Reviews with content warning for Stalking - Dead Dead Girls

Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia

14 reviews

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This has such great characters and vibes that it carries it through a lackluster mystery. I love Louise and her friends and journey, and the rich painting the author set. I do wish structurally the second half had gotten another editing pass. It started to feel like things were just happening without adding more to the mystery or raising the stakes.

I really don't think Celia had to die. Louise was already desperate to stop him and on to him, and didn't need extra motivation and her ouiji plan was so odd. I feel like we set up some mystery around Celia's boy and Josie's disappearances and her original kidnapping that we were going to play into but didn't. I think kidnapping one or both of the twins would have been better to up the stakes.

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mybeevenme's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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venusdapoopiehead's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

i could definitely tell that this was a debut novel, the writing felt very simplistic, and even a little flat at times. there was also some times where the author seemed to do more telling not showing, rather than showing not telling, which isn’t to say her writing was bad-i just think the author’s writing style is very typical for a new writer to have, however i definitely think she has room to grow and i might give her other books a try to see if her writing style may have improved. but overall tho, good story, good plot, just good, don’t really have much complaints. i loved the characters and they way they’re written, and even if the twist at the end was kind of predictable (atleast it was for me, cause sometimes i tend to somehow perfectly predict what’s gonna happen in a book) i still liked it. if you’re looking for a nice book that you can read when you just wanna turn your brain off and relax without thinking too deeply, this might be it for you.

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queerfelicity's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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danajoy's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I enjoyed the setting of this book but I found the pace off. I struggled to really get into it.

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gothnailcare's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

2.0

I so wanted to like this book. The characters were lovable and I admired the author's dedication to describing clothes and social spaces, but the book's pacing and the shifts in narrative style worked against the story, page after page. I am not the kind of mystery reader who makes demands of the author with regards to who knows what & when they're given the agency to figure it out. Is the reader given information to determine who the killer is before the detective? Or does the detective know something the reader doesn't? Whatever the answer, I am usually happy to be along for the ride and observing at any distance as long as the narrative plays these cards well, but I can't say I felt this book succeeded.

Additionally, there were a number of loose ends I assumed would be tied up at the end of the book, but explanations for these never materialized. I have to assume that some of this is done for the purpose of setting up the next book. But if I'm not sure whether a book is setting up a second novel or whether it's littered with red herrings, well...

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