Quick-Takes Review: #MurderTrending by Gretchen McNeil

In the not-too-distant future, the public can watch the executions of the country's most devious criminals on The Postman app.  Said criminals are now residents of Alcatraz 2.0, a recently suburbanized prison island.  There, the criminals hold jobs, live in homes, but their every move is live-streamed.  They aren't really free, for at any moment they can fall victim any one of a set of killers with trademark killing styles.  Bets are placed on the length of survival for each of the "inmates." It's the latest craze in reality TV.

Seventeen-year-old Dee Guerrera is the newest addition to Alcatraz 2.0.  Unlike the others, she's not guilty of the crime she's committed (really!).  Luckily, she's formed an alliance (humorously coined The Death Row Breakfast Club) who helps her get to the root of her suspicious that something nefarious is afoot on Alcatraz 2.0. The "rules" aren't being followed by those who created them, and Dee can't shake the feeling that there is something deeply personal about the decisions that caused her to be a resident of Alcatraz 2.0.  Only in surviving the vast list of executioners (and the other residents) can she find the answers that are somehow tied to her troubled past.

Now this was a fun read!  Picture Hunger Games meets Survivor, in all the best of ways. I’m a huge fan of McNeil’s thrillers, and this one just added on to my adoration of everything she does!

This lady is talented!  From the quirky executioners and their trademark “moves” (one dresses his victims up as Disney princesses) to the latent expose on how social media affects our lives, McNeil manages to entertain, as well as mix in a bit of social commentary.  This is all done so expertly, but not in a preachy way.  The chilling moments are well balanced with the more comedic moments, making this a fun and action-packed thriller for readers of all varieties.

It was a fun weekend read for me; I truly cannot wait to read what McNeil has next for her fans!