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A review by bibliomich
The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Talk about a page turner. This book had me HOOKED! I don't read a ton of thrillers, but I so appreciate a well-paced thriller with compelling characters, and Emiko Jean's newest book absolutely delivers both.
I always get so nervous as I approach the end of a thriller, because I feel like everything hinges on the resolution. (Has the author laid enough groundwork for the reveal to pay off? Does it make sense? Is it realistic?) The resolution of this book was arguably my favorite part of the entire story. The foundations and backstory were there, and the reveal was believable (and honestly shocking without feeling like it came out of nowhere).
I think this book is best if you don't know anything at all going into it, so I'm not going to elaborate much on the story or characters here. I do have a couple additional thoughts, though. There were a few aspects of the book that I wish Emiko Jean could have dug into a bit more. Throughout the book, Detective Chelsea Calhoun, one of the protagonists, is deeply immersed in her job. And while Jean addresses some of the problems with the white male cop culture that is an inherent part of this job, I felt like she could have explored this/pushed it further.
Additionally, this same protagonist is also a Japanese woman who was adopted as a child by a white family. Emiko Jean is an Asian-identifying author who often writes Japanese characters, and I was quite excited to see how this would play out in the story. While she references it a couple of times (mostly in the context of feeling like a bit of an outsider, particularly at her job), I also would have loved to see Chelsea's identity play a larger role in the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my advanced copy!
I always get so nervous as I approach the end of a thriller, because I feel like everything hinges on the resolution. (Has the author laid enough groundwork for the reveal to pay off? Does it make sense? Is it realistic?) The resolution of this book was arguably my favorite part of the entire story. The foundations and backstory were there, and the reveal was believable (and honestly shocking without feeling like it came out of nowhere).
I think this book is best if you don't know anything at all going into it, so I'm not going to elaborate much on the story or characters here. I do have a couple additional thoughts, though. There were a few aspects of the book that I wish Emiko Jean could have dug into a bit more. Throughout the book, Detective Chelsea Calhoun, one of the protagonists, is deeply immersed in her job. And while Jean addresses some of the problems with the white male cop culture that is an inherent part of this job, I felt like she could have explored this/pushed it further.
Additionally, this same protagonist is also a Japanese woman who was adopted as a child by a white family. Emiko Jean is an Asian-identifying author who often writes Japanese characters, and I was quite excited to see how this would play out in the story. While she references it a couple of times (mostly in the context of feeling like a bit of an outsider, particularly at her job), I also would have loved to see Chelsea's identity play a larger role in the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my advanced copy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Murder, Sexual assault, Gun violence, and Domestic abuse