Reviews with content warning for Murder - River Woman, River Demon

I really wanted to like this. A whodunnit thriller with witches? Sign me up. I read it via the Libby/Overdrive Together We Read campaign in part because the description suggests that it's "perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic."

This was nothing like Mexican Gothic.

First off, none of these characters are likeable. (Except perhaps the children, who also seem to perfect to be real.) Which like, whatever, that's kind of par for the course with thrillers. The issue is that it seems like the author wants us to like Eva. But I just did not. I don't necessarily agree with the many reviews that slam her for being a terrible mother (poor woman is being gaslit and traumatized, that would make it hard to parent), but she still isn't a particularly strong character outside of her parenting skills.

I also felt like the tone was just all over the place. One moment I'd be reading some really lovely, literary prose and the next she's calling Santa Muerte a bad bitch. I found it jarring and had trouble staying engaged.

It also simply just drags. Part of what keeps a thriller going is how the mystery unravels chapter by chapter, but Eva is not trying to solve the mystery, so the whole second act just slogs. I almost DNFed at around 35-40%, but decided to give it a bit longer. I skimmed tons of the middle chapters, but was interested enough as the loose ends started to tie up to finish. Eva never really tries to solve anything, the evidence just lands in her lap and she pieces it together. It's an interesting twist, albeit a little predictable. But it honestly was not worth the slog.

All in all, River Woman River Demon has such and a m a z i n g concept, but it's very poorly executed, which is disappointing. I don't necessarily regret reading and finishing it, but I wouldn't do it again. What the author has to say about racial injustice, especially in the legal system, in this book is important, but it was not an effective vehicle for it. Proceed with caution, and definitely check trigger warnings if you decide to give this book a go.

Content Warnings

candles_and_shadow's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

sunnydale's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

i got this book because it was promoted as a group read on libby. i haven't read a lot of thriller/suspense, so i'm not sure how to judge the quality of the book in the context of its genre.

i found the premise compelling, although the magick didn't get as much of an emphasis as i'd hoped. explanations and exposition felt rushed, and had an almost didactic tone that was different from the narrator's usual voice.

speaking of the main character, i don't think of her as unlikeable—i actually really appreciated how thoroughly her trauma informs her character. her decisions were usually bad, often frustrating, and made complete sense to me given her history. eva says at one point later in the book that she feels stuck at 15, the age where she was initially traumatized, and that is in fact how ptsd works! i felt like the author not only understands how trauma shapes a person, but also skillfully depicted that process.

unfortunately, the main character was fighting against the plot, and i'm still not sure who won. after an initial focus on external challenges (a murder, a nosy detective), most of the conflict was generated by eva's decisions. her insecurities, miscommunications, and unhealthy coping mechanisms kept her from engaging with the external challenges—it seemed like her biggest obstacle was herself. it would make sense, then, if the resolution came from her decisions as well. i was expecting the climax to be her self-actualization, but instead a new set of external forces railroad her into growing as a person. i wish she had been given a little more agency—she felt like she went from reacting to the plot to reacting to her trauma to reacting to the plot again, never actually making conscious decisions to change her life.

i'd still recommend this book to others who are interested in thrillers, brujeria, and complex main characters.

Content Warnings