Slice of Cherry, Dia Reeves’ second novel, is fresh, original and mind-numbingly addictive and compulsively disturbing; her novel enmeshes the sweet and sentimental (a loving yet clingy relationship between sisters) with the diabolical (serial murderers). I was thrown into Reeves’ story right from the beginning, and it is one of those page-turner novels. Slice of Cherry is pegged at 500 pages, and yet, the pages flew by.
The novel is filled with little escapades that the two sisters take endeavour in as they follow in their murderer father’s footsteps, all the while keeping up a sweet front with her unassuming mother. As circumstances would have it, the girls end up meeting and bumping into the Turner brothers, whose father was murdered in their father’s most recent murder—the one that earned him a spot on death roll. Sparks fly—Fancy, the younger girl, becomes consumed with jealousy, having always had Kit’s complete attention up until she decided to grow up and leave her younger sister in the dust. At its core, Slice of Cherry is a twisted YA mystery/paranormal that will have readers on edge…
Dia Reeves carefully sculpted a somehow heartwarming sisterhood story around a serial murderer story arc. It was a sobering read and horrified me at times, although I was always more intrigued than petrified. The idea of sister serial murderers is just so unbelievable, and it really makes one wonder how Reeves conjured up such a sick idea.
The plot is simple, but there were just so many plot twists and turns that I found myself constantly on the edge of my seat. There was never a dull moment, and for such a large novel, I read it in record time. The format of the book, its font style and chapter segmentation, allowed me to read this book with ease. With every new chapter came an entry in Fancy’s Dream Diary of mostly hideous and creepy thoughts. Speaking of Fancy, she has got to be the most eerily disturbing character I have ever had the displeasure of reading about. She stays by Kit. While Kit does all the chatting, Fancy stays on the sidelines and stares at every unassuming potential victim. That said, I could relate to her, being a younger sister myself—though I’ve never been that rapt with anger and jealousy when my sister left me alone. (Unlike Fancy, I’m not clingy, dependent and bratty.)
Kit, the older sister, on the other hand, is sneaky and conniving. She puts up this front that charms everyone she comes in contact with. And when she has a person right where she wants them, BAM! For the most part, the characters were so-so for me. At some points, it was solid and right, but somewhere along the way, the girls lose themselves and everything becomes messy and Reeves loses a bit of control. Which leads to the girls becoming loose and thereby losing control. And I do not need those elements, especially in this kind of YA novel. It felt out of place and awkward; just didn’t smooth over with the rest of the novel’s dark premise.
Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves was an addictive read, but it lacked the heart that I needed for this to be a great book. This was, however, very solid, and this one definitely deserves a place on my bookshelf whenever I have some spare cash. I will be anxiously awaiting the moment I can read Bleeding Violet, Reeves’ debut novel.
Recommended for mature (16+) readers.
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