REVIEW for Social Death

I was lucky enough to receive an e-copy of this book.


TITLE:            Social Death

AUTHOR;       Tatiana Boncompagni

GENRE:          Mystery

RATING:        

I have read  and absolutely loved all of Tatiana Boncompagni’s books  so I was incredibly thrilled to review Social Death, which is a huge departure for this author.

Social Death is actually a contemporary mystery as opposed to her previous books which were contemporary fiction based in the world of high finance.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this change as I felt that Boncompagni’s first hand knowledge of the world of high finance had created some powerful reads.  Nonetheless, I  threw myself into Social Death and was hooked by the very first line.  This book, while still set in the world of the rich, focuses on news producer Clyde Shaw who has had to overcome a lot to be where she is today.  However, a routine call to a death scene, in order to “report on it” will change her life, yet again throwing her both personally and professionally into sadness, confusion, chaos and murder

Indeed, Clyde Shaw’s life will never be the same again after she discovers who the murder victim is – and she will basically spend the entire storyline desperately trying to figure out who the murderer is, while also desperately trying not to fall apart – again.

This added twist to the story(actually there are quite a few twists) makes this plot interesting. Shaw is a very delicate and yet tough character who is far from perfect, making her the perfect character in my eyes.  I hate it when authors create characters that are simply larger than life – I feel disconnected and removed from them, whereas I loved Clyde Shaw.

Once again, Boncompagni details the life of the rich and ridiculous with a deft hand – in essence telling us, without actually ever saying the words, how silly this world can be.  I also thought  that she did an excellent job of educating  the reader about what goes on behind closed doors when it comes to the news.

However, the whodunit is definitely the center of this novel and while I thought I had it figured out a few times, it was obvious that I didn’t, which was great.

This is a fast paced, excellent read and  I recommend it.  However, if I was asked to choose, I have to admit that I still prefer Boncompagni’s previous books – but not by much.