4/5 stars
(Spoiler free review below)
Oh did I enjoy this book. From concept to execution, from setting to characters, from the first word to the last. I gobbled this book up in a day and a half of nonstop reading.
Gretchen McNeil paints a bleak, voyeuristic vision in #MurderTrending where everyone convicted of a capital murder are sentenced to Alcatraz 2.0, an island where they live, work, and are hunted by government sanctioned serial killers. Every inch of the island is covered in cameras which stream non-stop to an app where people across the country watch, chat, vote, and enjoy everything that happens on the island.
Each of the Painiacs (the term coined for the group of killers) has a unique method of murder and Gretchen manages to write them so well that just by describing a location, you know which murderer is about to enter.
The main character, Dee, is wrongly accused of murdering her sister and sentenced to Alcatraz. After surviving her first encounter with the Painiacs, she is given a house and a job to fill her days while waiting her brutal execution. She meets other inhabitants of the island, a ragtag group of characters that are written wonderfully by Gretchen McNeil.
The reason it’s not 5 stars is it felt too “young” at times. I understand it’s a young adult novel, but I’ve read plenty of YA stuff that never made me roll my eyes. (The whole Disney wardrobe angle, I’m talking about you)
This book isn’t a literary masterpiece, but it is a very fun entertaining read and sometimes that’s all you need.
Maeryn Stills 