Murder Your Darlings, Jenna Blum (Review by Lisa Harder)

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

This novel was very different from what I had pictured! This is so much more complex than a thriller that I expected.

Murder Your Darlings centers around three main characters, William, Sam (or Simone), and The Rabbit (the identity of whom you learn near the end), who appears to be stalking William and harassing Sam. William and Sam end up in a relationship. They are trying to navigate their love and also try to figure out who The Rabbit is. Different sections and chapters are written from their various points of view, which was an interesting choice by the author.

Murder Your Darlings challenged me in some respects. The plot moved forward in a jarring manner rather than building and flowing. For example, over halfway through the book (without spoilers!) William is extremely angry with Sam and their relationship ends. She is over him. But very suddenly, they’re back together. Also, some secondary characters and situations took me out of the story. For example, Sam is part of a co-dependency support group. Her sponsor/friend seems to be mostly encouraging her relationship with William despite obvious red flags. This may be my vocational background interfering, but I found this very unrealistic. No one seemed to try to intervene accordingly when Sam got back together with him. Given that the book description indicated it was “wickedly witty,” I expected a few more humorous moments throughout.

Nonetheless, if you are looking for a thriller/mystery novel that is a quick and easy read with an empowering ending, Murder Your Darlings may be up your alley!