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2.64 AVERAGE
2.64 AVERAGE
*** I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
2.5/5
I admire that this book took an exciting concept: potential inheritors of a property, literally battling for its ownership in an engaging duel of will power and strategy. The concept was a fun and new take on how many relationships are based around money and how that affects relationships. This concept allowed for a satirical spin on how each character reacts to their predicaments and how determined they are to survive.
Although this was an exciting concept to read about I found the execution of its character motivations extremely lacking in overall development. I found it difficult to remain connected with all of the characters, regardless of the various life-threatening situations they found themselves in.
This debut novel is a tale that will keep you guessing to the end, but it was a struggle for me to remain engaged and connected to the various players in the game. I enjoyed the gory death scenes and humor spliced throughout the novel, it reminded me of a bloodier update to a classic Agatha Christie mystery.
If you enjoy fun and new concepts for your thriller novels then this one is for you, but if you enjoy more character-driven novels then you will be disappointed.
*** I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
2.5/5
I admire that this book took an exciting concept: potential inheritors of a property, literally battling for its ownership in an engaging duel of will power and strategy. The concept was a fun and new take on how many relationships are based around money and how that affects relationships. This concept allowed for a satirical spin on how each character reacts to their predicaments and how determined they are to survive.
Although this was an exciting concept to read about I found the execution of its character motivations extremely lacking in overall development. I found it difficult to remain connected with all of the characters, regardless of the various life-threatening situations they found themselves in.
This debut novel is a tale that will keep you guessing to the end, but it was a struggle for me to remain engaged and connected to the various players in the game. I enjoyed the gory death scenes and humor spliced throughout the novel, it reminded me of a bloodier update to a classic Agatha Christie mystery.
If you enjoy fun and new concepts for your thriller novels then this one is for you, but if you enjoy more character-driven novels then you will be disappointed.
*** I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Steak House Books in exchange for an honest review.
Oh boy, this book was a mess. Originally I was going to give it 2 stars for having a decent premise, but having found out that it's based off a boardgame, that means the only things I liked about it aren't original at all.
Dead End Drive is about a family where, when someone dies, the battle for inheritance is a literal battle to the death. After the reading of the will, the person left alive in the morning will inherit everything. How can such a premise go wrong? Well, for starters the premise isn't actually introduced well within the book itself. People just start killing each other with no real explanation, which would have been very confusing if I hadn't read the blurb recently before starting it.
This book has two major problems. Firstly, the writing is not great. The pages are littered with both actual editorial mistakes (understandable for an ARC but there are a lot, far more than any other ARC I've ever had) and just poor writing choices. The characters are bland and, in the worst cases, harmful stereotypes. There is a gay stylist who constantly uses the word 'honey' and who, after murdering a black woman, insists on fixing her 'coarse dark hair'. I'm almost certain the racial implications of this were accidental but yikes.
The pacing is similarly poor. You get introduced to all the characters in very repetitive chapters, and then the one with the most personality instantly dies so you don't have a character you have a connection with. Far from being a bloodbath, the rest of the deaths are then paced very oddly. There is no real sense of tension or fear and none of the characters seem particularly scared or bothered by their situation. Again, the only character who wasn't aware of the bloodbath beforehand is murdered straight away so you don't get the benefits of following an outsider in this horrible situation.
Overall, I sadly can't recommend this book. I ended up skim-reading everything after 50% as I just didn't care enough. It's a shame because a book like this has such potential and some of the humour/horror elements were alright. It just had too little going for it.
Overall Rating: 1/5 stars
Oh boy, this book was a mess. Originally I was going to give it 2 stars for having a decent premise, but having found out that it's based off a boardgame, that means the only things I liked about it aren't original at all.
Dead End Drive is about a family where, when someone dies, the battle for inheritance is a literal battle to the death. After the reading of the will, the person left alive in the morning will inherit everything. How can such a premise go wrong? Well, for starters the premise isn't actually introduced well within the book itself. People just start killing each other with no real explanation, which would have been very confusing if I hadn't read the blurb recently before starting it.
This book has two major problems. Firstly, the writing is not great. The pages are littered with both actual editorial mistakes (understandable for an ARC but there are a lot, far more than any other ARC I've ever had) and just poor writing choices. The characters are bland and, in the worst cases, harmful stereotypes. There is a gay stylist who constantly uses the word 'honey' and who, after murdering a black woman, insists on fixing her 'coarse dark hair'. I'm almost certain the racial implications of this were accidental but yikes.
The pacing is similarly poor. You get introduced to all the characters in very repetitive chapters, and then the one with the most personality instantly dies so you don't have a character you have a connection with. Far from being a bloodbath, the rest of the deaths are then paced very oddly. There is no real sense of tension or fear and none of the characters seem particularly scared or bothered by their situation. Again, the only character who wasn't aware of the bloodbath beforehand is murdered straight away so you don't get the benefits of following an outsider in this horrible situation.
Overall, I sadly can't recommend this book. I ended up skim-reading everything after 50% as I just didn't care enough. It's a shame because a book like this has such potential and some of the humour/horror elements were alright. It just had too little going for it.
Overall Rating: 1/5 stars
I overall really enjoyed this story, and I wish I could give 4.5 stars. I only had a couple of issues with the audiobook. I absolutely loved most of the characters. They were a bit stereotypical, but the exaggerated traits helped to distinguish them all. Typically, too many main characters can be convoluted and confusing, but it was handled very well here. I was immediately hooked on the plot from chapter one. The first chapter did an excellent job of establishing the setting and mood while almost instantly getting your attention. This was definitely NOT a slow burn. The detail was fantastic, it painted a picture without being overblown.
Some characters were a bit too stereotypical for my taste, like Alex and Clara. I felt as though Madame Astra’s character changed drastically from her chapter introduction to the next. The voice acting for some characters was a bit cartoonish to me and took me out of the drama of the story, especially for Kelly.
Other than those few things, this was incredible. The only thing that kept me from listening to the whole thing in one sitting was a college paper due. I know this type of inheritance fight has been done before, but I feel like this was a fresh and exciting nonetheless.
Some characters were a bit too stereotypical for my taste, like Alex and Clara. I felt as though Madame Astra’s character changed drastically from her chapter introduction to the next. The voice acting for some characters was a bit cartoonish to me and took me out of the drama of the story, especially for Kelly.
Other than those few things, this was incredible. The only thing that kept me from listening to the whole thing in one sitting was a college paper due. I know this type of inheritance fight has been done before, but I feel like this was a fresh and exciting nonetheless.
*thank you to netgalley for a free audio book in exchange for an honest review*
Dead End Drive follows a quirky, yet terrible (in the nicest way), cast of characters as they fight and literally kill over getting the biggest cut of an inheritance. I'd comp it with The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware, except with more distinct & vibrant characters and a bit more chaos.
This book had a very unique setting. It felt weirdly whimsical, but with people dying? The game "Clue" was used as a comp in the description and other than it's way more complex, I couldn't agree more. Because it was inspired by "Clue" it gave it a bit of a nostalgic flavor, which I've never experienced in a book I haven't read before.
While the setting is great, the characters are the real stars of this circus. They are very unique and there was never any trouble telling them apart, which can be a problem when you have a big cast like this. I will say that at times they did go a bit over the top and felt more like caricatures vs. real people. Especially since there didn't seem to be a person with a conscious within the bunch.
Overall, it was a pretty quick, fun read!
Dead End Drive follows a quirky, yet terrible (in the nicest way), cast of characters as they fight and literally kill over getting the biggest cut of an inheritance. I'd comp it with The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware, except with more distinct & vibrant characters and a bit more chaos.
This book had a very unique setting. It felt weirdly whimsical, but with people dying? The game "Clue" was used as a comp in the description and other than it's way more complex, I couldn't agree more. Because it was inspired by "Clue" it gave it a bit of a nostalgic flavor, which I've never experienced in a book I haven't read before.
While the setting is great, the characters are the real stars of this circus. They are very unique and there was never any trouble telling them apart, which can be a problem when you have a big cast like this. I will say that at times they did go a bit over the top and felt more like caricatures vs. real people. Especially since there didn't seem to be a person with a conscious within the bunch.
Overall, it was a pretty quick, fun read!
I don't think I've ever had a narrator so thuroughly ruin a book for me as happened in this book. The voices that are used especially for characters like Alex and Kelly. It was an uphill battle for me not to just toss the book to the side for that reason.
I did find the story to be dark and funny in all the right places. It never felt like it was taking itself to seriously. And would have been an enjoyable read had I been reading a physical copy rather then an audiobook.
Would recommend, but only if you don't have to subjugate yourself to the audiobook.
I did find the story to be dark and funny in all the right places. It never felt like it was taking itself to seriously. And would have been an enjoyable read had I been reading a physical copy rather then an audiobook.
Would recommend, but only if you don't have to subjugate yourself to the audiobook.
Dead End Drive reminded me a bit of the movie Knives Out. It is a nice short book. Unfortunately, after some chapters it was a bit complicated to follow the story.
Agatha Benedict, the reigning matriarch of the Benedict estate, dies leaving her heirs, hangers-on, and household employees to fight for her riches. Kelly, her 14-year-old son/house pet, doesn't believe anything bad is going to happen. But boy, is he wrong. Within several minutes of the reading of the will, one person is dead. And that is only the beginning...
The Benedict family has an unusual tradition in the wake of the family head's death. A will is written and read, but it is not "finalized" until the next day. Through the night, it is a contest of survival of the fittest and whomever is alive in the morning wins the spoils.
I thought the concept was fascinating - just how badly do you want to inherit a LOT of money? But for some reason, this didn't work for me. Kelly, the "son" of the deceased, was basically only a replacement for her dead cat, Poopsie. I wanted to like her for taking in a poor orphaned boy living on the street, but he was 14 and she hadn't bothered to teach him anything, including how to read. Plus he was such a whiny brat. For having lived on the streets, he had no survival instinct. You want the poor boy to win and keep the estate (as deemed in the initial will), but it's hard to cheer for him when he just hides in his room with a case of the "no fairs."
Predictably, everyone else vying for Agatha's fortune was a creep in one way or another - the driver, the hair stylist, the tennis pro. There was really no one that deserved to live through the night. I'm not sure if it was due to the lack of likable characters, pacing of the story (which was a bit uneven), or my general crankiness that left me wishing for the whole damn estate to just burn down during the night.
I really liked the concept, but the book just did not work for me.
The Benedict family has an unusual tradition in the wake of the family head's death. A will is written and read, but it is not "finalized" until the next day. Through the night, it is a contest of survival of the fittest and whomever is alive in the morning wins the spoils.
I thought the concept was fascinating - just how badly do you want to inherit a LOT of money? But for some reason, this didn't work for me. Kelly, the "son" of the deceased, was basically only a replacement for her dead cat, Poopsie. I wanted to like her for taking in a poor orphaned boy living on the street, but he was 14 and she hadn't bothered to teach him anything, including how to read. Plus he was such a whiny brat. For having lived on the streets, he had no survival instinct. You want the poor boy to win and keep the estate (as deemed in the initial will), but it's hard to cheer for him when he just hides in his room with a case of the "no fairs."
Predictably, everyone else vying for Agatha's fortune was a creep in one way or another - the driver, the hair stylist, the tennis pro. There was really no one that deserved to live through the night. I'm not sure if it was due to the lack of likable characters, pacing of the story (which was a bit uneven), or my general crankiness that left me wishing for the whole damn estate to just burn down during the night.
I really liked the concept, but the book just did not work for me.
I got this book as an ARC. The concept was great but the book itself was not great. The narrator in the audiobook was just not doing it for me. The characters were very 2-D. The humor sucked The ending was also very bad too. The title, cover, and the idea was the best part of the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Steak House Books for the arc audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
The quality of the audiobook was done very well and the narrator did a pretty good job with trying to create different voices for the dozen of characters in this story.
The book is about an older lady with a fortune passing away and everyone in her life getting together to go over her will--then to fight for their portion. This reminded me a lot of the film Knives Out and a little bit of Clue. Definitely wasn't what I was expecting and way more violent, which helped make the story more interesting. For me though, there were way too many characters so I had a hard time following along and remember who was who. Not sure if I would of had a difficult time reading it physically but with the narrator changing his voice up for each person, that helped a little bit.
Overall, I thought the story was okay--I did want to know how it was going to end so I kept with it but the ending was a little "meh" for me.
3/5
The quality of the audiobook was done very well and the narrator did a pretty good job with trying to create different voices for the dozen of characters in this story.
The book is about an older lady with a fortune passing away and everyone in her life getting together to go over her will--then to fight for their portion. This reminded me a lot of the film Knives Out and a little bit of Clue. Definitely wasn't what I was expecting and way more violent, which helped make the story more interesting. For me though, there were way too many characters so I had a hard time following along and remember who was who. Not sure if I would of had a difficult time reading it physically but with the narrator changing his voice up for each person, that helped a little bit.
Overall, I thought the story was okay--I did want to know how it was going to end so I kept with it but the ending was a little "meh" for me.
3/5
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.
Ian Kirkpatrick's debut novel, Dead End Drive, is challenging to review. It reminded me of John Dies at the End. Not the subject matter, but at the conclusion of both, I shook my head and said, "I think I liked it." Neither are works that you are likely to forget.
Agatha Benedict passes away and, according to house traditions, family and employees are all invited to the reading of the will. Attendance is not mandatory, but you forfeit your inheritance if declined. It is not your typical reading and is more like Battle Royale or Lord of the Flies. Whoever is left alive in the morning inherits the estate.
This book is not for everyone. It contains extremely dark humor and a lot of murder. I rooted for some of the characters to survive and cheered when some were killed.
According to reviewers, the book is inspired by a 90s board game, 13 Dead End Drive. They noted the book contains some of the same characters from the game.
The copy I received is an Advanced Reader's copy. I hope the published copy fixes the grammatical and spelling errors. Either way, it is a dark comedy worthy of your time.
This 200-word review will be published on Philomathinphila.com.
Ian Kirkpatrick's debut novel, Dead End Drive, is challenging to review. It reminded me of John Dies at the End. Not the subject matter, but at the conclusion of both, I shook my head and said, "I think I liked it." Neither are works that you are likely to forget.
Agatha Benedict passes away and, according to house traditions, family and employees are all invited to the reading of the will. Attendance is not mandatory, but you forfeit your inheritance if declined. It is not your typical reading and is more like Battle Royale or Lord of the Flies. Whoever is left alive in the morning inherits the estate.
This book is not for everyone. It contains extremely dark humor and a lot of murder. I rooted for some of the characters to survive and cheered when some were killed.
According to reviewers, the book is inspired by a 90s board game, 13 Dead End Drive. They noted the book contains some of the same characters from the game.
The copy I received is an Advanced Reader's copy. I hope the published copy fixes the grammatical and spelling errors. Either way, it is a dark comedy worthy of your time.
This 200-word review will be published on Philomathinphila.com.