A review by sim1
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

adventurous funny medium-paced

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

3.5

 I may have had too high expectations here... I mean it was good, but it didn't blow my mind or anything. The world is really interesting and I liked the characters but the plot was just...kinda a basic detective story. With honestly pretty common "tropes". Like..the detective who "works alone" and is mad that they got a partner. The femme fatale, the young newbie etc. Just because the detective is a woman doesn't make it...not tropey 🤷‍♀️
Anyway apart from that there were a few things that were frustrating about Fatma. She's described as this amazing investigator but she never does any really special deducing..it's just...normal police work. She didn't even realize the Djinns were being controlled unil her girlfriend said it out loud to her face. And I'm pretty sure I spent the last 40% of this book screaming at her that it was the sister not the brother. So that twist absolutely failed to shock me at all, and the fact that Fatma figured it out so late was more frustrating.

I guess I was just so intrigued by the world building and stuff that I really wished the actual Plot was better.