BOOK REVIEW: One of Us is Dead by Jeneva Rose
BOOK REVIEW: One of Us is Dead by Jeneva Rose
Rich, bored housewives are capable of more than just gossip and manipulation.
To be honest, I snagged the audio of this one on audible because it was free with my membership, and I was out of credits. However, I ended up absolutely LOVING this book! It was so fun; ya know, in that drama filled Housewives of Atlanta, reality show trainwreck kinda way. I legit struggled to turn it off.
Quickish summary: a group of women with too much time and money on their hands, focus on their status in the community of Buckhead, near Atlanta. The central common ground being Jenny’s salon, she hears everything and even though she isn’t ‘one of them’ has the power of knowledge. As one of the group is shamefully divorced and ostracized from the group, the new young wife is brought into the fold. Everyone has their secrets, and in the end, the secrets, the desire for status and wealth all leads to murder.
I find it fascinating what people will confide to their hair stylist. It completely stuns me to think the secrets and stories they hear. For me, I love getting my hair done. It is the most relaxing thing in the world and as such, I don’t want to talk. I want to close my eyes and relax. In Buckhead, these women have to visit the salon a minimum of 8 times a month to maintain their client status. And let’s just say these ladies are crazy.
There were several things I contributed to my absolute love of this book, so I’ll simply break it down:
Multiple Points of View. I'm a huge fan of this structure element, and Jeneva Rose masterfully created very clear and distinct characters. There was no doubt which character you were reading. The development and complexity just caused me to want to know more, to read more, to see what insanity was going to come next. Who was going to find out what about whom first. Who was going to manipulate the situation first? Having multiple POVs also created confusion and doubt as to who was going to be “dead” and who was going to be doing the killing. Motives developed across the board, and the only one who really knew everything and was trusted by everyone was, of course, Jenny. Bonus with the audio book is that it is read by a full cast. Each character was read by someone different. Love, love, love!
People that get their way think they’re the ones in control. But the ones that give are the ones that rule. It’s not the politician in office, but the donor behind the check that wields the sword.
The Delayed Death. The character that died wasn’t killed until the very end of the book. I had my suspicions of who the victim was going to be, but I went back and forth about who the killer was going to be. Needless to say, I loved the twists and the conclusion of everything.
The Character Flaws. Sometimes it makes me realize that I’m glad I’m not a multi-million housewife. Like holy crap. Every single character has some tragic flaws. Lying cheating, fraud, blackmail, manipulation, and that’s on top of the egotistical, self-obsessed views some of these women have. The fact that they actually all consider themselves ‘friends’ with each other is also just a status symbol. Except for Shannon and Karen. I truly believe that they have a friendship. Not that it is technically a flaw, but You begin to feel that you know certain things about the characters, but there is still more and more that comes to light and you just really never know what is capable of murder.
Plot and Pacing. The plot itself was fun and unique. It wasn’t really suspenseful or high tension, but it was engaging and had those cringe worthy moments, especially surrounding Shannon’s desperation. But the plot flowed smoothly and quickly, almost effortlessly. There were enough small moments that built momentum (as well as motives) that caused the reader to never feel comfortable making a decision on what was going to happen or even how. So when we learn a huge husband-centered plot twist, it was really unexpected, but with everything else, it was fitting and just added to the trainwreck of these people’s lives.
Structure: This may be a little thing, but it was so effective to the overall plot and impacted how a few specific major events of the story were presented. There was a very slight change in timelines. The main story is presented as Jenny telling the police detectives about the crazy lives of these wealthy lunatics of Buckhead AFTER the murder has occurred. There are a few chapters that take Jenny’s chapter to “The Present'' as she endures hours of questioning . Then at the end, we are finally reunited with “The Present'' and the immediate aftermath of the murder. Honestly, I found that a little creepy. I was surprised, but then again not surprised at how it all ended. Everything just lined up perfectly to what we get, so much so that even though my mouth dropped open slightly, it wasn’t from the shock of the twist but again was slightly the shock of the twist. It’s confusing I know!!
He was dressed in a white bedazzled T-shirt and a pair of Philipp Plein jeans. He looked like a real douche.
Where does this land on my bookshelf?
Probably not a shock that it’s 100% on the top shelf. My reading this month was horrible, as I was so stressed and overwhelmed with work that I barely had any time to read or relax, making this read one of the best coping mechanisms I had. Not only do I recommend this book, but the audio is amazing with all the different narrators. They each owned their character’s personality and brought them to life. Check out this video where you get to “meet the women of Buckhead!” Elizabeth Evans is one of the narrators. As soon as her voice started as Jenny, I knew I recognized the voice. She was one of the narrators in Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom and many of Sarah J Maas novels. Anyways, check this one out if you are looking for a fun little murder mystery where there really isn’t even a murder until the end.
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