I’m sharing another instalment of my Mini Review Mondays, the most recent of which was last week. In case you haven’t seen any of my previous posts, I do ‘mini’ reviews of books that I’ve previously read and am now ready to share my full thoughts about.
First up, I’d like to talk about Two Sides to Every Murder by Danielle Valentine. Thank you to Penguin Random House Children’s UK for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Most people’s births aren’t immortalized in a police report. Olivia was born during the infamous Camp Lost Lake murders but, when she begins questioning the events surrounding her birth, she finds there’s a lot more to that tragic night.
Most people don’t spend their childhood on the run.
Reagan’s mother might be considered guilty of murder, but Reagan knows she’s innocent. Tired of running, she returns to Camp to clear her mother’s name.
Only, someone wants the past to remain buried – and will kill again to do so. If they’re to stay alive, Olivia and Reagan must work together fast to uncover the truth. . .
Publication Date: 27th June
TW: death, murder, graphic violence, gore, injury, blood, grief, miscarriage, kidnapping
My Thoughts:
Two Sides to Every Murder was pure YA slasher brilliance.
I adore a good horror narrative and this kept me racing through the pages – the set up was wonderful, the characters engaging and the plot relentless. It makes the most of its intriguing premise with two dual narratives and some well placed flashbacks. You get such a good sense of both Olivia and Reagan, which makes the contrast between them later on even more fun. Their voices were distinctive and they’re both driven by wanting to protect their families at all costs. There is a ferocity and a determination to uncover the truth, though they come at it initially from very different angles. Then all hell breaks loose and all bets are very much off.
I think I just absolutely loved how classic horror this all felt – with the meta twist of the horror camp added in too. You have the isolated setting, the dark secrets threatening to come to light and a massacre years ago that was never really settled or solved. It has such a thick atmosphere, with darkness and gore aplenty. This is not a book that pulls its punches. At the same time, it feels oddly loving as it references these classic horror tropes and beats. It is a gory love letter to the genre. At the same time, it’s also a really interesting mystery, with good plotting, tension and some excellent twists. You race through the pages trying to unpick the lies and secrets from both timelines – Valentine leads you down a few rabbit holes in search of the truth. Stick around beyond the final chapter as well for a gnarly “post credits” scene that is again, straight out of classic horror.
Two Sides to Every Murder is an expertly crafted web of secrets and lies, dripping with blood.
Next up, I’d like to talk about Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White. Thank you to Daphne Press for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with.
But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all.
Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick’s terms…until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own.
Publication Date: 2nd July
TW: death, graphic violence, parental death, grief, body horror, religious extremism, religious trauma, abuse, genocide, homophobia, transphobia, misgendering, deadnaming
My Thoughts:
Hell Followed With Us is unapologetically gory, rageful queer horror that made me sit up and pay attention. This may be my first book from Andrew Joseph White, but it certainly will not be my last.
Benji come into my life and stole my heart instantly. He is deeply fractured and flawed, the product of a deeply broken and hateful society that forces monstrosity upon him under the guise of blessing. The religious fanaticism on display here is sickening, especially with that false morality of being righteousness. Your heart breaks for Benji over and over again. That is what makes the bloody hellscape the book delves into at times so precisely cathartic and emotional. The stakes have been so well crafted that you are invested in this and you feel that rage consume you as it does Benji. This is not a book that will shy away from that – it is visceral and messy and deeply human.
Also, it is not a book that backs down in terms of gore. It is wonderfully wicked and wrathful body horror that delves into the apocalyptic days of disaster. Horror should challenge and provoke a reader and White’s anger is incredibly timely. A lot of the messaging in the book is not too far removed from messages seen in wider media and society at the moment – twisted through a dystopian lens of apocalypse and monstrosity beyond our imagination. That fury seeps into your skin while reading. There is also a throughline about not letting it fully consume you though – finding your own balance and peace without forgiveness. I’m glad we strayed from some of the typical ‘being the better person’ themes – marginalised people of all communities deserve to feel their anger and have it be recognised, rather than diminished.
Hell Followed With Us explores queer anger, particularly at a system determined to destroy and deny us. It pulsates with fury and delves deep into the darkness and bloodshed. In short, it is magnificent in its malice.
Finally, I’d like to delve into Murder on a Summer Break by Kate Weston. Thank you to Hannah Penny at Electric Monkey for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
School outcasts-turned-detective duo, Kerry and Annie, are BACK – and after solving last summer’s menstrual murders, they’re now known as The Tampon Two. (Kerry is uncomfortable with this level of attention, Annie is refreshing her follower count every two seconds.)
When they attend the Festival of Fame, it’s the chance to meet their favourite feminist influencer IRL – along with a host of social media stars, including a tiresome prankster Timmy, super-glam beauty vlogger Celeste and Mystic Millie, who makes very vague predictions.
But then one of the influencers ends up dead.
The festival goes into lockdown, Annie is delighted that she and Kerry are trapped in a yurt with celebrities – Kerry is more concerned that there’s a killer among them. Will the Tampon Two find out who it is before they strike again?
Publication Date: 4th July
TW: death, murder, violence, misogyny, manipulation
My Thoughts:
Kate Weston just knows how to have that perfect balance of humour and mystery. Murder on a Summer Break is exquisite reading – returning to some excellent characters as they delve into the world of influencing and investigate yet another murder.
Murder on a School Night was excellent, but this sequel was an exceptional follow up.
Kerry and Annie are such brilliant protagonists and we get a good sense of their growth since the first book. Annie is social media crazed, almost clinging on to their fifteen seconds of fame from the previous case. There is a sense of desperation to belong there that continues through. We sit with Kerry’s voice throughout the book, which is a hilarious one. She is smart, determined and also fairly flawed – the subplot about her relationship and tackling her jealousy (clashing with her feminist principles) was delivered well. It also spoke to a wider theme of having to accept our own flaws and contradictions within our beliefs. No one is perfect, we’re all a little bit messy while we’re muddling along. It’s such a great message to impart to teenagers and Weston’s writing just sings with humour. It just crackles with an irresistible energy that I adore.
I also loved how Weston placed influencer culture firmly in the firing line here. It feels like a loving pastiche – calling out aspects that are vapid and false, but also working to unpick preconceived notions of this. We have to re-examine initial interpretations of characters, who mostly grow beyond their standard ‘types’ of influencers. You enjoy recognising them and a lot of the humour starts from this point of satirical send-up. Weston infuses them with humanity and levels, though they may still remain hideous in character for some of them. It’s also a smart way to integrate the mystery, when everything is constantly on camera. For me, it added a new layer with the idea of false images and the artifice hiding some dark secrets. It is very much a mystery for now. Yet again, it’s so well plotted, with great pacing and some superb twists and turns.
I would recommend that everyone picks Murder on a Summer Break up this summer and indeed this year. Selfishly, I would read many, many more adventures with the Tampon Two and I need your support to make this happen.
A Short Book Lover 
The tampon two, ahah thats hilarious 😂 i’ll be sure to get the following book whenever I get to read the first!
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