RATING: 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑
Published: January 20, 2020
Publisher: Mate Herczegh
Format: e-Book
Pages: 192
“There’s no freedom in comfort, therefore no authenticity. That only comes, when your imagined rules disappear.”
SYNOPSIS:
A young poet strangles two girls in the woods then takes his own life. A tragic, but all too familiar tale, at least according to the detectives’ official standpoint. The case gets much less familiar when other bodies show up with the dead poet’s DNA on them. Two detectives get after the phantom-like killer, but they are running out of time, as he strikes again and again, single-handedly turning the city upside down.
17-year-old Aaron gets accepted to an elite and secret institution for gifted people, where he discovers that the school has much darker secrets and challenges in store for them than a few devilishly hard exams. For example, one of his new friends being the serial killer everyone is talking about.
THOUGHTS:
Strangle Your Gods follows the story of a serial killer who meticulously kills his victim without leaving a clue. We follow two different storyline in this book – the detectives who are a part of the case & some misfits who are chosen as a scholar by a mysterious man.
I honestly struggle with this book. The 2 POVs feel like 2 different books as I was reading it. I was confused as to why I am reading a story about a bunch of teenagers whose past time was getting wasted in a bar. We also follow their struggle with their unusual subject in class and the cutthroat exam that could cost them their scholarship. And as I passed the 50% mark on my Kindle, I still don’t have an idea as to why I’m reading the story of these teenagers and what is their connection with the serial killing. And I think that is the downfall of this book for me. The focus of the book revolves more on the teenagers rather than the case itself. And even though I finally have an idea as to what the connection is, it does not seem justifiable as to why the story is much more focused on this misfits rather than the case.
Moreover, we did not know much about the serial killer. It was never clear as to why he killed those girls and what was his motive for killing them. It was also not clear as to why that certain killing method.
And lastly, the ending. I was okay with how that ending with the detectives workout although it is quite sad and heartbreaking. But it was very realistic and it shows how detectives are also humans who have their emotions. But I did not like how the author wraps up the POVs of the misfit and the story as a whole. The misfits make it look like they played a very important role in this whole mystery when in fact the whole time that you are reading their story, it does not make them relevant at all. It was more of sex and drinking and going to class wasted. It was not until the last few chapters near the end that they look kinda useful and relevant. So that ending does not sit well with me.
I am so disappointment that this book has a lot of potential but the execution is quite lacking. I can see how the author wants the whole story to unfold but I think there are a lot of loose thread that was forgotten to wrap-up well to make the story better.
I might be too critical with this book but oh well. Be sure to check it out if the story sounds interesting for you. I may not like it but maybe you will.
So until next time!
Maria❤
A Daughter of Parchment and Paper 
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