whitneydaniell

by: A.C. Arthur
published: Nov 9, 2021
genre: Mystery, Contemporary, Fiction
351 Pages, Audiobook from Audible HH:MM (12:27)
GoodRead Link

At this point, I have mentioned multiple times that I despise incompetent police in these types of stories. Cops and detectives often go after the easiest targets, crafting stories in their minds without any evidence or proof of a crime. Unfortunately, this story followed the same pattern. Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

Venus McGee, Draya Carter, and Jackie Benson are coworkers with a lot in common. They’re smart, independent, driven, and deserving of recognition—certainly more than they’ve been handed by a demoralizing boss. He’s the topic of conversation at their impromptu get-together after the company holiday party, where the threesome fantasizes about a life without him. There has to be an alternative to taking a deep breath and sucking it up. There is. It’s just not the one they expected.

When morning comes, Venus, Draya, and Jackie are blindsided by murder—a twist of fate that brings a startling new challenge to the table and forces them to navigate a hair-raising detour they never saw coming. For better and (unless they can help it) for worse, it’s going to turn their world upside down. What starts as a necessary bond of mutual trust soon morphs into an empowering and galvanizing friendship that Venus, Draya, and Jackie need now more than ever.

GoodReads

I. Characters — The story is told through the point of view of each woman.

• Jackie Benson – the down-to-earth fighter, who had an endearing story surrounding her lifestyle and the lack of support she received from her family.
• Venus McGee – the natural beauty, who is the epitome of ‘perfection.’
• Draya Carter – the bombshell beauty, with a quick tongue, who is the reason the trio gets mixed up in the drama. “Sassy and smart.”

To sort of, work backward, from my perspective it seems as if Jackie’s story was the forerunner of the whole book, just in the way that her story was wrapped up in the end. As the reader, I didn’t get a warm and fuzzy, gift-wrapped ending for both Venus and Draya. shrugs

The story plays out over just a few weeks; it starts at a company holiday party and ends, at Christmas so, there is little time for character development. However, each character’s backstory is mentioned and realized at some point while they’re telling their story. Based on what I interpreted from the book, neither one of these women should have even been involved in this murder mystery – but hey, if they weren’t involved then the book would have ended after chapter one so, I get it, I do.

II. The Story / Plot

Personally, when stories reach beyond the possibility of “reality” it takes away my ability to critically think through the plot. Once reality is removed, I immediately assume that the perpetrator is someone outlandish that no one reading would have assumed, and usually, I’m right.

From the moment Draya walks into Rufus’ house, I knew, from her actions, that this story was not going to be based on “reality.” The friendship that these women eventually cultivate because they went through this together, is cute (at best) but not rooted in a stable foundation (at worst). Not a single coworker of mine could ever call me in the manner that Draya called Venus and Jackie – IDC IDC. Keep in mind that these were friendly, coworkers; not life-long friends who happened to work with one another; they ate lunch together and commiserated over their hatred for their boss… coworkers.

Back to my aforementioned beef with the police in this book—what were they doing? Eating doughnuts and playing 2K because there was no real detective work going on. **Maybe a spoiler ahead, beware** All three women had solid alibis. Did you check traffic cameras to see what time they left the “after party”? Didn’t Venus live in a newer building? Certainly, there were cameras or access control that would prove that she hadn’t left. Draya took an Uber home, is that not evidence? These are all things that I deduced, yet the cops never ask or bring this up, they simply jump right into how these women had a motive to commit murder based on circumstantial evidence at best. I hate sloppy police work.

III. The Writing / Narration

I listened to this on Audible and the narrator, Bahni Turpin did a great job individualizing the three women and bringing depth to the dialogue. The story is based in Baltimore and the writing does reflect many Baltimore hot spots like The Bygone. It was an easy listen.

Final Thought: This was a slow burn. I turned this audiobook on and went about my house, watching TV, and doing other work. However, nothing jumped out at me that made me stop to pay attention. Even when I found myself focusing on something else, I could jump right back into the audio and figure out what was going on. The story wasn’t captivating, but it wasn’t terrible either. There are some plot holes that the author tried to fill in at the very end, but it was still mediocre. Were there questions left unanswered? Yes. Would I recommend it to a friend? Maybe, maybe not. It would depend on what they like to read. As for myself, when I pick up a “mystery,” I want there to be some MYSTERY – some thought, some plot twist that I didn’t see coming.

But if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times: I will always pick up a book written by, written for, or written about black women.