Book Review: Daughters of Cruelty by L.J. Dougherty
Title: Daughters of Cruelty
Author: L.J. Dougherty
Release date: August 6th, 2024
*Huge thanks to L.J. for sending me a digital ARC of this one!*
‘In the Italian language, giallo is a genre of novel including any literary genre involving crime and mystery, with all its sub-genres such as crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, or thriller-horror.’
The giallo. Whether movie or book, this is a genre of work that I am wholly unfamiliar with. In fact, I believe the only piece of giallo media I’ve ever consumed is David Sodergren’s ‘Dead Girl Blues’ novel, one that I beta read for him. I even remember sending back some feedback, to which he replied something along the lines of ‘that’s counter to what a giallo is trying to do.’ Fair. And Sodergren would know. Not only is he a frequent consumer of such media, but he’s written an essay for a giallo movie release AND the guy learned Italian specifically to go to Italy for a giallo based tour. On top of that, Sodergren provides a very strong introduction to this one, one that helped get me in the right frame of mind.
Because, up to this point, while I’ve not read (or watched) any giallo outside of that one novel, I’ve read each book Dougherty’s released, and each one has been magnificent. From his creature-espionage trilogy to his dystopian novella, L.J. infuses his stories with so much oomph, that each one is an experience to read and each one’s a story that’ll stay with you for a long, long time.
Going in, I didn’t think this novel would be for me. But that was ok, because I was excited to see what he’d delivered with this murder-mystery. Much like how Nick Sullivan delivered ‘Zombie Bigfoot’ as well as ‘Deep Shadow,’ I knew that in the right hands, a novel that I typically wouldn’t enjoy nor choose specifically to read, had the possibility to be fantastic, especially when delivered by an author whose work I love.
What I liked: The novel follows Jack, an American photographer/private investigator, who, after delivering a series of candid scandalous photos to a congressman who has hired him, is sent to Italy as a thank you. An all-expenses paid trip to a five-star, exclusive resort. At first Jack is hesitant, expecting it to actually be a ploy to get him there and have the mafia take him out, but once there, he starts to relax, has some drinks, some casual sex and things seem good. That is until people begin to be killed.
Look, this novel is nothing if not cinematic. Dougherty deftly details (not ridiculously over the top, mind you) the settings and scenarios and it helps to feel like you’re there while reading it. That you can hear the clink of glasses, the laughter of guests and smell the expensive perfumes and the sea air blowing in through an open window.
This works to heighten the tension when things ramp up. As it’s taking place in a hotel, we become intimately aware of the surroundings and when the knife-wielding killer arrives time and time again, the reader is able to picture exactly where they are and what escape routes the characters have. Not that those matter.
Throughout, I kept tossing guesses into the air, as to who the killer was. It had to be the bartender! It had to be the concierge! It had to be Jack himself! It had to be X! etc. etc. Which was a huge part of the fun of reading this. Over and over again, bread crumbs were left behind, but ultimately when they were followed, the reader would end up at the wrong loaf.
The reveal was well done, and in the afterword, Dougherty mentions that part of the giallo-ness of a story is not only who did the killings, but also why they did it, and that was detailed nicely. Which allowed for a very solid ending, answering the numerous questions leading up to that moment.
What I didn’t like: I say this in the nicest way possible – and this is 100% because I’m not familiar with this genre – but the novel does read very formulaic. I knew the killer would be revealed at about the 90% mark, simply because that seems to be how things are set up in this style of story telling. That’s not a bad thing, but if this isn’t something you typically enjoy, it will feel like many characters are purely set up to be taken out – but don’t fret, there is a specific reason for that!
Why you should buy this: I mean, if you love giallo entertainment, this is a no brainer. Dive in, digest, have some drinks, smoke a cigarette and take wild guesses at who the character is in between the spicy scenes. If you’re a fan of Dougherty’s work, also a no brainer. While this wasn’t a horror-style/espionage-style novel, Dougherty’s signature writing voice is there from the very first sentence.
Otherwise, if you’re simply looking for a rollicking, murder-mystery with great set pieces and enjoyable characters, look no further. This was a blast to read and one that did a wonderful job of throwing my expectations through the window and down, down, down to the sandy beach below.
5/5
