This book is a palate cleanser specially tailored for those of us who love a touch of fairy in our tales. What caught me with this one is that you go along with the main character, as he discovers that life has a bit more sparkle and twinkle to it than he first imagined.Ā
Throughout the first half of Black Cake, the author authentically described the rhythm and feel of life in the Caribbean in the 1960s. Initially, she is vague enough that the island discussed and its people could be multiple islands within the Caribbean. Specifically, I thought the book was a Trinidad and Tobago based story, but it is based in Jamaica. You felt it, though.
The prologue reads as a woman sitting in a house with a dead body upstairs. She is sure she will be arrested. There is guilt. There is fear. The police are in the house questioning her, and just as she claims, she only heard a sound and found the body. A young officer shouts he has found something unbelievable upstairs. At that point, I stopped. I had searched and downloaded the book, but not paid too much attention to the reviews, or comments, etc. It is my friendās relative book. I am reading it anyhow. After that prologue, I go back and check. My brain registers for the first time the description. āAn absolutely addictive psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist.ā
If you think about it, being the sister ignored, as you watch your family rave and extol the virtues of your sibling, who you know is a serial killer, could be a petulant mess. Ms. Braithwaite artfully spares us from such dreariness. She instead shares the insight and the truth of sibling comparison, all wrapped up in humor, as a worldly lesson.
Trauma induced talents. That is at the core of this series. The Naturals series, (aptly named btw) takes a deep look at what happens if your trauma, instead of debilitating you, grants you a creepy but very useful super power. These books are for the people who binge True Crime stories, and who love unraveling what is going on in a killerās head. If that is your jam, this series is a must read for you.