Review: Little Red Death

Little Red Death by A.K. Benedict
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the pre-release copy of Little Red Death by Alexandra Benedict. Below is my honest review.

I really enjoyed a book of Benedict's that I read back in December, The Christmas Murder Game. It was a great mystery, twisty and turny in the right ways and with a setting that really established the mood and tone.

I felt that same energy for the first 60% or so of this one, but then THE TWIST happened, and my feelings got conflicted. Was the twist original? Yeah, pretty much. I can think of a movie that kind of did something similar but not in a thriller-y way. But was the twist SATISFYING? Not really. Once the twist went "meta," I felt like the charm and theme of the mystery was lost in the attempt to explain how things happened to be the way they were, and an inner monologue on existence became the focus.

So I can say I really enjoyed the first half and am unsure on the second half, leaving me settling at a 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.

I still enjoyed the book, but I felt like I was taken out of the story for all the meta part. If you like twisty mysteries with weird things going on (like, say, The 7 and 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle) then you'll enjoy this one I think. I'd still recommend it as a fun read.

View all my reviews