A GIRL CALLED MURDER - Review

Title: A Girl Called Murder

Author: Kennedy Cannon

Goodreads Link

Rating: 5*

"They called us a murder, as in crows."

As a reader, I've read some bizarre books, some incredible ones, some questionable ones, and there are different ones. I've never figured out what makes them different but I always identify the feeling. No matter the subject, no matter the genre or theme, the writing always instils an overall calm feeling as I read it. As someone who suffers with anxiety, sometimes books can trigger an anxious response relating to my own anxious points. There were some points touched on in this book yet the calming effect chased away that and left me with this stillness to read. That's what happened when I read just the first page of A GIRL CALLED MURDER, and I knew I was in for one of the best reads of 2019--and was not disappointed.

I feel like if VE Schwab and Maggie Stiefvater had a lovechild book, you would get this book. It had all the dark, questionable aspects I've previously loved in a VE Schwab book, and all the there-ness of a Stiefvater book. (In the sense of when something bizarre happens, it's just there, it's normal, no explanation needed.) Tannyn Carter can grasp and wield fears, creating nightmares for anyone who antagonises her. It's portrayed as a quality she just has and often accidentally uses. There's never a reason as to why or how she can do this; she just does, and I really liked that about the story. It's magical realism at it's best: normalising this girl with a weird and fascinating thing about her.

Tannyn is surrounded by her "murder of crows", her four best friends: Jack, West, Theodore, and Eve--until Eve is brutally murdered--the irony, of course, is not lost. Each of the "crows" has a nickname, or a distinguishable feature. Tannyn has her nightmares, Theodore can bring his sister Eve back to life time and time again, Eve has her blonde hair and fearsome nature, West is the ever-present boy who is always there, and Jack is has the biggest heart of them all. After Eve's death, the murder of crows are at a loss, going through one faint motion to the next, stumbling through different parties just to take their minds off the death.

(Spoiler part) Until Theodore confesses his secret, and, therefore, his sister, Eve's reappearance. Through her return, the crows try to find her murderer--which turns into an incredible plot twist you never see coming. (Well, I didn't.) (End of spoiler)

There are two things that jumped out at me in this book: LGBTQ+ representation, and discernible smells of characters. That's how Tannyn sees the world: through their fears, and often those fears came with smells: smoke, chardonnay, hospitals, sugar, thunder storms, whiskey. Often those thoughts came paired with some sort of visual, to add depth to the fear Tannyn could wield, if she chose. Along with smells came subtle representation; as in, it wasn't made a "big deal" like others like to do when they think they're presenting the LGBTQ+ Community with something. In A GIRL WITH MURDER, there were at least six characters (four in the main circle of protagonists, the other two in a cannon relationship) shown in general terms of identifying. West was mentioned as having a chest binder, which I took to mean he was transgender; I felt like Jack was hinted at being bisexual due to several scenes, as well as Tannyn and Eve; and then there was the actual cannon gay relationship between Tannyn's older brother and his boyfriend. There was no stigma; just people, as it should be.

The way Kennedy Cannon has wound her book into this intricate, dark story was clever. It was a read I thoroughly enjoyed, and would happily reread over and over, just to spot more tiny details. The symbolism was wonderful and the meanings behind that was fun to read. The group of five friends was a comforting dynamic to learn and read about, making me yearn for the ups and downs of the Raven Boys, and the romance plaited into the bigger story left me always wanting more. It was the sort of push-pull romance that had me wanting them to just get together, whilst loving the teasing nature of it not being official.


A GIRL WITH MURDER is dark, twisty, and a very intense story, and you all should basically read it.

ALL THE CROOKED SAINTS (Non-Spoiler Review)

Title: All the Crooked Saints

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Star Rating: 3* out of 5* (but bear with me; it's not a BAD story)

Would I recommend it?: Hesitantly.

Although this is a review that praises this story as well as points out it's strangeness, I can only give this book three stars purely because it had quite a slow start but this book was, by all means, not a bad book at all. It's the 12th Maggie Stiefvater book I've read, after loving all of her previous books.

All the Crooked Saints is The Most bizarre book I've ever read, with the most bizarre backstories and the most bizarre character interests, but with a very real and honest point to each story told. So entirely different from any of book she's written, Maggie Stiefvater seems to have taken a risk by writing this because it's so distanced from her usual stories (which is a good thing; I don't know why I say it like it isn't). Yes, it has hints of magic and the unusual; yes it has her love stories written like not love stories but love stories all the same; yes it has her cool way of describing family dynamics, but it was so utterly chaotic and somewhat lovable for it's bizarreness that I'm still unsure of my true feelings for it.

From the start to the first 100 pages, I struggled to read more than ten pages a day, wondering if I could actually finish this weird book. It didn't seem to promise much at the beginning, except a large cast of characters, that, at the time, seemed too much; I felt lost in the meaning. But then past page 100, the book suddenly gripped me (think Take on Me by A-Ha sort of gripping, with the hand through the page) and I couldn't put it down for another 150 pages, thus making me suffer with a crick in my shoulder that I'm complaining over now. Things got interesting. Whilst I still read 50% of the book thinking "what the hell?" and frowning, I became interested. That cast that seemed too full at the beginning became necessary and important. All those backstories? They actually have amazing meanings to them. And the base of the story, at it's core? Incredibly thought out. It was like finding gold buried beneath layers of sand, if only you dig long and hard enough. I felt like reading this book was a test: get through the weirdness to find what everything actually means. All the Crooked Saints is about learning lessons, about learning who you are, and I felt like it taught me a lesson.

Very clearly in the story there are two halves: there are the Saints, and there are the pilgrims. Whilst at first things seemed dull, the division became something intriguing. Despite living on the same ranch the two halves never spoke. Until they did. And danger brewed. For a Soria (the family in the book, very wonderfully reminiscent of the dynamic with the Sargents in TRC), to speak to a pilgrim means facing their own (even more terrible than ordinary) darkness, because that's what the pilgrims are trying to work through. Whatever they become after seeking a miracle, it seems to be what they fear. And what they fear is the thing they need to overcome to move on with their life; otherwise they're trapped, unmoving, not knowing where to go. That was a Big Deal to read--so very true, wrapped in the strange, surrounding context of the story. You have to face your fear so you can begin to live properly again.

Maggie Stiefvater has a way of making a smaller setting seem much grander, much more vast, and Bicho Raro, the place where the Soria's live, is no exception. It has all the vastness and endless possibilities found in Fox Way, in Monmouth, and so, in a distant way, All the Crooked Saints is like a unique mirror of TRC - with more characters, a thinner plot and book, but just as much otherworldliness and intrigue.

All the Crooked Saints was hard to get into, but once I did get into it, it was endless, infinite, beautiful, imaginative and asked me to read in between the lines--which I kind of feel like I have done. Then there are the three main Soria counsins of the "current generation" as such: Beatriz was interesting and lovable; Daniel was flawed and thoughtful, and Joaquin was just downright a classic Stiefvater creation. Each name and backstory and fleshed-out character had that special, unique Stiefvater brand, which was what won me over eventually. Consisting of many owls, miracles, trading darkness for light, butterfly dresses and a girl who can't stop crying and is constantly rained on, this book is one I'd hesitantly recommend.

If you want a book to challenge your focus and understanding as a reader, go ahead! Although some of the writing felt simple yet quirky, it was not a simple storyline, but one that asked to be looked into further beyond what was written. It's weirdness is what will make me remember this book in a good way; it's what will make this book stand out.