Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read and review A Guide For Murdered Children. The following is my honest review.

Before I get into it...Yes. The book does include murdered children, kidnap, and rape. It's right there in the title. I never thought it was gratuitous, but it is in there throughout the entire story.

I enjoyed it overall. It is definitely not something I would want to read again though. It did draw me in pretty early on and I finished it fairly quickly. I think what I liked best was that it definitely was unlike anything I read before. It had some very interesting ideas.

I wish there was a bit more to the ending. It seemed like it was leading up to something else, but just petered out. Some of the writing was a little bit clunky in bits, but not too bad. I think it needed a little more meat.

I'm really not sure what type of reader I would recommend this to. It's not quite a thriller, not quite fantasy, not quite sci fi. If the description appeals I say give it a go.

I so wanted to love this book. The cover is amazing and the premise seemed really exciting but this was kind of a mess. The writing was really confusing. I had such a hard time understanding who was speaking or who was acting because of the poor sentence structure. One scene would end before anything was clarified about what was happening and then the next scene would be something completely different. The concept is an intriguing one but very convoluted and complex and the writing style was just as complicated. Complicated is by no means bad but the idea should come through more clearly. I hope that this book gets a rewrite because I think it could be a really good book if it were cleaned up and more focused.

I really liked the premise of this book, and found the entire concept of landlords and tenants intriguing. I kind of have to laugh at anyone who found the book's concept offensive. IT'S ABOUT MURDERED CHILDREN. What did you think was going to happen?

I thought the author did a great job of anticipating questions readers might have and proactively addressing him (like, "why are there so many murdered children in the area?" "what happens if you miss your balance moment.?") I also thought all of the references to pop culture were spot on (music, Stranger Things, Kary Perry, etc.).

Some of the challenges I had with the book seemed like they could be solved with editing. For one, I felt like the book started off slow and was confusing at times (for example, Willow being at the BBQ where Troy and Maya were murdered had me lost a bit in time and space.) I also really disliked the switching between landlord and tenant names within passages. For example, in one bit "Maya" is saying something and then a paragraph later "Lydia." I get they're the same person, so it still makes sense, but it made me the reader have to slow down just to keep track of the conversation and I found that annoying.

Lastly, two small quibbles....

When Willow visits Roy/Dabba Doo later in the book at one point he muses "Maybe Roy turned fag." That seemed out of character for Willow. He seemed like a pretty modern guy throughout the book, open to all types of people. He was also pretty chill and respectful to his lesbian friend. So to have him drop a slur like that out of nowhere just seemed odd, ugly and offensive. There's really no reason to call him a "fag" so why do it?

Secondly, as someone who is from central Minnesota I feel very protective of the Wetterlings. I thought the author did I fine job of mentioning their case, without getting too deep into specifics. However, when characters later visited, "Jacob's Prairie" (clearly a stand-in for St. Joseph where Jacob lived and died) I got a little grossed out. Call it "Bob's Prairie," "Darla's Prairie," whatever prairie you want, since it's fictional...just would prefer that Jacob's name isn't used. For some who is from here, that felt exploitative.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn in by the title and cover - it seemed like it would be right up my alley. At first it was slow going, the writing can be a bit all over the place and some of the characters are a bit unlikable. However, I decided to keep going with it, and I'm really glad I did. It's such a unique story, and it really picked up about halfway through. If it sounds interesting to you, I recommend you give it a try (and stick with it through a bit of a bumpy beginning).

A solid 3.5 stars rounded to 4
Note: Rounded up due to intriguing and creative plot that had a great ending. Stars taken off for structure of the narrative.

Review not published yet - Closer to publishing date..

Imagine the world where the spirits of slain Children can return to exact revenge and to give closure to their cherished ones and finally "restore the balance." Justice in a world without any.

Recovering alcoholic and ex-NYPD detective, Willow Wylde, aka "Dubya." is fresh out of rehab and about to take on the world without intoxicants. As a divorcee, Willow has one last attempt to be a father to his daughter and a grandfather to little Larkin. But Detective Willow is still unchanged, a collision of self and destructiveness as he tries to navigate his sobriety. Strange deaths are occurring in Saggerty Falls, and Detective Willow uses his experience attempting to piece together the crimes. What he learns is deadly, but what he becomes is reinvented.

The premise of the novel is that murdered children can inhabit a moribund adult body and exact revenge on the person that wronged them. There is a Guide Book and a structure of this society -The Porter (Annie, the guide), sentries (assistants to the Porter), roommates (child spirit), and landlords (the moribund adult body). And there is the train that arrives at the station with their Subalterns (train sentries). The children take on the ride to their final mission.

The novel is recounted in the third person and begins with a writing style is difficult to appreciate and appears to read as a stream of consciousness. Particularly, I grappled with the presentation of the first few chapters, trying to grasp onto words that seemed to be placed together with a forced atmosphere of chaos. Even though the pace is slow, the narrative jogs all over the place. There are alternating stories, multiple points of view, and timelines and there was a lot of details and characters. I was forced to read and re-read. The chapter headings and sub-headings were helpful but not always.

But where the narrative fails in structure, it makes up in character development and imagination. I enjoyed Detective Willow, a character you can both love and despise at the same time. A loathsome man is attempting to redeem his neglected family at any cost. His love is palpable as he enters his sobriety. As a retired old cop, he takes a chance at getting his old job back but knows he is washed up. Middle age makes him feel invisible. But he has a gift of voices he has been suppressing.

Other noteworthy characters in the novel are a murderous duo. Laverne and her husband's creepy rituals may keep me up at night. Although the descriptions of their killing are not gruesome, it is hair-raising and sinister.

Finally, The structure of the spirit world was impressive world building. There was a feeling of strangeness, and it was believable. The transparent blue hue, the train arriving at the station in dreams, the whispers of instruction, the Tom Collins and a cookie on a tray, the integration of body and spirit; and the spooky, surreal ambiance was on point.

Overall, there is a mystery, mysticism, and some gruesome brutality. A great concept to juxtapose the paranormal/science fiction genre with horror. It fell short in the structure, but the story still unfolds, and those bits are brilliant.

Thank you, NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Blue Rider Press & Plume for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A truly unique premise, with characters that will literally "haunt you". I read this book way faster than I had intended, but I just never found a good place to stop reading. This was a wicked good story that had me gasping for breath several times. Don't miss it!

I so wanted to love this book. The title, the premise, the genre; it ticked all my boxes.

Unfortunately I hated the protagonist. Unsympathetic and ultimately lacking in credibility for me.

I also found the writing somewhat awkward if not a little stilted.

Such a great idea though and I think that possibly it just didn't work for me.

***DNF, but impressions are shared in the review. Will mention book in month-in-review blog post.***

I chose this book because:

Although I am interested in sci-fi, I’m not usually interested in supernatural stories. However, I’m always interested in how children and adults differ in how they see the world. I’m wondering about these children, with their lives cut short, whether they would wreak more havoc because they don’t think about consequences like adults do, or whether they’re more forgiving because they have big hearts untainted by the big bad world, or perhaps more likely a mix of both. And of course, the book cover grabbed my attention right away with that pink and those glittery stars and the Comic Sans, which I can’t decide whether I like or not. Usually Comic Sans is always a no, but Comic Sans is often used as a “fun” font for children by adults who have no aesthetic sense LOL.

Upon reading this book:

The thoughts felt disjointed and it wasn’t easy to figure out what was going on, even knowing what I knew from the blurb. As an example, one thing that might have added to the disjoint feeling was the strange use of words: some seemed very sophisticated (big) whilst others seemed very juvenile. There were too many different things going on.

I did not finish this book. The protagonist was unlikable and the story was boring,

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 20%

I was absolutely hooked by the title + the cover + synopsis. There was no way that I wasn't requesting this because it was going to be a surefire winner with me. When I was approved for the ARC, I was totally pumped.

As another reviewer so eloquently put it: "The cover of this book is incredible but what the hell is inside?" The writing style was absolutely chaotic and a complete mess. I'm sure there was a creative reason for it but unfortunately I wasn't able to follow and enjoy. I struggled to understand what was going on between the flipped perspectives and players. A promising plot that hopefully others will be able to decipher.

Heartbreaking, funny, touching, graphically violent at times, reminds me of the best of Jonathan Carroll.

A strange, dark, and fascinating read. Murdered children return in adult bodies to seek revenge on their killers. It's obviously rather fantastical, but there is a lot of interesting context there for loss, grief, depression, and closure. Strong character building alongside a fast moving plot. CW for murder/rape of children and adults.

I did not finish this book so I don't feel comfortable reviewing it. I will say the writing style was very chaotic and it was difficult to keep the plot straight.

This book was an absolute mess in the best and worst ways. Trigger warning of rape and abuse to children, this book is about murdered children who come back alive to exact their revenge.

Thank you netgalley for an arc for an honest review because I have been wanting to read this book for a while. It was kind of everywhere. It had a lot of genres and ideas thrown in all at once and it was hard to get through a book like this.

The untimely death of a child is tragic, but in Sarah Sparrow's The Guide for Murdered Children those children are provided an opportunity to seek justice for their demise. 

In suburban Detroit, an eclectic mix of people meet up weekly as a support group, but it's not AA or any other typical adult support group; it's a group for murdered children whose souls have inhabited an adult, or landlord, and are working toward a moment of balance as they figure out who killed them and avenge their untimely end. Meanwhile, former NYPD detective Willow Wylde has moved back to suburban Detroit and has been offered a position leading the new local Cold Case unit, where he works with two deputies that show a keen interest in solving the Rummer case, to which Willow has a personal connection. Through the investigation's development, Willow learns about these strange meetings, uncovering more than the resolution of a decade's old case as he discovers the meaning behind his strange recurring dreams about blue-tinted people and a train. 

While there were some fascinating ideas and concepts presented relating to the supernatural elements of the text, the narrative takes a bit too long to bring together the threads of the story, unnecessarily drawing it out. There were areas where explanatory information is repeatedly presented as if it's new information and the balance between child-like and adult dialogue was lacking a believable finesse, which could be addressed with further development and editing. Ambitious in its attempt to incorporate different genre styles into one narrative, the story doesn't adequately do so, leaving readers without a cohesive or satisfying whole, but readers are instead instead left with a muddled and perplexing text.

Overall, I'd give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Firstly thank you so much for giving me an advanced copy of this book however I would like to respectfully decline reviewing as I have only read a few pages and realised that this is not a good fit for me, the blend of mystery, horror, and supernatural just didn't work for me and I would rather not post a negative review. I wish the author success with this book regardless of my brief encounter with it.

As a mother of a scary autistic child (!!!) , this is not for me, couldn't read any more.

My sincere appreciation to Netgallery and the publisher for providing an ARC in getting my opinions. I have high hopes for the book but it has been a let down.

First off, the beginning is very difficult to get into. Took me awhile wanting to dive into the story.

Once I was getting used to the author's style and picking up the reading slowly, I thought I would like the story better but that never happened. There were some great moments but most of the time I felt confused. A very promising plot with interesting ideas but the author executed her visions only passably. As a thriller, it isn't exciting enough; as a mystery, there isn't anything mysterious like whodunit; as a fantasy, it isn't a pleasant/exciting fantasy read. I don't think the author tried to be ambitious, but the writing seems like she is trying too hard, at least, to me.

All in all, this is a less-than-pleasant-read and I mostly would not recommend it to my friends. I will consider to read it again and see if I feel any differently on my second attempt. Again, there are some redemption qualities to the plots and ideas so I am willing to give this book a 3-star rating. But a 2-star rating was my immediate response upon finishing the book.

The cover art, it is too cute and sweet and it reflects nothing of what readers should expect to read. Something innocent yet sinister should be used on the cover.

I will post the review on my goodread account few weeks before the publication date. I seriously consider giving the book a second chance before I post anything too negatively since, like I have mentioned, there are few redemption qualities to the title. Thanks Netgallery and the publisher again for giving me a chance to preview this title.

I read this over the weekend in the backyard, thinking it would be a good one. Wrong. I have no idea what was going on, I thought this would be psychologial/thriller, but it was a lot more fantasy than I enjoy. Sorry :(

I did not know what to expect from this book but I started reading and loved it right away.
It is a powerful story and there were moments that broke my heart.