A review by sweetestwindmill
Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

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

2.0

I just didn't really vibe with this book, although to be fair I did sort of know going into it that it probably wouldn't be my kind of thing. It's obviously incredibly violent and absolutely full of sex of every description - there's not a single protagonist who isn't sleeping with at least two or three other characters, and the sex is often very violent as well. However, it must be said that although neither extreme violence or extreme sexual content is really my jam, those weren't the issues I had with the book in general! I knew I would encounter them going in, and so I was prepared.

My main problem with this book is that I found nearly every single character spectacularly unlikable at worst, and flatly uninteresting at best (with the exception of Beth, who remains the MVP). In spite of the fast-paced action and constant gut-punching twists, I just didn't really care what happened to them, and in some cases
(yes, I mean you, FRAN)
I was actively rooting against them. 

Add this to the fact that the stream of violence, slurs, transphobia, body horror, torture, sexual assault, organ harvesting and countless other terrible things was so constant that I soon became numb to it and therefore it failed to have the shock value it was designed for, and... well, eh. I just lost interest.

It's a shame, because I did enjoy the central premise. And I know a lot of people really love this book, so maybe it's a skill issue! Horror is never going to be My Thing, and I will always, always prioritise careful character exploration over big exciting plot developments. 
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