I like that it’s not really a traditional memoir and is more of a set of vignettes but it took me so long to get through it because I guess the subject matter just isn’t as interesting as I thought it would be
Holy shit. A truly blistering takedown of the true crime industrial complex with some really great digs at podcasts like My Favorite Murder, Last Podcast on the Left, and All Killer No Filler in addition to books like In Cold Blood. A great examination of the unreliable narrator and who gets to tell their own story when awful crimes like this are committed but also a surprisingly empathetic and honest look at the wide spectrum of girlhood and what happens when children are failed by the people who are supposed to protect them. There really is just so much going on here and I’ll be thinking about this book and some of the more chilling details here for a very long time.
Easily the best of the trilogy. Really delightful to see a more mature, older Raddha. This was such a gorgeous story about motherhood and identity and just like with the first two books, found family. Some really lovely and warm surprises in here. I love the layers each of the characters had. A big reveal at the end regarding a minor character from the series was particularly satisfying. I really like how lifelike each character felt.
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Definitely not as good as the first. Liked the return of characters like Malik from the first book but really wasn’t fond of the different points of view per chapter. I think it could have been just from Malik’s POV or just from Lakshmi’s. Nimmi’s POV was completely unnecessary all together and I think the way the two different plots meet felt a little too forced.
Excellent! Really creepy and atmospheric with all the traditional trappings of a Gothic horror yet completely original at the same time. Love the character of Agnes in particular.
I think my one complaint would be sometimes the dialogue sounded so old fashioned as to be a bit silly at times (and a bit outdated even for its setting which is the 1950’s). But I suppose that’s part of building up the Gothic atmosphere.
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
An absolute slog to get through at times because quite frankly, every character sounds exactly the same. They all believe in the exact same things and all sound like different versions of presumably the author’s own opinions. Rampant homophobia and even worse misogyny and celebration or defense of violence against women at several key points during the novel (the author couldn’t convincingly write from a female POV if his life depended on it)