"Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart" by Emma Simmerman is a dark debut murder mystery about a college student whose habit of writing eulogies for her exes takes a deadly turn.
Sloane has a bad record: a history of substance abuse, a DUI, and an affair with one of her teachers. In short, a mess. On top of that, she writes fake eulogies in her journal every time a guy breaks her heart. Now she’s ready to start her senior year at Pembroke College and leave all that behind, with the support of her friend group.
The plot thickens when her exes turn up dead one by one, each with a note containing her eulogy near the body. She becomes the prime suspect and is forced to team up with her frenemy, Asher, to find the murderer. Between college parties, drinking to excess, a fake relationship, secret societies, and murders, her life has never looked darker.
I picked up the book because of the intriguing premise. While it delivered on that front, it disappointed on the character side. This is one of those books where I liked the plot but couldn’t care less about the protagonists. I enjoyed the group dynamics, the banter, the dark humor, and the mystery—but not the main characters.
To say Sloane is a mess is an understatement. She drinks too much, does drugs, and makes one bad decision after another—decisions that only make things worse. She’s 21; she should act like it and get her act together. That said, she does have some redeeming qualities.
Asher isn’t any better. He’s rude, manipulative, jumps from one girl to another, and only cares about himself. He does grow a bit toward the end, but it’s too little, too late. And no, his home circumstances don’t justify his behavior. I didn’t like the way he treated Sloane. For all her flaws—and believe me, there were many—she felt remorseful about the deaths of her exes and was big enough to forgive a few.
Asher’s family wasn’t any better. They knew what was happening at his home and did nothing. And don’t get me started on their friends. A memorial for a murderer? Really? I rolled my eyes when I read that.
The book explores themes of toxic relationships, abuse, found family, love triangle themes, psychological dread, betrayal, and forgiveness. There are a couple of smut scenes, so be aware. The romance is a slow-burn, and I liked that it was built up gradually rather than sprung on us. The last chapter is written from Asher’s POV, which didn’t make me like him any better.
To sum up: a great mystery with very unlikable characters. There are plenty of red herrings and twists. While I guessed the identity of the murderer toward the end, it still caught me by surprise. The ending is more implied than explicit, which I can’t say I liked.
Overall, it was a tense and quick read, so I only knocked off one star. Twisty, dark, and full of flawed characters you’ll love to hate—this one kept me hooked from start to finish. If you love a twisty mystery and don’t need to relate to the characters to enjoy it, this one is for you.
* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.
* For more info about the book: "Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke" by Heart Emma Simmerman
No comments:
Post a Comment