A review by cinderrunner
Death by French Roast by Alex Erickson

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Ive read all the books in this series leading up to this and this is one of the weakest. The reveal was super boring motive wise. The author had a set up that could have been a lot more juicy if they had leaned into the age gap/predator thing. I don't love that a male author decided to write about large age gap relationships in this way when grooming (espcially in the time period the murder was committed) was largely men preying on young girls. And yes, the story does line up with grooming since Rita acknowledged they were "friends" before they dated (making her underage and him still a full grown man who has no business socializing with a child). I am big on the idea that, if an author is going to speak on something that disproportionately impacts a community they dont belong to, that author better have a damn good reason for it and truly add something to the conversation. Otherwise youre exploiting the pain that doesn't belong to you. I felt like this narrative defended concerning and predatory age gaps more than it either remained neutral or condemned them. So big red flag. And the plot resolution suffered as a result. I also didn't realize til now that our main character was in her 40s. It made me loose any respect I had for her. Her insecurity, childishness, and overall behavior is ridiculous at that age. She reads like she's at the MOST a very immature early 30s. Honestly, this series isn't phenomenal literature. I read it for easy, guilty pleasure type reading. I never expect much from this series but this addition still managed to disappoint. I have the next two books in the series so I will at least read those. But this novel made me contemplate quitting the series.