This is definitely one of those books that I think many people will love, it just wasn’t the perfect book for me personally. It is extremely atmospheric, painting a picture of Savannah in such vivid detail you easily lose yourself in it. The plot however suffered from some of the atmosphere - getting lost in long meandering descriptions, constantly shifting POV’s and a large cast of characters, some of whom felt very underdeveloped. Morgana in particular felt like a missed opportunity. She is painted to be this wicked evil matriarch pulling the strings of her family like a puppet master, but we don’t get to see that side of her at all, just hear her described as such a few times by her kids.
There was a lack of tension or suspense in the way the mystery unraveled, perhaps because the story focused more on the location and family drama and less on the actual mystery plot. When things began to pick up toward the end, it felt a bit rushed to get to a conclusion and left me wanting just a bit more from the ending. One thing I did really enjoy was the way the author mixed in factual historic events with this fictional story and appreciated the author note which provided more information as well.
I do think someone looking for a slow burn, character driven Southern Noir will love this one. The writing is beautiful and it is one of the most atmospheric novels I’ve read lately.
There was a lack of tension or suspense in the way the mystery unraveled, perhaps because the story focused more on the location and family drama and less on the actual mystery plot. When things began to pick up toward the end, it felt a bit rushed to get to a conclusion and left me wanting just a bit more from the ending. One thing I did really enjoy was the way the author mixed in factual historic events with this fictional story and appreciated the author note which provided more information as well.
I do think someone looking for a slow burn, character driven Southern Noir will love this one. The writing is beautiful and it is one of the most atmospheric novels I’ve read lately.