The Lonely Dead

Henry, April. The Lonely Dead. Henry Holt & Co, 2018.

Adele can speak with the dead. Like her mother and grandmother before her, Adele can see and communicate with the dead when she is near the place their remains lie. Diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age, Adele has been taking medication to damper the voices of the dead. But recently she stopped taking her meds, and now her former best friend is speaking to her, right over the place where her body is buried. Soon the murder is discovered, the police are looking for someone to pin the crime on, and Adele is looking like the ideal suspect.

Anyone who enjoys shows like Supernatural or X-Files where people can speak to the dead, combined with shows like Criminal Minds or Bones where there are murder investigations, would enjoy this book. The ending was completely predictable in the way many suspense/thriller endings are, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. This book focuses mainly on the action of the plot, and it is certainly a compelling story. There is not much world-building and not a ton of character development, but if you are looking for a fast-paced story, this is the one for you.

I can't speak to the use of schizophrenia as Adele's diagnosis, but I do hope some #ownvoices reviewers on Goodreads do address this issue. It is unsurprising that she was diagnosed, especially with the history of her mother and grandmother also speaking to the dead, but I don't know how an #ownvoices reviewer would see the way this issue was handled.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: language, attempted murder
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read-Alike Authors: Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Nick Lake, Lucy Christopher

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.