Thank you so much to Blue Rider Press and Penguin Random House for providing my copy – all opinions are my own.
Immediately, I was drawn to the title and cover of this book. Then I read the description and I knew I had to read it. The souls of murdered children exact revenge on behalf of their loved ones by inhabiting recently deceased adults in order to restore balance. HOOKED.
Strange deaths have been occurring in Saggerty Falls, Michigan. Willow Wylde, an ex-NYPD detective and recovering alcoholic fresh out of rehab, tries to start anew and takes a job running the cold case team in this Detroit suburb. However, he is still dealing with the demons of his recovery and is very self-destructive.
The most amazing quality about this book is the extremely unique, one-of-a-kind, and interesting plot. I have never read a story like this before. There is a guide book that is adhered to and provides order. There’s the Porter, Annie Ballendine; Tenants, which are the souls of murdered children; Landlords, recently deceased adults; and much more. A murdered child finds a recently deceased adult, revives him, they live together as “tenant and landlord”, the child locates his or her murderer, and exacts their “moment of balance”. Sounds complicated, right? Well, in a way it is, so paying close attention to the details is key.
The imagination that went into constructing this story and this other world is impressive and fantastically written. I am always in awe when an author creates such an incredible level of detail. Also, I enjoyed the character development and although there are a lot of characters, you still get a good understanding of each of them. Sound interesting? Well, it is.
The overall structure of the book is where things get a little rough as there are multiple perspectives, alternating timelines, and stories. My main issue is with the editing, but my guess is that it is corrected for the finished copy. Also, be prepared as this book does contain sensitive material such as rape, abuse, and the murder of children (obviously), so proceed with caution. Ultimately, I enjoyed the book for the originality, depth, and imagination. It is truly a horrifying, heartbreaking, and twisted read.
My rating is 4 / 5 stars!
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