breezrose 's review for:

The Removed by Brandon Hobson

2.0

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Spoiler

I was intrigued by the premise but disappointed by the execution. I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by a great cast of voice actors, which helped to move the story along. Overall I found the pacing to be slow and action to be lacking, despite the constant shifting between the different family members' narratives. I always appreciate a story of grief and its long lasting impacts, especially when it is expressed in different ways. However, the individual storylines felt disjointed from themselves and each other. The only commonality was the pain of missing Ray-Ray fifteen years later, and while the few speculative elements present could have really been turned up to highlight this, it fell flat.

Maria's was the best and most coherent storyline, though the foster son Wyatt -seeming to channel Ray-Ray- aspect was left a mystery. It was also strange that Maria and Ernest enjoy cop dramas given that a cop killed their son...Sonia's strange fixation on a young father whom she stalks before briefly dating could have been chalked up to grief, especially as his son reminds her of Ray-Ray, but her pursuit ended up being fueled by the fact that he was the son of the cop who killed her brother. All of this is revealed in about a paragraph and ends then and there with no resolution besides her yelling at him about his father before he drives off, never to be seen again (after he drunkenly hits her the night before). Edgar's story had the most speculative potential, as we don't actually know where he is the whole time. He could be on the brink of death in an in between realm from an overdose, dreaming, rehab, it is never revealed. His chapters were dark and strange, and again, if more structure was provided, his storyline could have been really engaging. He interacts with the spirit who has also been narrating chapters at the end of his time in the Darkening Land where some very rushed symbolism is brought in. He walks off, presumably back into the land of the living, but we aren't sure.

Finally, the book's ending was incredibly ambiguous, with the parents and Sonia preparing to greet what could be Edgar, Ray-Ray's ghost, or a host of ancestors at their annual remembrance bonfire. It ended like there would be a sequel, but I don't think that was the idea. It sadly felt unfinished.