aflogive's reviews
14 reviews

Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds by John Everson

dark mysterious tense 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

3.0

John Everson's new book, FIVE DEATHS FOR SEVEN SONGBIRDS, offers an homage to the gruesome, violent, and immensely beloved giallo genre. Reminiscent of films like Argento's SUSPIRIA (1977) and OPERA (1987), the story follows Eve Springer, a talented young pianist from New York who begins her first semester at the prestigious Royal Conservatory in Belgium. Unfortunately, Eve's dream of starting her musical career stops short when she stumbles into a string of murders. As she continues to meet her new peers and professors, everyone soon becomes a suspect. 

Everson clearly admires the history and traditional features of giallo. As with many of the classic books and films, the killer hides behind black leather gloves, dark sunglasses, and a mask. In FIVE DEATHS, we also get creative, tense, and often psychosexual kill-scenes with students dying by the same instruments they practiced in life. The story succeeded in keeping me on my toes and setting up a puzzling mystery where I did not guess the killer's identity until the very end. I had my suspicions, of course, but that is the purpose of a giallo — for the audience to solve a puzzle alongside the book or film's characters.

FIVE DEATHS lives up to the expected fast pace and page-turning plot of any thriller. Each time the point of view changed to the murder victim, I knew to anticipate some kind of chase scene that would leave me anxious to see what happens next. Overall, the action-focused writing and short chapters made this a quick, casual read. 

Unfortunately, the focus on action left, for me, a huge gap in character development. For most of the book, I struggled to pinpoint the characters' motivations. The first part that raised an eyebrow was the school's reaction to the murders. Everyone responded so casually, as if they just heard that the cafeteria wouldn't be serving their favorite meal anymore. There was no sense of urgency, danger, or extreme loss, which didn't seem like a believable response to murder. 

I also felt disappointed with the portrayal of female and LGBTQ characters in this book. Although most of the characters felt sort of one-dimensional, I couldn't help but feel the women were the least thought-out. Most of the women seem totally self-absorbed and focused primarily on sex and romance. For example, Eve (as well as most of the other women) seemed to quickly succumb to intense jealousy whenever she felt her new romantic relationship was threatened. This happened so often that jealousy seemed to override every other emotion for the first half of the book, including fear or sadness caused by the murders. 

I understand that slashers in general don't have the best reputation when it comes to representing women, but I really hoped that a "modern giallo" would fight to empower its characters rather than fall into outdated stereotypes. 

For readers drawn more to complex characters in their books, maybe grab something else off your TBR shelf for now. But if you frequently return to Argento, Fulci, Bava, Martino, or any of the greats for your weekly movie night, FIVE DEATHS FOR SEVEN SONGBIRDS offers a treasure trove of hidden-giallo-gems any superfan would appreciate. 

Thank you to Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for an advanced review copy! FIVE DEATHS FOR SEVEN SONGBIRDS is scheduled for release on February 22, 2022. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Blood

Minor: Suicide, Bullying, and Lesbophobia

This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Going into this book, I thought the primary focus would be on tech horror and a smart device channeling some sort of paranormal entity - and I was half right. What I wasn’t expecting, and what pleasantly surprised me, was a complicated rendering of grief filtered through cosmic horror. It nods at Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, but knows better than to make the same mistakes as Louis Creed, and seeks to outsmart the overwhelming pain of loss in a different way. I loved the horrific mysticism in this book and the theme of pursuing an unmediated relationship with some ambivalent, Lovecraftian being. At times, the details of the plot seemed arbitrary (like why the choice to have a smart device channel the entity and not something else?), but the interesting combination of themes allows me to ignore this. I will definitely be on the lookout for what Moreno does next!

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

When looking for an audiobook in Libby to try out, this one stood out as a fun read. I’m a sucker for southern domestic thrillers and was pleasantly surprised to find one when I started listening (as I impulsively clicked “borrow” without reading much about the plot first). Thankfully, I got exactly what I wanted: a quick, twisting - and twisted - story about people with dark secrets, malicious intentions, manipulation, and murder. 

Abigale Hall by Lauren A. Forry

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Abigale Hall gives us a ghostly mansion, characters with challenging dynamics, and a mystery of missing girls. I loved the setting of an isolated mansion in Wales, and the reveal of the missing girls’ fate at the end felt straight out of a 2000’s horror movie

(looking at you JEEPERS CREEPERS)

. But I didn’t feel particularly connected to or invested in the characters to totally understand their motives clearly. This could have been a miss on my end from skimming too much in order to finish before the end of 2021 (which I clearly didn’t do, anyway), but maybe not. Anyone who enjoys a good haunted house story should give it a try if you haven’t already.