Review by reneelu1998 -- Murdered by James Schannep

[ReneeBrown]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Murdered" by James Schannep.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Murdered by James Schannep is an exciting and entertaining choose-your-own-adventure novel. In this book you are the main character of the story. The first chapter sets up the premise of the story which is you, as an American tourist visiting Brazil during Caranval, stumble upon a woman who has been mysteriously murdered. You see a gun with a note that says “pick me up”. Your first choice is to either pick up the gun or leave it. What choice will you make?

I actually immensely enjoyed this book. I don’t usually read choose-your-own-adventure books especially since they are often aimed towards younger audiences, but this one was very interesting. The writing and narrative style are compelling, filled with vivid descriptions, and keep you on the edge of your seat. There are many different choices you can make as the reader and they all lead to different endings. The first sequence of choices I made in the book brought me to a quick ending, so I was glad to see early on how the author resolved the story. Then, the second sequence of events I choice was a lengthy and exciting adventure full of twists and turns. The author clearly has an active imagination.

One thing I enjoyed immensely about the book is the fact that the main character (which is supposed to be yourself) is so relatable and cool. I’m not sure how the author managed this in such a seemingly effortless manner, but the narrative style is completely consistent throughout the whole book no matter what choice you make. I also loved the different variety of characters the main character gets to interact with. Also, the legal and investigative jargon was interesting and added to the story without being boring or unnecessary. I also found the background and details of Brazil fascinating as they seemed accurate and based on the author’s first-hand experience. It made the whole book seem that much more real. The aspect I liked least about the book was the excess of profanity that seemed random at times. I found myself distracted by the harsh things the characters were saying. I wish just one character had a bad mouth as a personality trait instead of everyone in the book.

Overall, I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Along with the other reasons previously mentioned, this book is extremely well-written, exciting, and unique. I am highly interested in reading the other choose-your-own-adventure novels the author has written. This book was clearly professionally edited as I didn’t notice any grammatical errors.

As for the content in general, I think this book is intended for an adult audience, but would be entirely appropriate for teenagers and young adult readers. As mentioned, there is a considerable amount of cursing, so if you are offended by that it might be a little annoying. There is brief mention of violence, but no descriptions of graphic or disturbing events. Even though the whole premise is solving a murder, the overall tone of the book is fairly light and meant to be entertaining rather than suspensful or frightening. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new, unique kind of book to read.

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Murdered
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[Juliet+1]

Thanks for a great review! I tried this book and apparently made all the wrong choices; I kept being arrested after only 3-4 moves. But it was fun.

[ReneeBrown]

Thanks for a great review! I tried this book and apparently made all the wrong choices; I kept being arrested after only 3-4 moves. But it was fun.

That is so funny! I guess that's what makes the book exciting! Thanks for the comment )