I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into this book, since I feel like mystery books are such a hit-or-miss for me. It almost feels like there has to be this perfect balance of elements for it to work for me, and so often either the mystery is too boring or the characters aren’t engaging enough, and I just end up not caring. Luckily, this one ended up working perfectly for me, even if I still have a hard time pinpointing exactly why! It was one of those books that seemed to do everything exactly right, and I honestly can’t think of a single reason to not just rate it 5 stars, even if it didn’t clearly feel like a 5-star book throughout. It was one of those books that you realize after finishing was actually really wonderful.

One of the best things about this book was how easy of a read it was. It was so easy to just keep flipping pages, and I found myself breezing through chapter after chapter. I think this was due to just a perfect blend of writing style and character personality, to where it almost felt as if I was just in the main character’s head, thinking her thoughts. It was a nice break in a way too, because it felt like I didn’t have to think too much if I didn’t want to, and I could just sink into the story.

I also really enjoyed how quietly diverse this was, with so many characters just being queer and neurodiverse without it feeling like a Thing or a point that was being made. It’s always comforting to read a book like this, where it feels like these things are just a fact of life and a way that people are. It just added to the comforting atmosphere of the book for me, especially since I could relate a lot with the main character.

In general, this book was a cozy, comfortable one, which is funny, considering the entire book is a murder mystery and there’s a decent level of danger and tension throughout. I think it’s just the way it was all balanced and written, and it never felt like this comfort hindered the actual tension of the story, either. It just happened to work hand in hand.

Lastly, I also just really liked the family dynamics and how it played out here. While the main character doesn’t have a great relationship with some of her family, they’re still a constant presence in the story, either physically or just in the main character’s thoughts. I just really liked how there didn’t have to be a villain or obvious horrible person in the family for there to be tension and conflict, and I really liked how this was explored throughout the story. There was never a point where you could truly pin all the blame on someone, and it added a lot of nuance to the story overall, beyond just the familial conflict.

Overall, I really enjoyed this, and I really hope more people give this one a shot when it releases in March!