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 Murder High by Lauren Muñoz. Thank you to Hot Key Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
For decades, J. Everett High has staged an annual murder mystery to put its criminology students to the test. And this year, crime junkie Dulce Castillo is dead set on winning. Soon, the game kicks off, and the student playing the victim, Xavier Torres, is found poisoned in the school’s greenhouse . . . except his death isn’t pretend.
When the authorities open an investigation, all the evidence points to Sierra Fox, Xavier’s ex-girlfriend and Dulce’s ex-best friend. Claiming innocence and desperate to clear her name, Sierra begs Dulce to look past their bad blood and find the culprit.
After all, Dulce knows this school better than any investigator ever could, but she’ll have to use caution to solve this mystery. Because these historic halls are full of suspects with no shortage of motives. And the game has turned deadly . . .
Publication Date: 29th July
CW: death, murder, poisoning, grief, fire, blackmail, manipulation
My Thoughts:
Murder High built on its phenomenal premise to deliver a tight and enthralling YA mystery with plenty of great twists and turns.
Between this and Suddenly a Murder, I would love to know what other twisted ideas Muñoz has cooking up! This has such a fantastic premise – an infamous murder mystery game at a specialist school turns deadly when the intended victim dies for real. Instantly, you have to know more and the stakes are crystal clear. After all in a criminology school, you have a pool of suspects that know all about investigations and how to undermine them. They know the theories for how to get away with murder but one of them is now putting them to the test. It is a unique spin on Dark Academia and refreshingly, the studies actually play a crucial role in the overall story.
This is such a well-plotted story with great pacing and twists and turns in store. It is enthralling and intricate, particularly in terms of the various plot strands that come into play. At the centre of it all, we follow Dulce. She is driven and intelligent with fierce passion and loyalty to boot – she is respected for her smarts but ostracised because of the events surrounding her mother’s death. This is a poignant theme throughout as Dulce grapples with grief and wanting to untangle the truth of that night. It adds a drive to her investigation as she wants to live up to her mother’s dreams. For me, this was well-handled and I loved the way it intertwined with the central plot. No spoilers here but it is a fantastic pay-off in the mystery. I really enjoyed my time in this world with these characters and I’d love a sequel or spin-off.
Murder High delivers a heartfelt YA murder mystery that does not scrimp on the twists, turns and revelations.
Next up, I’d like to talk about Predatory Natures by Amy Goldsmith. Thank you to Ink Road Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
When Lara Williams gets a summer job aboard the luxury train the Banebury, she thinks she’s landed a five-star escape from her past. Even after she learns that her ex-friend Rhys, who she definitely did not have feelings for before their relationship imploded, is one of her co-workers, she’s determined to make things work.
But on the first day of their journey, the trip takes a strange turn. Two mysterious carriages filled with an array of beautiful and rare plants are attached to the Banebury in the middle of the night.
And with them comes a pair of siblings. Wealthy, mysterious, and charismatic, Gwen and Gwydion claim the plants they’re transporting are for research, but Lara can’t shake the feeling that there’s something . . . otherworldly about the strange blooms. Something that will stop at nothing to ensure the Banebury never reaches its destination.
Soon Lara will learn: You can’t outrun your troubles. You have to grab them by their roots. And if she can’t unearth the secrets of the Banebury, they might drag her down for good . . .
Publication Date: 7th August
CW: coercive control, death, murder, abusive relationships, manipulation, injury, violence, blood
My Thoughts:
Predatory Natures slithers under your skin in a YA horror-mystery that keeps you racing through the pages.
Goldsmith consistently delivers great YA speculative mysteries that I have thoroughly enjoyed and this is no exception. It builds on a wonderful premise to deliver an eco-horror, locked room style mystery that escalates in tension and delivers a powerful story. The isolated setting of the luxury sleeper train instantly brings certain classics to mind and there is evident love of the genre throughout. It is that sharp contrast between the gilded luxury and the sinister happenings that really entices you. You are so intrigued by the beauty that you don’t see the cage snapping shut around you. The mystery is wonderful, tapping into some mythology and other classic references that readers will delight in. Goldsmith has such a knack for creating tense atmospheres that pull you into their embrace and refuse to let go. You can feel that crushing isolation of these characters and hear the strange noises of the night.
Lara has seized this opportunity to run away from everything she knows – losing herself in a new adventure. Goldsmith teases you with exactly what she might be running from with a dual timeline of the past. It adds suspense and complicates relationships for Lara in the present day. She is a smart and loving person who has had difficulties in life and may just be hiding some dark secrets. As a reader, you root for her but you may not entirely trust her. As she gets pulled into the nightmare unfolding, Goldsmith crafts a phenomenal character arc that imparts an important message with the readers. The way horror is used as a tool to talk about certain issues is fantastic and aligns with previous work from this author. It is impactful and necessary.
Predatory Natures is a fantastically imagined and executed YA horror-mystery.
Finally, I’d like to delve into The Dead Husband Cookbook by Danielle Valentine. Thank you to Viper Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Maria Capello is a celebrity chef like no other. A household name with dozens of cookbooks and a weekly television show, not to mention her line of bestselling supermarket sauces. Once just the timid wife of famous chef Damien Capello, she stepped into the spotlight after his mysterious disappearance, an event she’s never spoken about publicly… until now.
Why is Maria willing to break her silence? When editor Thea Woods is invited to Maria’s remote farmhouse to work on the manuscript of her tell-all memoir, Thea spots an opportunity. She could be the one to finally learn whether the rumours are true. Did Maria kill Damien for his recipes and the legendary ‘secret ingredient’? Or is the truth even darker?
Publication Date: 7th August
CW: death, murder, violence, disappearance, blackmail, cannibalism, suicide
My Thoughts:
The Dead Husband Cookbook is the type of book that dominates your thoughts long after the final page. It is made to be consumed and discussed at length, so dive in and let Valentine lead you down the rabbit hole.
I love it when a thriller consistently wrong-foots you and plays with you, when it has that cat and mouse tension between the story and the reader throughout. One of the most interesting ways of executing this is through an unreliable narrator and Maria Capello is one of the most fascinating I’ve come across. You have this picture of a celebrity cook celebrated as a mother and a wife, bringing families together with her recipes, but then it is complicated by the scandal that hangs over her.
Throughout the book, you hear snippets of her story alongside Thea and you too are pulled into chasing the truth. In a meta way, you become part of the throng desperate to know the real story, which is a fascinating commentary on celebrity culture and parasocial relationships. Because Maria has had this role in the wider media, people see her as a figure who strayed from her expected nature. There is also a gendered element to this in terms of expectations for the roles women play, but Maria has undermined this by almost using the infamy to secure her career. That macabre fascination has cemented her legacy, though it may be dripping in blood.
It is such a perfectly compact thriller with pacing that does not let you catch your breath but still allows enough time to connect with these characters. You are glued to the pages and constantly second-guessing yourself. It is a book that delights in the morally grey, putting characters in impossible situations. Maria is layered and complicated – more than the pigeonholed abandoned wife or murderer dichotomy the world seems to view her as. However, you never know if you can trust her or if what you’re hearing is the truth. It is such a fervid atmosphere of paranoia, especially as events occur in the primary timeline that cause further ripples.
The Dead Husband Cookbook serves up a delectably dark thriller that examines family, celebrity culture and our obsession with the roles we prescribe to people.
A Short Book Lover 
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