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A review by violentdelights
Blood Justice by Terry J. Benton-Walker
4.0
Blood Justice had the same amount of charm, love, and magic as Blood Debts without as many of its pitfalls. It was a compelling mystery with twists and turns that left me on the edge of my seat. The character arcs of the twins are a natural continuation of the first book, and speak to their own feelings around fairness and justice that raised interesting conversations.
The mystery in Blood Justice was just as captivating and page-turning as the one in Blood Debts, without as much of the second act clutter that felt hard to track. While not necessarily straightforward, the mystery didn’t feel nearly as overwhelming as the one in the first book, which I appreciate. I also appreciate how much the mystery tied in with the character arcs of our main characters, and how the pressures felt ratcheted up from the first novel (ie. solving a thirty-year-old murder vs solving a present-day murder).
Like its former, Blood Justice suffers from a large cast of characters. While the problem is less jarring as we had the entirety of the first book to get used to most of the characters, the new characters introduced like Ayden or Detective Sommers felt underdeveloped and ultimately not wholly necessary to the plot. Additionally, I was left wishing in both books that New Orleans played a larger role, or at least added more flavour text and description to the book. There were also a few lines that felt clunky and stilted, like the author didn’t trust the reader enough and instead went ahead and stated the obvious; however, since I was granted an advanced copy, I can only assume these lines will be ironed out and tried not to give them too much weight.
While I’m never a fan of a cliffhanger story ending, I can understand that the story told within this novel was wrapped up to the best of its ability, and can only wait with bated breath for the next book in the series.
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
The mystery in Blood Justice was just as captivating and page-turning as the one in Blood Debts, without as much of the second act clutter that felt hard to track. While not necessarily straightforward, the mystery didn’t feel nearly as overwhelming as the one in the first book, which I appreciate. I also appreciate how much the mystery tied in with the character arcs of our main characters, and how the pressures felt ratcheted up from the first novel (ie. solving a thirty-year-old murder vs solving a present-day murder).
Like its former, Blood Justice suffers from a large cast of characters. While the problem is less jarring as we had the entirety of the first book to get used to most of the characters, the new characters introduced like Ayden or Detective Sommers felt underdeveloped and ultimately not wholly necessary to the plot. Additionally, I was left wishing in both books that New Orleans played a larger role, or at least added more flavour text and description to the book. There were also a few lines that felt clunky and stilted, like the author didn’t trust the reader enough and instead went ahead and stated the obvious; however, since I was granted an advanced copy, I can only assume these lines will be ironed out and tried not to give them too much weight.
While I’m never a fan of a cliffhanger story ending, I can understand that the story told within this novel was wrapped up to the best of its ability, and can only wait with bated breath for the next book in the series.
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!