A review by laurelconover
Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia

dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I really did like this book, the author has a great ability to craft a world and depth, and I think the choice of making this in 1920s Harlem offered an element of mystery and newness that wouldn't have been able to have been betrayed if it had been set in modern-day. The characters were interesting, and the main character was enjoyable and likable without being too much, her flaws are evident but they are what make her a person and don't feel like something added to make her imperfect after the fact, which sometimes it feels like the characters are. At times she aggravated me with her short-sightedness and brash actions, but not in a bad way, it was just one of her flaws and was implemented into the story well.

This is not a book I think I will re-read read, although I can understand if someone else would, I felt like the mystery was a little bit too straightforward for my preferences, there was a bit of... foreshadowing? Omnipotent narration? whatever it is called, that basically *possible spoilers*
  kinda told us who the killer is somewhat early on, and the mystery is to figure out why. I felt this clash slightly with the narrative structure because the main character does not know who the killer is, but the readers do which offers a strange dissonance to the overall plot that personally didn't work for me.
 

There is a SA scene involving the main character, although it is stopped, it is still mentioned and described in moderate to somewhat graphic details in real-time as it is happening, so please be cautious if this is something you are sensitive to. 

There have been comments about sudden chapter endings, and choppy sentences, but I listened to this on audiobook and none of this sort of thing stuck out to me, so take that as you will.

I felt the *slight spoiler*
death in the middle of the third act
came out of nowhere and didn't add much to the story, and it felt like it was included to add drama and higher stakes and it didn't work for me.

One thing that I truly enjoyed and would love to see more of in any other book was how the LGBTQ+ characters were written. It wasn't the main focus of the book, and that was a very good thing. These were people first and foremost and your sexuality was only an aspect of who they were, not their entire person and I REALLY like how it was done. 

Overall I would recommend this but I think this does read like a debut novel, there are a lot of good things in it but it does suffer from some major structural issues that, I hope, with time, the author will be able to work on and improve upon. I am definitely looking forward to her future work and how she will evolve and grow as a writer. 
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