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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Writing: amateur | Plot: tons of potential but mid execution | Ending: ight then
Phat ass trigger warning: religious trauma, sexual assault/harassment, grooming | Hybrid eyeball/earhole read.
SYNOPSIS
Del Walker returns home to 'The Messiah' aka The Mess, a small town dominated by Pastor Rick Franklin and his church cronies, to find out if her ex Lars really died in an accident, or if it was cold blooded murder.
MY OPINION
Cults/religious sects remain my favourite trope, and yet, I still struggle to find a banger. When you strip away everything else, this plot was simply oozing potential. But the execution was like me trying to run up a hill: I can do it, but it's gonna be a struggle.
Before I get into it, I just want to advise those that are devoutly religious and can't handle any religious slander should stay far, far away from this. Amy Suiter Clarke does try to play the fence, but the overwhelming attitude is the church is where dreams and self-worth go to die. You've been warned.
Ok, so I started this with my eyeballs but I had to tap into the audio at about 40% to get it over the line. I found the writing to be extremely amateurish, which watered down the seriousness of the themes and topics broached in this book. Just imagine a six-year-old explaining to you what 9/11 is about. It's still sad but it doesn't have the same emotional impact. That's the vibe here.
Next, I think Del's reasoning to go full Nancy Drew was a lil forced. This one's on me because I knew going into it but I do not like when full-grown adults are hung up on lusty emotions they had when their brains weren't fully developed. Especially in this case when Del's feelings for Lars occurred while she was balls-deep in the church's Noble Wife teachings, and since then she's done a complete 180. Anyways, I didn't fact this personal dislike into my rating, but what I did consider was the fact that Lars straight up cheated on Del, ditched her, and never apologized. HUH??? You're dead to me. Quite literally. RIP though. Why the fk would I literally risk my life to figure out which religious whackjob in this backwoods town may or may not have killed Lars intentionally? That sounds like a problem for the police, or his wife Eve if we're going the citizens gone rogue angle.
Also, at the beginning Del says she still loves Lars (how? why? Idk. Just vibes), but then she starts scamming on the restaurant owner Finn and never really delves into her feelings, or lack of, for Lars again. Since the motive for Detective Del's sleuthing was her feelings for Lars, it seemed odd that she would be bussin it open in a commercial fridge for some rando without a second thought???
Del's bizarre behaviour didn't stop there. Like Kit in The Only One Left, she stomps around town, interrogating people with the discretion of a nude beach. She hasn't been back home in six or so years, but she expects everyone to confess immediately to her intrusive questions. But since no one will really talk to her, Del takes matters into her own hand by spreading her wild theories around town with no tangible evidence. And then has the audacity to think people should mollify her when the subject of her half-cocked theories reportedly dies by suicide. Girl?
Next, the baddie was reveal was painfully obvious. Big ole LE DUH right here. While Eve's character did have some development, it seemed highly unbelievable that after years of fending off the haters, she would have such a big change in her beliefs just because her husband didn't wanna dick her down 24/7. And what was up with Pastor Keith's beliefs as well? Unfortunately there were a lot of things in this book that weren't flushed out well enough to earn buy-in from me as a picky ass reader.
All in all, this was a middle of the road read. If you see me change this rating from a 3 to a 2 in the future, no you didn't. If you like cults/religious sects, straight-forward writing, and books that can keep you entertained but don't require too much brainpower, this is a good enough options IMO.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: plot had tons of potential
Cons: many aspects weren't explained, bland and basic writing, way too long, Del was a big ole dumb dumb (she reminded me of Kit from The Only One Left the way she sauntered around town with zero discretion and tack, asking invasive questions and then being surprised people didn't immediately breakdown and confess)
___
Check out my YouTube
Phat ass trigger warning: religious trauma, sexual assault/harassment, grooming | Hybrid eyeball/earhole read.
SYNOPSIS
Del Walker returns home to 'The Messiah' aka The Mess, a small town dominated by Pastor Rick Franklin and his church cronies, to find out if her ex Lars really died in an accident, or if it was cold blooded murder.
MY OPINION
Cults/religious sects remain my favourite trope, and yet, I still struggle to find a banger. When you strip away everything else, this plot was simply oozing potential. But the execution was like me trying to run up a hill: I can do it, but it's gonna be a struggle.
Before I get into it, I just want to advise those that are devoutly religious and can't handle any religious slander should stay far, far away from this. Amy Suiter Clarke does try to play the fence, but the overwhelming attitude is the church is where dreams and self-worth go to die. You've been warned.
Ok, so I started this with my eyeballs but I had to tap into the audio at about 40% to get it over the line. I found the writing to be extremely amateurish, which watered down the seriousness of the themes and topics broached in this book. Just imagine a six-year-old explaining to you what 9/11 is about. It's still sad but it doesn't have the same emotional impact. That's the vibe here.
Next, I think Del's reasoning to go full Nancy Drew was a lil forced. This one's on me because I knew going into it but I do not like when full-grown adults are hung up on lusty emotions they had when their brains weren't fully developed. Especially in this case when Del's feelings for Lars occurred while she was balls-deep in the church's Noble Wife teachings, and since then she's done a complete 180. Anyways, I didn't fact this personal dislike into my rating, but what I did consider was the fact that Lars straight up cheated on Del, ditched her, and never apologized. HUH??? You're dead to me. Quite literally. RIP though. Why the fk would I literally risk my life to figure out which religious whackjob in this backwoods town may or may not have killed Lars intentionally? That sounds like a problem for the police, or his wife Eve if we're going the citizens gone rogue angle.
Also, at the beginning Del says she still loves Lars (how? why? Idk. Just vibes), but then she starts scamming on the restaurant owner Finn and never really delves into her feelings, or lack of, for Lars again. Since the motive for Detective Del's sleuthing was her feelings for Lars, it seemed odd that she would be bussin it open in a commercial fridge for some rando without a second thought???
Del's bizarre behaviour didn't stop there. Like Kit in The Only One Left, she stomps around town, interrogating people with the discretion of a nude beach. She hasn't been back home in six or so years, but she expects everyone to confess immediately to her intrusive questions. But since no one will really talk to her, Del takes matters into her own hand by spreading her wild theories around town with no tangible evidence. And then has the audacity to think people should mollify her when the subject of her half-cocked theories reportedly dies by suicide. Girl?
Next, the baddie was reveal was painfully obvious. Big ole LE DUH right here. While Eve's character did have some development, it seemed highly unbelievable that after years of fending off the haters, she would have such a big change in her beliefs just because her husband didn't wanna dick her down 24/7. And what was up with Pastor Keith's beliefs as well? Unfortunately there were a lot of things in this book that weren't flushed out well enough to earn buy-in from me as a picky ass reader.
All in all, this was a middle of the road read. If you see me change this rating from a 3 to a 2 in the future, no you didn't. If you like cults/religious sects, straight-forward writing, and books that can keep you entertained but don't require too much brainpower, this is a good enough options IMO.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: plot had tons of potential
Cons: many aspects weren't explained, bland and basic writing, way too long, Del was a big ole dumb dumb (she reminded me of Kit from The Only One Left the way she sauntered around town with zero discretion and tack, asking invasive questions and then being surprised people didn't immediately breakdown and confess)
___
Check out my YouTube
The mystery plot is just ok, but Amy Suiter Clarke’s description of growing up in the mega church culture is freakily accurate. She sheds light on the fine line between adhering to spiritual morals and perpetuating cult-like church behavior in the name of the Bible.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5 ⭐️: Tame in comparison to my favorite cult trope reads. My attention span struggled with this one - I didn’t feel disturbed, enraged, or interested. The plot had potential, but it was executed like a Catholic mass - long, dull, and and strait-laced.
I have to think about this one for a while. It was a powerful story about the sinister hold a church can hold over a town BEFORE it became a murder mystery. I thought I was getting one story, and I got another. It was a very, very good book. I would have been even happier if it had dismantled the evil brick by brick without it turning into a murder story.
The story about women who had been hurt by the church was so compelling, and as someone who has experienced harm at the hands of an organization we're taught to believe in and trust with our whole hearts, I would have been so satisfied to see the pastor of a mega-church fall from grace. That was the story I think my heart really wanted. The mystery was fine. Things fell into place oddly at the end, and there wasn't the satisfaction I had really hoped to feel.
But it was good. Worth reading. I think there is room for plenty more stories on this topic.
The story about women who had been hurt by the church was so compelling, and as someone who has experienced harm at the hands of an organization we're taught to believe in and trust with our whole hearts, I would have been so satisfied to see the pastor of a mega-church fall from grace. That was the story I think my heart really wanted. The mystery was fine. Things fell into place oddly at the end, and there wasn't the satisfaction I had really hoped to feel.
But it was good. Worth reading. I think there is room for plenty more stories on this topic.