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

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

2.0

A book for people who loved Scream and Happy Death Day? I thought this would basically be written FOR me. (Is anyone else declaring it Halloween already?) And, while it did not have nearly as much of the comedy/meta commentary element present in Scream or Happy Death Day, How to Survive Your Murder did keep me up until 6 am to finish it. 

Then, sadly, I read the ending, which is TRASH. There is no conclusion to any of the major plot points, despite the fact that this is supposed to be a standalone. Even after sleeping on it for 7 hours, I’m still mad about about it. If there is a sequel, I would be fine with it and give a couple of stars back. But given this is advertised as a standalone, I just cannot say it was a good book. The last three pages really did not work for me so long as there is no follow up to actually create an ending instead of the biggest cop out ending since Lost (or so I’ve heard—I’ve never actually watched Lost because I’ve heard so many people complain about the ending). 

This book is good for a few thrills and it does really bring the horror and gore elements of a slasher. But if you want any kind of conclusion to your stories or really any explanation of the events AT ALL, probably don’t pick this up, unfortunately. If the author had taken the time to write a real ending that actually wrapped up this story, this could have been a four star review. As things stand, I simply cannot comprehend the number of five star reviews for this book on Goodreads. 
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