A Darling Obsession – S. R. Murray
Expectation: A supernatural thriller with historical fiction elements.
Reality: The supernatural is only hinted at in this overstuffed police procedural.
My Take:
To be quick and to the point: I didn’t like this novel.
Some of that is on me as a reader for expecting a supernatural thriller with historical fiction elements when in reality this is a police procedural mystery. If you’ve followed me long enough, you know that is one of my least favorite genres.
S. R. Murray had the components of a solid effort, and he did still deliver some intriguing twists, but I felt the strongest part of the story — a supposed 20 year curse that awakens the evil in the residents of Sandy Beach, Florida — was overshadowed by too many characters and plots to track.
While he tied it all up in the end, the journey to get there was uneven. I struggled with the lack of character development, reliance on archetypes and some linguistic choices that felt like parody.
The audiobook was narrated by relative newcomer Kayden Lukakis. I give him points for giving each character a distinct voice, but some of his performances were a bit overdone, specifically Goo and Detective Bobby Justice, and others relied on stereotypes. At various points I got a 1980s B-movie vibe from his reading.
All told, I’m not the right reader for this type of book, as I prefer character-driven versus plot-driven stories. People who don’t mind dark and dastardly deeds presented in vivid detail might enjoy a trip to Sandy Beach.
However, know going in there are some doozy trigger warnings — rape, child abuse, murder and necrophelia — but I didn’t find them to be any worse than other genre stories.
Thanks to the author for providing me a free audiobook download in exchange for my honest review.
Rating (story): 1.5/5 stars
Rating (narration): 2/5 stars
Formats: Audiobook (personal library)
Dates read: October 12 – October 19, 2022
Multi-tasking: Good to go. Once you know the key characters, nothing is terribly complex in this plot-driven story.
