Book Review: A Darling Obsession by S.R. Murray

🌱 TW: sexual assault, physical assault, necrophilia, violent murder, drugs

🌱Overview:

Sandy Beach Miami has a nasty history, one that seems to surface every twenty or so years to terrorize those who live there. The callously violent nature of the crimes, the despicable characters who seem to float through and the mystery behind a hotel that won’t stay closed, or out of the mix of murders, are all weighing heavily on Detective Justice’s mind; Especially with a little boy gone and murder seeming to infect the minds of the townsfolk. 

As the police piece together the crimes and the evidence, as disturbing similarities keep turning up and humans keep human-ing, the detective will find himself reconsidering his years of service and perceptions. Saddled with an eager new partner, he will navigate the crimes that never leave the minds of good officers and will find that his own life priorities need to be straightened out before the spate of crimes can end (for now). 

🌱 Why It Works:

~ Excellent characters – there were times when characters were introduced and I felt I would become highly disappointed in how they were written, their motivations, behaviours, etc but the writing kept the focus on uncovering the mysteries and solving the cases. We were introduced to everyone we needed to know and got a peak at their motivations though honest lenses. There was a touch of self-ideated nobleness in each of them, even when they were absolutely disgusting and wrong. 

~ Great pacing – I find that when I am not asking myself how much further I have to read, the book is excellently paced. I can anticipate a decision or action but if a book keeps me on that journey and seatbelts me in, I appreciate the twists and turns until I get there. In this case, the events are evenly spaced out, presented, and worked though, as are our feelings and perceptions of the madness after madness taking place in this city/town. 

~ Assault not porn – the author could have easily turned all mentioned attacks into torture and assault porn, but while there are some descriptions, it is done in such a way that the reader senses the wrongness of it and doesn’t wish to be there, rather than vividly witnessing it all.

🌱 Connections:

~ Bluebird at My Window: From the perspective of the prosecutors and the perpetrator, we watch as a crime unravels and reweaves the lives of those involved. Much like in Bluebird at My Window where the multiple POVs allow us insight into the motivations for actions and the subsequent ramifications of these on those involved, A Darling Obsession provides us multiple viewpoints for a series of ever growing and melting crimes. Like BAMY although we see the train wreck ahead, there is not much we can do to stop it. 

~ In both BAMW and ADO we find people who allow tragedies to break them down and others who allow it to build them, strengthen them, reassess their life priorities. There is much frustration in the choices the characters make and the paths they choose, but one can’t help but commiserate and grudgingly wonder what your own actions would have been. 

🌱 Themes:

~ Family and Relationships

~ Small town crime

~ Sibling bonds

~ Murder

~ Sexual abuse and assault

🌱 Audience:

~ Mature and interested in crime

🌱 The Meh:

~ OLLLLD man YOUNGER woman 🤢 (we knw hw I feel abt this) – it is meaningful to the story though

~ I wanted ‘someone else’ to have been involved also (DM me for deets)

~ I initially despaired somewhat at the women, but it pays off

~ 😌 ppl guessing and accurately placing accents like pros in the 80s Florida, USA… ehem, but okay

~ Almost all of the POC had highlighted negative traits… and, although afro-Americans were somewhat central to the plot, there was only ONE good/positive ‘black’ character 😬 (All things considered, it may not be strictly necessary, but it does cause the eyebrows to raise several times) 

🌱 Verdict:

It’s an excellent read that brings new levels to the darkness in its worst characters with sophisticated layering. 

🌱 Quote:

“… you don’t just get to keep the favorable parts of your history, son. You don’t discard old stories or places because you find them distasteful… The present isn’t static. Things bubble up from the past.”

🎁 Thank you @srmurray for the gift.