Controversial Review? Little Red Death by Alexandra Benedict

I gave this thriller five stars, and apparently I need to defend that decision.

So, let’s talk about Little Red Death by Alexandra Benedict...

I was given this book as an ARC from Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for my honest review, so thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, Alexandra Benedict for writing this story, and NetGalley for facilitating it all.

Now, the premise: DI Lyla Rondell is on the case of a lifetime. Horrendous crimes are being committed, and they all have a very strange connection to classic fairy tales. And a woman who is locked in a tower may be able to help Lyla stop the person behind it all. But first, Lyla has to figure out how all of this connects back to events from her own past.

Basically, take classic fairy tales, throw in horrific crimes, murder, magic, mystery and a little bit of meta storytelling… and you get Little Red Death.

And apparently, that combination was controversial.

I’ve seen some negative reviews from people who were upset because they thought they were getting a straightforward mystery/thriller, only for the book to veer into fantasy, magic and fairy-tale territory.

And to those people, I say…

Get over yourself.

What the heck did you think you were going to get when the entire book is built around crimes connected to fairy tales?!

It actually bothers me. Because, personally? I loved it.

My rating of Little Red Death: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have genuinely never highlighted as many passages in a book as I did in this one. There were so many perfectly written lines and moments, and obviously I can’t quote any of them until I know they made it into the final book — but my god, I hope they all did.

Did I make some correct guesses? Yes. Did I picture any of this when I first opened the book? Absolutely not, and I loved that.

I think part of what worked so well for me is that I loved fairy tales as a kid — although, admittedly, I was much more familiar with the Disney versions. As an adult, I’ve definitely come to appreciate the original Grimm tales alongside them, and I think that made the way Alexandra Benedict plays with these stories even more fun for me.

This book takes stories we think we know, turns them inside out, makes them darker, stranger and considerably more murderous… and apparently that is exactly what I wanted.

Remember, Little Red Death comes out September 8!

Question of the day:

Have you ever read a book that took something you already loved — fairy tales, mythology, history, anything — and completely turned it on its head, and you absolutely LOVED it?

Because I need more of those.