All the Whys of Delilah's Demise

When I first started reading, it was hard to shake the SIMS game visuals, but after a few pages, the story settled into a jaunty mystery that kept me turning the pages. I couldn't put it down. There's an interesting juxtaposition of lighthearted murder mystery and deadly dystopia. I don't know that I've read anything quite like it, and I enjoyed the slow awakening that Scottie experiences. While this is a common true-to-life journey for many young people as they step outside what they've been told and assumed, Maslakovic takes this maturation to a whole other speculative level, and the ending was a dark surprise. I enjoyed this one a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cosmic Tea Press for the review copy.

I loved the concept of this story so much. The writing was a lot of telling less showing. I feel like this would be a great introduction to the world of dystopia for the middle grade reader.

This is a bit different than what I usually read. But I still enjoyed this book!
It was just so interesting and I wanted to read more.

Delilah's Demise is a delightful surprise. Oh hey, that rhymes!

An intriguing dystopian future blended with a murder mystery with some scifi style brain chip technology thrown in for good measure!

Scottie is a 19 year old trying to make her way under the Dome of New Seattle, where popularity means success at life. The Tenners (top 10 on "The List" of the most popular Dome residents) govern the dome, not only having popularity but the best housing, food, money and many more perks.
Down the bottom of the list, Scottie struggles to get by with her few gems, and a bad gem marrs her record. The dome is thrown into disarray when Delilah, the Number One of the Tenners, is found dead. After being hauled in for questioning following the incident, Scottie feels there is more to this than there appears, and this sets her on a path of discovery... About the dome, The Tenners... And herself.

I really enjoyed this book and the concept was great, I found Scottie an engaging lead character, and the other characters and relationships interesting. This was a really original story and it was great to read something different.

All The Whys of Delilah's Demise gives me Black Mirror Vibes. (Almost rhyme, smug face)

Set in the future in New Seattle, with 10,000 residents, popularity is everything and you don't want to find yourself in #10,000 spot. Coz if you do, seeya, you're off sledding out of the doors of the dome, into the very snowy outdoors where chances of frost bite and your nose falling off is, well, high. Gems are awarded between residents to determine popularity and a persons 'worth'. Delilah, number #1 however, has died, and recent graduate Scott (who's in the bottom 1000) wants to find out how, to give herself a brand, and rise up in the ranks to avoid seeing herself sledding out the doors.

On starting this novel, I thought okay, I've read some books with similar concepts before (a popularity screen to show all residents where they rank, service being given to a resident depending on how popular they are) and so I was interested if this would follow a similar pattern or whether it would go somewhere different, hold interest and become a novel hard for me to put down. The bonus for this novel, compared to those others I have read is that I really enjoyed the characters, all unique despite most sharing the desire to be 'number #1'. Always a sucker for the 'forbidden' love trope and the overall objective to hunt and find the killer. I definitely found myself wanting to read more and getting more attached to the characters the further I progressed through the novel.

4 ruby gems from me!

Thanks to NetGalley, Cosmic Tea Press and Neve Maslakovic for an eArc of this novel, in exchange for an honest review.

I totally loved this book. The mystery was really captivating and witty and I loved Scottie's character. There was a really cute romance and the sci-fi element of the story was fascinating. As others have said, it had a bit of a Black Mirror vibe, but it was done in such a unique way. Scottie's search for a family was really endearing and I loved Dax and the idea of PALs. All of the characters were dynamic and interesting and I really enjoyed the narrative style. I was iffy about how the story ended, but the rest of the story totally made up for that. The world was interesting and it seemed very real. Overall, this book was a really fun blend of sci-fi and a classic whodunnit mystery that I hadn't really seen before and it was beyond enjoyable. I literally could not put it down.

This novel follows main character, Scott, in a futuristic world where everything is based on popularity and rank. After the number one ranked is found dead, Scott tries to unravel the mystery behind who the killer is, while putting herself and her friends in danger.

This book is a great addition to the whole social media / dystopian / video game kind of genre. Whatever that is! Scottie is at the low end of the social strata and struggling to find herself in a world based on popularity. Think Hunger Games / Survivor but with a peer rating system that displays above your head. In some ways it reminded me of Super Sad True Love Story, but in a dome and with people being kicked off. I loved the concept of PALs and thought the Code was an interesting way to re-frame society. The murder and story line about who it ended up being was my least favorite part of the story. It didn't hold up, in my opinion, to the well thought out and developed world around it. I understand the point, but it felt like a cheap way out. Needless to say, I enjoyed reading the whole book!

All the Whys of Delilah's Demise is basically everything I'm looking for in a book and trust me when I say it did NOT disappoint! Set in a future that could be our own, each person has a place. But more than that, each person has a number. The number that tells them where they can live, work, and eat. The number that tells them how they can dress, what they can afford. The number that rules everything. While these numbers can change, one bad mark can destroy everything. When the top-ranked start dying, Scottie is both determined to find out why and the number one suspect in their murder.

All of the things I loved: Dome book, AI ranking systems, dystopian, climate change parable, love, murder, mystery.

I don't want to say too much because the book is so great and I would love to read more in this setting, perhaps see the other domes, to follow those that live outside, to know more of what happens next in New Seattle, all of it.

5/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Cosmic Tea Press for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you like Black Mirror, you’ll probably enjoy this book. An entertaining, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny whodunit mystery that kept me turning the page. I tend to be easily disappointed with mystery/thriller reads (I wouldn’t call this a thriller, though), but I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

A very fun and strange mystery taking place in a dystopian future where 10,000 people live under a Dome. Scott, our MC, and Delilah, the first victim, hold throughout the story as interesting characters.

While this wasn’t exactly a thriller, I was engrossed in this world where social climbing can lead you to thriving, or being exiled into the Outside, an unpredictable environment of cold and extremes, unprotected. The bubble and censored nature of the Dome made everything quite exciting, all of the characters were rather suspicious and Scott was willing to go the distance to find out more.

If you enjoy mysteries that aren’t in the typical contemporary boat, try this! Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the ARC.

pretty captivating mystery from start to finish and Delilah was a great main character for a mystery! 3 stars

I can't resist the pull of a book set in the PNW, these days, especially SFF! When I saw this one, "a whodunit set in an all-too-possible future where brand is everything," was set in the dome city of "New Seattle," I made sure to sign up for the ARC. Overall I really enjoyed it, especially the fun, unique blend of genres and the humorous narrative voice. Because it's part murder mystery, we get a look at the many different spaces and histories of the town, as Scottie investigates its residents with her best friend, Dax, and her AI chip, Cece. The town ranking system, AI neural implants, and post-apocalyptic Dome City setting are the key speculative fiction aspects of the story, and while none of them on their own feel particularly novel, blended into the murder mystery it really makes for something fun and original. I'd recommend this one.

i loved the use of scifi and mystery, this book was a lot of fun to read and had a great mystery in the book. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and this story.

this one was engaging! I loved it and had a great time reading! the MC was so well written, the mystery and the pace was something which totally worked for me and the twists shocked me. Overall, it was a fun read and I had a great time reading it