{Review} The Murder Complex by Lindsey Cummings

Posted by Donna
Release Date: June 10th, 2014
Finished Date: October 7th, 2014

Publishers: Greenwillow Books
Genre: YA, Dystopia
Source: For Review
Format: eARC

Pages: 400

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate. For fans of Moira Young’s Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision.

The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?

Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is a dark and compelling debut novel by Lindsay Cummings.

The Review: The Murder Complex is a frightening and brutal story, one that’s full of danger and hidden secrets and overall, it did fall a little short but was still worth a read.

Meadow lives in a world which is ruled with an iron fist and one that isn’t safe. She’s grown up with her father teaching self-defence but also how to kill someone, because somewhere down the line Meadow will have to kill in order to take her place in society and get a job so she can support her family. But when Meadow meets Zephyr; a boy who she connects with, she starts to realize there is more to this world she lives in and soon she’s questioning everything she has been taught to believe.

Ever since I first heard about Lindsey Cummings' novel The Murder Complex I knew I wanted to read it. I love a good dystopian story and this sounded right up my street and Lindsey did an awesome job gripping me to the story. I found it intriguing and very brutal. I instantly liked Meadow and Zephyr and was pleasantly surprised to find the story told from alternative points of view. I always love being able to get both characters points of view and thought Lindsey did an awesome job defining each character and making them both stand out. I also enjoyed the pacing of the story. Each chapter brought something new but also like you on mini cliff-hangers leaving you dying to know what was coming next. There’s a few shocking twists to the story, some I liked and some I found a little unrealistic but could appreciate the approach the author was taking.

As much as I enjoyed the story, what stopped me from enjoying it to its full potential was the lack of details and reflection time. It’s a very driven plot and while that’s not a bad thing, it did mean this left out the added details of getting to really know the characters or understanding the world that little bit more.  I didn’t hate the story because at times I was completely gripped but again, the lack of information/reflection time/details stopped me enjoying the story fully.

Overall, The Murder Complex wasn’t a favourite but it wasn’t bad either. I’m undecided right now if I would read the sequel, I’m not sure if I was invested enough but I’m certainly glad I read the story and I know a lot of you will love it.

Thank you to Greenwillow Books for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.