2 out of 4 stars
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It’s not uncommon to get so lost in a story that it feels personal. It’s almost as though the characters’ experiences are your own. In Murdered by James Schannep, it is personal. In this unique “choose your own adventure” book, you are the center of the story. While vacationing in Rio for Carnivale, you, an unassuming tourist, find yourself suddenly at the center of a murder investigation that is shrouded in mystery. As you navigate through the chapters, you are given several different options (presented as clickable links) to guide your plot experience. Some choices lead you towards uncovering the mystery, and serving justice to the killer, while some others lead to your own demise. With so many different choices to make, each reader’s experience can be completely unique. There are several different paths to take within the story, but not all of them leave you completely satisfied in terms of solving the crime. In this case, you are encouraged to go back through the chapters and choose differently, as there may be another path that ties off all the loose ends, and leaves no question unanswered.
Murdered presents an incredibly unique and intriguing concept to the reader that is certainly appealing. Not only does it entice you with mystery, but it also provides a reading experience that may be brand new and unfamiliar to the reader. Depending on which track you follow, you could finish the book in an hour, or over the course of several days. When I read it, I came to several unfortunate conclusions that required some slight resetting and rereading before being given a “happy ending”. Due to the unique tracking of the book, you could reread the book several times and have a completely different experience each time. It almost feels like you’re playing a game. Each story path unravels different parts of the mystery to give a true “choose your own adventure” experience. Your decisions at the end of the chapters guide your reading, so it can feel like the stakes are pretty high from the get-go.
There were a few details within the book that, while not necessarily deal breakers, do not earn my praise either. It should be noted that Murdered is written entirely in second person voice. While this makes sense, given that the reader is presented as the main character, it definitely takes some getting used to in this kind of perspective. At times, it made the writing seem a bit juvenile. After settling into the book, however, it wasn’t quite as jarring to read from a second person voice. Another small issue of logistics that I ran into was with the “bad endings”. If you happen to make a choice that leads to an unsatisfactory ending, you are presented with an alphabetical list of chapter names, or you are given the chance to start the book over from the beginning. If you don’t remember the title of the chapter you want to go back to, this can be extremely tedious work. As I was taking notes throughout my reading, this wasn’t necessarily a problem for me, but others could see this as a frustrating obstacle to run into. If you read this book, I highly suggest making note of the chapter names as you go through.
There were some problem areas within the writing and the plot that ultimately guide my rating. While I felt like the stakes were high in the beginning, the plot itself never seemed to intensify much beyond that initial peak. This was disappointing, as I think the story had a lot of potential for heightened stakes. Perhaps it was because of the unique structure of the book, but it felt like a lot of the same when it came to following the story track. There were some inconsistencies between where the stakes seemed to build, and when they teetered out. Despite reading through several different tracks, I never felt like I reached a definitive climax in any of them.
Additionally, there were some moments that were so clichéd, I found myself actively cringing. This especially came to light when reading some unnecessarily burdensome character descriptions (there is one female character who seems entirely disposable except for the hefty descriptions of her wardrobe and a strange throwaway plot point in the book), or shallow cultural descriptions. I think a more in-depth research approach is necessary for this book, as it references different aspects of Brazilian culture, but is inconsistent in the descriptions of such- varying from an exhaustive menu description to an unnecessary portrait of a character’s accent. I ultimately give this book 2 out of 4 stars for these reasons. The concept is unique and enjoyable, however the writing itself could undergo some major revisions. I think anyone who enjoys mysteries, or is intrigued by the idea of having some control in the way the story unfolds, will enjoy this book.
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Murdered
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