Book Review for Wander in the Dark by Jumata Emill

 Wander in the Dark by Jumata Emill

Publication January 30, 2024 by Delacorte Press

Genre:  YA Thriller

 

Taken from Goodreads:  In this new pulse-pounding thriller from the author of The Black Queen, two brothers must come together to solve the murder of the most popular girl in school after one of them is caught fleeing the scene of her death.

Amir Trudeau has his fair share of problems. He hates his new school, and his estranged half-brother Marcel is continuously trying to repair a relationship that Amir wants no part of. Both the sons of local celebrity chef Martin Trudeau, Marcel is part of the 'new' family Amir's dad left him and his mom to start—a betrayal Amir has never forgotten.

But when Amir wakes up in the middle of the night and finds Chloe Danvers, a pretty and popular white girl who attends the same elite private school as him, stabbed to death, he suddenly finds himself with much bigger things to worry about.

After cameras catch him fleeing the scene of Chloe's murder, Amir becomes embroiled in an investigation that has all of New Orleans talking. And now, in order to clear his name, he'll have to rely on the one person his trusts least—Marcel, who sees helping Amir crack the case as way to repair their relationship. But as the brothers dig deeper into the mystery of Chloe's death, they'll have to face the twisted secrets festering within the hallowed halls of their own school.

 

My Thoughts:  Wander is the Dark is a true YA thriller.   The book is entirely set around teenagers living their worst nightmare, one of their classmates is murdered and another classmate is accused of the murder.   There were so many clues, so many paths to follow.   I followed each one but it was not a surprise to me as to who the murder truly is.

The dialogue threw me off, especially at the beginning.   The slang that was used had me re-reading parts to get a better understanding of what was happening.    There was a lot of attention given to the profiling of Black men and women.   I found it interesting how different tax brackets, different colored skins, and different sexes all were treated differently under the same circumstances.  

 This is a fast paced, easy to read thriller. 

Thank you Delacorte Press for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

 

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