Lilibet Bombshell's Reviews > Speak of the Devil

I read the blurb for this book and couldn’t wait to read it. I wanted to read it so badly, so I was thrilled when I was approved for the ARC. It sounded like that song from the musical “Chicago”: The Cell Block Tango, you know?

He had it comin’
He had it comin’
He only had himself to blame
If you’d have been there
If you’d have seen it
I betcha you would have done the same

You know that feeling when that number is on screen or stage, right? How it starts out titillating and tense? How you’re filled with curiosity and suspense? Each woman tells her tale, sordid yet unapologetic, because her man was a bad man and the system certainly didn’t care what he did to her–they only cared that she was a murderer. And then the chorus explodes into a thrilling frenzy between each tale, with all the women imploring the audience to understand what the system didn’t.

Yeah, no. That’s not what this book was. It’s not what it sounded like, felt like, or read like. How this book qualifies as a thriller I have no idea, because it bored me to tears. I honestly almost DNFd it, but I made a promise to myself to try to DNF less books this year simply because they weren’t “my thing” and try to persevere. In the case of this book, I was treated to three different unwarranted naps because it put me to sleep all to find out the killer was exactly who I thought it was.

Look, I get what the book was trying to do and I applaud the effort. The idea was even top-notch. However, the execution was totally lacking. Stilted prose, too many coincidences, and not even thrills to raise a single goosebump make this book time I won’t get back.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. Due to personal policy, this review will not appear on any social media or bookseller website owing to its three star or lower review.

File Under: Crime Thriller/Just Not For Me/MurderThriller/Suspense Thriller