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A review by hayleyjames24
Jackal by Erin E. Adams
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I really wanted to like this but it threw me off and lost me when it got all magical realism and supernatural on me which felt like it came from left field.
It was eerie and uncomfortable and had me flying through the pages in the beginning but it lost me maybe half way. feels like it went on a bit long for me when it could’ve been shorter and sharper for more impact.
I do really like a “MC has to return to their small hometown that they purposefully ran away from and discovers things” trope so loved this side of it.
The person on the cover that said it was like the movie Get Out had a great observation and if it had ended with a more typical murder mystery I think I would’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.
I found the themes and tropes of racism, and secrets in a small town and ritualistic murders interesting alongside speaking about class and segregation and the history of the town. It was definitely a LOT of black trauma
I was super interested in the plot point of the murderer taking the little black girls to stop their families thriving a predominately white town and wish this had ended without the supernatural. It just left me confused and I didn’t know what the plot was anymore :(
I liked the flash forwards and flash backs and the stories of each of the girls but the writing was sometimes these really short sentences with lots of full stops and others really flowery metaphorical language, my brain struggles a little.
I really really enjoyed Liz’s character and thought she was so fleshed out and real, but I didn’t really bond with any of the other characters and I think that’s why I got to the end and was like huh, but ultimately didn’t really care.
I would read another one of this authors books, as I think the themes she explored are super interesting and I did enjoy majority of this book. Will be interesting to see what she does next.
It was eerie and uncomfortable and had me flying through the pages in the beginning but it lost me maybe half way. feels like it went on a bit long for me when it could’ve been shorter and sharper for more impact.
I do really like a “MC has to return to their small hometown that they purposefully ran away from and discovers things” trope so loved this side of it.
The person on the cover that said it was like the movie Get Out had a great observation and if it had ended with a more typical murder mystery I think I would’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.
I found the themes and tropes of racism, and secrets in a small town and ritualistic murders interesting alongside speaking about class and segregation and the history of the town. It was definitely a LOT of black trauma
I was super interested in the plot point of the murderer taking the little black girls to stop their families thriving a predominately white town and wish this had ended without the supernatural. It just left me confused and I didn’t know what the plot was anymore :(
I liked the flash forwards and flash backs and the stories of each of the girls but the writing was sometimes these really short sentences with lots of full stops and others really flowery metaphorical language, my brain struggles a little.
I really really enjoyed Liz’s character and thought she was so fleshed out and real, but I didn’t really bond with any of the other characters and I think that’s why I got to the end and was like huh, but ultimately didn’t really care.
I would read another one of this authors books, as I think the themes she explored are super interesting and I did enjoy majority of this book. Will be interesting to see what she does next.