Well, I suppose on the plus side, this wasn't a book that I received an ARC of in exchange for a review. This is the September read for a book club, and it was part of my Kindle Unlimited program so I didn't have to pay for the book and I don't feel an obligation to review or finish the book. Right now I'm 60% of the way through the book. have not read other books by this author, so maybe this book is a poor reflection of their overall work.
In a nutshell, this series isn't for me and that is due to three reasons:
1. Their is a throwaway transphobic moment at the reunion that is supposed to be funny I assume. It's so unnecessary I'm unsure why it is included in the book at all.
2. Then their is a jailhouse scene that involves some racial and LGBT stereotypes around drug use and prostitution that seem lifted out of something from the 1970s. This scene also utilizes a trope known as the magical negro trope. The trope may seem innocuous, but it's insidious so I am not a fan to put it mildly.
3. A major portion of the main character's identity is channeled through her weight. So much centers on how fat she thinks she is, how she has always been heavy, how she can't fit in clothes and on and on and on. Then she goes to see a natrapath practitioner who prescribed a paleo diet for her. There is a long very detailed section of the appointment and then moving forward lots of talk about her and her diet. Too many books that have first person female characters have inner monologues about how they need to lose weight or how their pants are getting tight or how they don't want to see x, y z guy because they aren't at the weight they want to be--and I'm very tired of reading over and over and over again about women feeling fat it takes away from stories at this point for me, esp when it's a mystery.
It's a real bummer for me when I read something that I just can't enjoy. This is only my opinion on this particular book, I do not know how other books in the series are, but given this book I won't continue on this series.
