A review by elliott_the_clementine
How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine

dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I waffled over how to review this book. The main character, Alice, irked in a way reminiscent of other “final girls,” and the points at which the novel does not take itself too seriously are the places where it shines brightest. Moreover, despite mediocre execution and poor pacing overshadowing the dark, gripping plot, How to Survive Your Murder circumvents presenting fear and gore with no purpose (suggested by the book’s excessive, gory murders that threaten to cross the line set by the genre) by integrating bad-horror-movie style scenes that do not cease to entertain and leaning into the dark humor of the genre to construct a story that, while predictable, genuinely horrifies at times. A solid read. 
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