Every Breath Review: Pros and Cons of a #LoveOzYA Murder Mystery

June 8, 2020 by Bec | 3 stars, Books, Reviews

Every Breath Review: Pros and Cons of a #LoveOzYA Murder MysteryEvery Breath by Ellie Marney
Series: Every #1
Published by Allen & Unwin on September 5th, 2013
Source: Purchased
Genres: Young Adult, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Contemporary
Amazon | Book Depository | Publisher | Angus & Robertson | Booktopia | Barnes & Noble
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Rachel Watts has just moved to Melbourne from the country, but the city is the last place she wants to be.

James Mycroft is her neighbour, an intriguingly troubled seventeen-year-old who's also a genius with a passion for forensics.

Despite her misgivings, Rachel finds herself unable to resist Mycroft when he wants her help investigating a murder. He's even harder to resist when he's up close and personal - and on the hunt for a cold-blooded killer.

When Rachel and Mycroft follows the murderer's trail, they find themselves in the lion's den - literally. A trip to the zoo will never have quite the same meaning again...

The Good Things

  • #LoveOzYA murder mystery set in Melbourne!
  • It’s such an Aussie book. Even without all the location names, you would be able to tell this is set in Australia.
  • It’s more than just a mystery. There’s a fair bit of time spent on Rachel’s family dynamics and their struggles.
  • I enjoyed reading about all the characters, even the secondary characters like Mai and Gus. Even though they didn’t appear that much, they felt really well developed. I hope we get to see more of them in the sequels.
  • Fascinating murder method! It was something we’d kind of touched on through my education in vet school, so I loved the discussion of it.

The Not-So-Good Things

  • From looking at reviews, I was under the impression this was Sherlock retelling but it’s not. Characters share names, and there’s certainly plenty of references and nods to the Sherlock stories (which are fun), but it’s not a straight up retelling. (I could be wrong…)
  • The pacing is pretty slow, especially in the beginning. The investigation doesn’t really get started until just before the halfway mark.
  • I did manage to guess the culprit when he was first introduced but only because he was creepy and I didn’t like them.
  • I feel a bit mixed about the romance. I was expecting it to slowly build up over the course of the entire trilogy. Instead the romance plays out slightly differently. Still slow burn, but now I’m dreading couple angst in sequels which isn’t always my favourite thing to read.

 

Every Breath is a fun murder mystery that, while not edge-of-your-seat thrilling, did have an interesting conclusion. It was great reading something set in Australia. I’m looking forward to seeing where things go in the sequels.

TW: mentions of incest, sexual abuse, suicide, alcohol and drug use, murder.

Rating: 3 out of 5

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Bec is an Aussie blogger and reader who loves all types of novels. Fantasy, sci fi, and historical are my usual go-to genres. If I’m not binge reading, I’m usually gaming, trying to take decent photos for bookstagram, or freaking out about silly things.

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2 responses to “Every Breath Review: Pros and Cons of a #LoveOzYA Murder Mystery

    • Bec

      3 stars is good! It’s average (well, median). I’m worried about how angsty the sequels might be… but I’m interested in the mysteries so.

      Time has gone by so fast!

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