Trigger Warning: This work contains themes of self harm, suicidal ideation and physical and sexual violence.
For fans of We Were Liars, One of Us Is Lying, and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder? Sign me up!
With fast paced, short chapters, Bad Things Happen Here is everything I love in a book all rolled into one, and with it being set on a secluded island, I just knew I’d love it. I wasn’t too overly fond of We Were Liars, but I can’t lie and say it wasn’t a great setting and twist.
Luca Laine Thomas has lost a lot in her life, and most recently, her sister, Whitney. After the police have brushed past cases in Parris under the rug, inclusing the death of her best friend Polly, Luca tries to take things into her own hands. After one too many deaths on the island, not just in her life, Luca is adamant that the island is cursed, with everybody else not believing it; pinning it as a old wives tale.
With the help of newcomer Naomi, who has recently moved into Polly’s old house, and Jada, an old friend, Luca manages to uncover lies that the police have hidden from the public in regards to Whitney’s death, leading her to finally uncover why they were hidden, which did come as a bit of a shock to me, with me not able to guess who was responsible, and I only learned when it was revealed. I will admit that I wasn’t overly convinced with the motive, but it wasn’t a bad one, and the more information that came out, the more I got on board with it.
Along with the great storytelling of the mysteries that are unfolding on Parris Island, I can only commend Barrow for the main character that she has written; queer, plus size, and mixed race Luca, while not 100% likeable, is still a great main character who has a lot of things to overcome across these 350 so pages. Along with Luca, there are a vast array of diverse characters, so hats off to Barrow for this. Sapphic relationships are far too disregarded in literature today, with the few that are written carefully usually ending well, so it was different, not necessarily nice, to see Luca’s relationship end the way it did.
I’ve not read any of Rebecca Barrow’s earlier work, and only found out about his book through the Hot Key Instagram account, but I think that I could see myself enjoying her other work if I look into it.
For fans of We Were Liars, One of Us Is Lying, and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder? Sign me up!
With fast paced, short chapters, Bad Things Happen Here is everything I love in a book all rolled into one, and with it being set on a secluded island, I just knew I’d love it. I wasn’t too overly fond of We Were Liars, but I can’t lie and say it wasn’t a great setting and twist.
Luca Laine Thomas has lost a lot in her life, and most recently, her sister, Whitney. After the police have brushed past cases in Parris under the rug, inclusing the death of her best friend Polly, Luca tries to take things into her own hands. After one too many deaths on the island, not just in her life, Luca is adamant that the island is cursed, with everybody else not believing it; pinning it as a old wives tale.
With the help of newcomer Naomi, who has recently moved into Polly’s old house, and Jada, an old friend, Luca manages to uncover lies that the police have hidden from the public in regards to Whitney’s death, leading her to finally uncover why they were hidden, which did come as a bit of a shock to me, with me not able to guess who was responsible, and I only learned when it was revealed. I will admit that I wasn’t overly convinced with the motive, but it wasn’t a bad one, and the more information that came out, the more I got on board with it.
Along with the great storytelling of the mysteries that are unfolding on Parris Island, I can only commend Barrow for the main character that she has written; queer, plus size, and mixed race Luca, while not 100% likeable, is still a great main character who has a lot of things to overcome across these 350 so pages. Along with Luca, there are a vast array of diverse characters, so hats off to Barrow for this. Sapphic relationships are far too disregarded in literature today, with the few that are written carefully usually ending well, so it was different, not necessarily nice, to see Luca’s relationship end the way it did.
I’ve not read any of Rebecca Barrow’s earlier work, and only found out about his book through the Hot Key Instagram account, but I think that I could see myself enjoying her other work if I look into it.