Unraveling by Karen Lord – Review

Published: June 4, 2019

Publisher: DAW Books

Series: Standalone

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 304 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 2.0/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

In this standalone fantasy novel by an award-winning author, the dark truth behind a string of unusual murders leads to an otherworldly exploration of spirits, myth, and memory, steeped in Caribbean storytelling.

Dr. Miranda Ecouvo, forensic therapist of the City, just helped put a serial killer behind bars. But she soon discovers that her investigation into seven unusual murders is not yet complete. A near-death experience throws her out of time and into a realm of labyrinths and spirits. There, she encounters brothers Chance and the Trickster, who have an otherworldly interest in the seemingly mundane crimes from her files.

It appears the true mastermind behind the murders is still on the loose, chasing a myth to achieve immortality. Together, Miranda, Chance, and the Trickster must travel through conjured mazes, following threads of memory to locate the shadowy killer. As they journey deeper, they discover even more questions that will take pain and patience to answer. What is the price of power? Where is the path to redemption? And how can they stop the man–or monster–who would kill the innocent to live forever?

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Okay, I thought the synopsis for this book sounded pretty darn cool so I requested it. A logical conclusion. HOWEVER, this was definitely NOT what I signed up for.

It was kind of a trippy experience and I really didn’t know what was going on for most of the book. Dr. Miranda Ecuovo is taken to another plane of being with two of what are called the “Undying” and they’re using her to help solve a series of murders committed by one of their own kind. They keep going deeper in the weird mind mazes they create and try to identify the culprit before worse can happen.

Like I said, it sounds pretty cool but in reality it was fairly incomprehensible. It felt like I was dumped in partway through the story and I never quite got my footing and nothing was explained particularly well. I could read quite a bit of it in one sitting without feeling bored, though I didn’t really understand what I was reading… It makes me sad to say this because I love a complex, odd book just as much as the next reader. This one just didn’t work for me all that well.