A review by bsparks2112
The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm pretty impressed by this one. Starting from an intriguing and unsettling premise, I loved the structuring of this short tale and the way it fleshes out a lot of the implications of its main conceit (even the quite unflattering ones). There seems to be a ton of depth behind the characters here, not just the main character (Molly, naturally) but also her parents - there is a satisfying amount of history and buildup to get Molly into the place where she is introduced, and some of the discoveries that are made along her journey land with the nice reveal of a good twist (not to mention being deeply creepy). There is a lot that goes relatively unexplored here - it seems to be saving a lot of stuff for follow-up entries in the novella series, and as a result, it seems almost a little too short for its own good. But one sign of a good story is that it leaves you wanting more, and this one definitely did that. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on more of Thompson's work.