This was simply not for me! The vivid descriptions of the chicken houses were particularly distressing. Having rescued ex-caged hens myself, it breaks my heart to reflect on the suffering these poor creatures endure during their short lives.

However, the cruelty doesn't end there; the book also exposes us to other forms of animal suffering. There’s a scene where one of the main characters runs over a dog. Additionally, the mentions of cockfighting, despite being illegal, are presented so casually that it feels as if this barbaric practice is just accepted as part of life.

Furthermore, the portrayal of the townspeople, who are described as nice but casually racist, did not sit well with me at all.

If you manage to push through the heavy emotions evoked by these depictions, the mystery itself unfolds at a painfully slow pace. By the time the truth about the killer is finally revealed, I found myself so disengaged that I no longer cared about the outcome. While the book is quite fast-paced, it focuses more on the main character's crush and family dynamics than on the mystery itself.