Maeve Fly by CJ Leede

3.5/5 stars

Boy, howdy, this took a long time to get where it was going. This is such a slow buildup, and I had several instances where I almost DNF’d it. Parts of it felt overly wordy, and I found myself starting to lose interest, wondering when we’d get to the “American Psycho” part.

I was a bit disappointed in the actual murders. While certainly extremely creative, they all seemed to happen off-screen. Things would just start heating up, then the book would cut to the aftermath. Also, how were any of her actions never linked back to her? She never wore gloves, so her fingerprints would be everywhere, and she was always wandering around covered in blood. I can forgive a little lack of notice because of Halloween but complete disregard? Nah.

I don’t feel like I got to know these characters much. Despite being written from Maeve’s perspective, I didn’t truly get to know her. Her escalation into mass killing seemed to happen outside of nowhere without any clear path to it. Gideon is mostly a mystery, as is Kate. And who was the girl???

I will give C.J. props for an extremely tragic ending, though. While I wasn’t extremely attached to anyone, Maeve’s discovery at the end did tug on the heartstrings. I was hoping she’d get her happy ending, especially after the nasty bout at the party, but alas….c’est la vie, I suppose.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy! Everything in this review is my honest opinion.