Review of "How To Survive Your Murder"

Synopsis

Alice Lawrence is the sole witness in her sister’s murder trial.

And in the year since Claire’s death, Alice’s life has completely fallen apart. Her parents have gotten divorced, she’s moved into an apartment that smells like bologna, and she is being forced to face her sister’s killer and a courtroom full of people who doubt what she saw in the corn maze a year prior.

Claire was an all-American girl, beautiful and bubbly, and a theater star. Alice was a nerd who dreamed of becoming a forensic pathologist and would rather stay at home to watch her favorite horror movies than party. Despite their differences, they were bonded by sisterhood and were each other’s best friends.

Until Claire was taken away from her.

On the first day of the murder trial, as Alice prepares to give her testimony, she is knocked out by a Sidney Prescott look-alike in the courthouse bathroom. When she wakes up, it is Halloween morning a year earlier, the same day Claire was murdered. Alice has until midnight to save her sister and find the real killer before he claims another victim.

Review

How To Survive Your Murder plays on horror tropes much like Scream and sends our would-be Final Girl into the past with unexpected results.

Tons of Fun

I am a huge fan of Scream, and I enjoy slasher films, mocking the stupidity of some of the characters while becoming wholly invested in the survival of the final girl. The novel begins on Halloween night with Alice and her friends going to a cornfield party. Only Alice sees her sister get murdered. A year later, she is knocked out by a Sidney Prescott lookalike and sent back in time to intervene with her sister’s death by saving her.

I can understand the time-travel aspect not working for some readers in some ways. But for me, it was terrific. It reminded me of Happy Death Day, but instead of going the Groundhog Day route, it just focuses on the day and the journey. It focuses on the many secrets the characters have and how none of them are whom we think they are. Because of that, it worked splendidly.

Valentine did a fantastic job pacing the novel and incorporating those tropes in a fun way. Again, it is Halloween night, and Alice is trying to solve her sister’s murder, save her, and stop a would-be serial killer from striking again. But, as with any slasher film, nothing goes according to plan.

Valentine keeps the reader on their toes, twisting the plot, throwing in red-herring after red-herring. Honestly, I saw the pieces and started to put them together by the end, but my theory was still wrong! I love that when an ending is so unexpected but still works within the narrative. It makes the story more memorable and engaging as we try and fail to figure out whom this masked killer is going around killing, girls and boys alike. What is their motivation? Or are they just killing indiscriminately like Michael Meyer? Valentine keeps the reader guessing until the very end and still manages to throw the reader through a loop.

Final Thoughts

What can I say, I loved everything about How To Survive Your Murder. Valentine did a superb job with her pacing, misdirection, and overall storytelling. She uses red herrings perfectly, lays out all the bits and pieces for the reader, and still manages to send the reader on a jaw-dropping loop. I’m warning you now that the ending was 100% unexpected and jaw-dropping. I need a sequel, and I need it now.

• Writing Quality : 10/10
• Character Development : 10/10
• "Couldn't Put It Down"-ness : 10/10
• Intellectual Depth: 10/10
• Originality: 10/10
• Overall Rating: 5 out of 5.

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About the Author

Cynthia Bujnicki graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing. She has always loved to read since she was a child. A contributing writer for YA Fantasy Addicts, she is also the Editor-in-Chief for Cyn's Workshop. She lives in sunny South Florida with her husband, son and daughter and their two cats, Mr. J the Kitten and Nyx.