t really remember what happened. When I closed the book I felt unsatisfied, like the story should have a sequel despite it being a standalone (at least to my knowledge). It felt like a chore to read sometimes, and It took me a little while to understand where I was when the book changed in pov. The characters did not feel like those I could relate to or those that I would particularly care about, which I recognize is not an essential part of the reading experience, but I do find that it helps get me invested in the story. 

I think this book is well-written, but at times it felt like a grind to read, at least to me. That’s not to say that you can’t like it, and I do think it presents an interesting point of view in regards to those who lived in Germany in the war but who were not sympathetic to the Nazi party. It’s a beautifully written book, but not one that I would recommend above others.

-Marigold

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These Shallow Graves: A Review

Today we will be taking a look at These Shallow Graves, by Jennifer Donnelly. It’s a historical mystery, specifically taking place in Gilded Age New York City. Obviously there will be spoilers, so proceed with caution. 

~~MINOR SPOILERS BELOW~~

/trigger warning/: mentions of murder/death

We begin with our rather well-to-do, if stifled, heroine, Josephine ‘Jo’ Montfort, finding that her father, Charles Montfort, is dead. Supposedly he was cleaning his gun when it fired. Still, something doesn’t seem quite right. And when Jo investigates, she meets charming and slightly rakish reporter Edward ‘Eddie’ Gallagher. He wants a scoop and she wants answers, so they team up to figure out what actually happened. As the mystery unfolds, tying in incriminating manifests of the Van Houten company (a shipping company that Jo’s father was a partner in), and some rather nasty revelations about Jo’s own family, Jo has to decide if she really wants keep doing all of this sleuthing.  

Her very own Uncle Phillip, in partnership with a slimy orderly of an insane asylum, Francis Mallon, were trying to cover their tracks. These ‘tracks’ trace Van Houten shipping company to trading slaves. And on top of all of this unfolding, Jo has to balance being to good society girl everyone in her circle expects to be and solving the case. 

Overall, I think this book was a good mystery. The romance was an added bonus, and I didn’t find it unbelievable. However, I do have some reservations about Jo’s character, among other things. 

All of Jo’s friends from her social circle, without exception, fit into the typical narrative of what I think of when Gilded Age high society Americans come to mind - obsessed with marriage, completely content with what they have. If I were in their positions I would probably feel the same. Yet the contrast between them and Jo feels almost too stark. Too obvious. Jo is purposefully made to be the odd one out, she is the main character after all, but I also think that at some point that at least someone in Jo’s inner circle would share her spark and willfulness. 

I also felt that after the first few chapters, the mystery of who exactly killed Charles Montfort took a back seat. Admittedly, that was because of how the story was unfolding - it wasn’t a one off murder, it was a massive conspiracy - but I found myself half way through the book and forgetting who Charles Montfort was. 

But I did like that even though Jo wanted to discover more about her father and this mystery, she was still very much a product of her social class. Her choice of words and her actions do speak to how she was raised, and I like that even though Jo is very committed to figuring out the mystery, she is still awed and shocked by what she sees. She isn’t suddenly used to it. 

And when it comes time to catch up the reader, Jo’s exposition to Fay doesn’t seem forced. It makes sense in the context of what Fay has seen and been involved with up to that point, and it felt really nice to have a recap. I have to admit I sort of lost track of what had been going on up until Jo caught Fay up. 

Of all the characters, Oscar was easily the most lovable. He was smart and dorky at the same time, and I love how he factored in a little science into how those who were killed died - it was nice insight.

 The twist - that it was Uncle Phillip all along - was unexpected and it honestly made quite a lot of sense. When it was all laid out it was clear to me that it really was Uncle Phillip all along. It did exactly what a mystery should do - baited the reader into thinking that one was the culprit as opposed to the other. 

Overall, I think this book was a fun read, and the flaws that I found did not bother me so much that I could get through the book at all. I think this is a good mystery, and the romance is fun. It’s a fun read, and I would advise reading it as just that - a fun read. 

-Marigold

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The Midnight Read

Today, I will be reviewing The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig. As always, there will be spoilers ahead so please read at your own risk!

Let’s start with how cool the cover is! I know that cover design should not be the only criteria for buying a book, but the cover for this book looks incredible! 10/10, would recommend to any cover perusing people out there. 

~~SPOILERS AHEAD~~

/trigger warning/: mentions of drug abuse/overdose, suicide

It starts with Nora Seed having nothing going for her. She just got fired, her cat died, she is alone, and her brother won’t speak to her. It is going so poorly in fact, that Nora decides to overdose on anti-depressants. Instead of dying, however, Nora wakes up in this place called the Midnight Library. A place between life and death. 

There, Nora sees Mrs. Elm, her old school librarian, who tells her that all of the books on the shelves lead to a new life. So Nora starts reading. She reads through a life where she married Dan (the boyfriend that she broke up with before their wedding), a life where she moved to Australia with her friend Izzy, a life where she had swam in the Olympics. She tries a life where she is a glaciologist, a life where she is the lead singer of the Labyrinths, a band that she and her brother Joe were in. Nora tries countless lives, but no life is just right. There are lives where she is a mother, lives where she is a professor of Philosophy, there are lives where Nora is wildly successful and other where she is not. 

But eventually, Nora decides to go back to the life she had before, her root life. The Midnight Library disappears, and Nora is back where she started. Only this time a little more wisened and a lot more knowledgable on what could have been. 

I really like this book! It’s a short read, only 288 pages, but that doesn’t mean it is not captivating. Nora is intelligent and human, and she tries so hard that you can’t help but want the very best for her. You follow her journey through every one of her branching lives, right up until she decides that she wants to go back to her root life. 

Nora’s search for that ‘perfect’ life, even though it didn’t entirely exist, was a little heartbreaking to read, but it made sense. The book explores a pretty heavy idea, that with one decision there are infinite possibilities that lead to infinite futures, each of them different, but I think that it handles it well. I rarely felt bogged down by lengthy explanations, and I think the length of the book helped a lot. I don’t think that it would have made sense to keep the book going for a long time, because the reader would inevitably lose their way in its pages. Rather similar to how Nora lost her way in the library. 

All in all, I think this book is beautiful. The characters are very raw, and though this isn’t relevant in the slightest, whenever Dan spoke I heard David Tennant, and when Nora spoke I heard Emma Thompson. I recommend this book to people who want a short, but thought provoking read. It’s well-written and intelligent.

-Marigold

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Please remember to be your own, even if just for today.

<3 Moth

“I can be someone’s and still be my own.”

— Shel Silverstein

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A timeless tale for the time being

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

Recently, I finished my first Ruth Ozeki novel, A Tale for the Time Being, and she has quickly become one of my favorite authors ever! Her books are filled with completely authentic human emotions and struggles that ensnare you. Her characters over the course of her book are so realistic that I often found myself reminding myself that it was fiction!

This is, I believe, her second book and was nominated for the Booker Prize in 2013. This book deals with issues such as suicide, depression, bulling, and sexual assault. A perfect read for teens and up who want a enveloping addicting read, that is both funny and sad.

~~ Summary~~

16 year old Naoko Yusatani is going to kill herself. Ruth Ozeki is a struggling writer on the pacific northwest. Ozeki stumbles upon Nao’s diary washed up on the beach one day, and quickly falls into Naoko’s stories about her life as a teenage girl, her move from America to Japan, the cruel ijime (bulling) that she goes through daily at school, and most importantly her feminist Buddhist nun great-grandmother old Jiko. 

The book switches perspectives from Nao’s diary entries and Ozeki’s own life and struggles. During both of their own enthralling narratives the characters change and develop while still holding on to their connection to each other: the diary. All of the characters in this are so believably written that fiction seems to blend with reality. Full of twists, turns, and heart-wrenching scenes, A Tale for the time Being becomes an empowering, enlightening, and beautiful story about the true pains of life. 

-Moth

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Bad Blood, Good Book

Today’s book is... Good Girl, Bad Blood, by Holly Jackson. It’s the sequel to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, so there will be spoilers for both that book and this one. ~READ AT YOUR OWN RISK~

So, I actually really liked this book. Just like with the last one, the twist wasn’t obvious, and the characters were interesting (do note that I am biased in favor of Ravi, what can I say). I had already built an opinion of Pip and Ravi in the first book, so I would recommend reading AGGGTM (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder) before you read this book. I would also recommend this because some of what is mentioned and covered in GGBB (Good Girl, Bad Blood) links back to AGGGTM, and readers who started on GGBB might be a little confused. However, I wouldn’t say that it’s entirely necessary, but I do think that it gives some good context.

~~SPOILERS BELOW~~

Now, onto the rest of the thing. Pip Fitz-Amobi is back at it again. After discovering the truth of the Andie Bell case - namely that Sal Singh did not kill Andie Bell - Pip released a podcast detailing her journey in solving case. Pip was very clear that she had put her sleuthing days behind her. Until Jamie Reynolds, older brother her best friend Connor Reynolds, goes missing. 

At first, Pip sticks to her promise - when Connor first asks for her help, Pip refuses. However, when she finds that the police have marked Jamie a low-risk case, despite both Connor and Jamie’s mother Joanna saying that this disappearance is out of character, Pip jumps right in. This leads her on a wild goose chase around the town that finally points to Layla Mead, a catfish that Jamie and several other men in the town had been communicating with. 

But a wrench is thrown in the works by Max Hastings, serial rapist and all around scumbag (my words) is cleared of all charges in his case. Pip seems to finally crack, until she has a bit of a pep talk with her new neighbor, Charlie Green, and jumps back on the case. 

When Pip follows the trail to an abandoned farmhouse in the final act fo the book, a person she never expected to involved shows up - Stanley Forbes, ruthless journalist of Fairview, CT. This reveals the truth of his identity: before he was Stanley Forbes, he was David Knight, and even before that he was the infamous Child Brunswick, the barely 10-year-old assistant of Scott Brunswick, a.k.a the Monster of Rochester, a serial killer who targeted children active in 2000 and 2001 in Rochester, NY. He had six victims, and his ruse was using his son, not just with luring victims, but with disposing their bodies. 

The case further unfolds when it is discovered that Charlie, the supposedly kind, pep-talk giving neighbor of Pip is Layla, who has been catfishing men all around the country who match the rough description of Child Brunswick. Charlie Green is the sister of Emily Nowell, the last victim of Scott Brunswick. And Charlie has been looking for Stanley so he can avenge his sister's death. And - MASSIVE SPOILER - Charlie and his wife Flora go on the run, Stanley gets killed, and Pip releases the second season of her podcast with some pretty serious baggage.

One thing that I want to note about this book before I say anything else - I adore the way this book is set up. With pictures, and recordings and transcripts of interviews - it’s extremely engaging and visually interesting. I’m not kidding when I say that this book and the one before it made me want to go into detective work. Maybe I’m just very easy to convince, but I think my points stands - GGBB is a really good book. 

I can’t wait for the third book in Pip’s story, As Good As Dead, which will be released on September 28, 2021. 

To sum up my thoughts, I love this book, and the book before it. The characters are believable, the action is fast-paced and keeps you invested, and the twist is unexpected. I read the book in one day, and to anyone who may want to read this book and AGGGTM, I would highly recommend it. It’s really good!

- Marigold