Reviews - Next of Kin | The StoryGraph

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1.01k reviews for:

Next of Kin

Kia Abdullah

4.11 AVERAGE

marivi_anderson's review against another edition

4.25

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

briannemcc's review against another edition

2.5

tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

friedeggnes's review against another edition

3.0

mysterious tense medium-paced

This is the second book by Kia Abdullah I've read and it's exceedingly clear where here strengths and weaknesses as a writer are. Abdullah is exceedingly talented at keeping pace and building suspense and using vivid language. She builds interesting character dynamics and isn't afraid to make the reader uncomfortable with harsh truths. However, what she lacks is an ability to let a plot stand on its own without some big twist at the end. It is almost obsessive the way she ends both novels: very insistent on having one last gotcha! What Abdullah sacrifices in order to have that last "gotcha!" moment is often character-motivation plot holes where characters behave in ways that no human would. Sometimes a story should be allowed to untangle on its own.