I adore this book. It has so many elements that I love: a mystery, a love(ish) story, interesting characters, and great writing. I think I can understand why people don't like this or tend to be lukewarm about it, but it was exactly what I was hoping it would be when I picked it up. Especially since I am a fan of queer love stories (though this a contentious topic, I fully agree that it's a queer romance), epistolary novels, and AI main characters. This book is definitely not for everyone, but it was absolutely for me. ( )

https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2023/08/2023117-death-i-gave-him-em-x-liu.html ( )

*Thank you to NetGalley for a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Actual Rating: 3.5

The thing that immediately grasped my attention upon reading the blurb was the sci-fi contemporary setting — like a realistic dystopian — and that’s exactly what I got.

The Death I Gave Him is marketed as a “locked-room thriller;” it takes place entirely inside a science lab where Hayden Lichfield’s life revolves around one main goal: to live forever. In their lab, he works with his father to perfect a secret chemical called the Sisyphus Formula. When Hayden suddenly stumbles upon the dead body of his father and the camera logs erased one day, his entire life is upended and he now has a new goal: to find and avenge the murderer. With the help of a trusty AI named Horatio, Hayden sends the lab into lockdown and starts investigating the only four other people who are in the lab with him: his uncle Charles, lab technician Gabriel Rasmussen, research intern Felicia Xia, and their head of security, Felicia’s father Paul.

I really liked the world that this story took place in, simultaneously wanting to learn more and also being satisfied with how it was both dystopian and almost realistic.

I think this book kind of bounces between being a whodunnit at the start and a suspenseful story of revenge. I think it probably should’ve leaned towards the latter sooner; maybe it’s the fact that this was marketed as a retelling of Hamlet or just the nature of the writing, but the killer was pretty clear and I was more intrigued in the main character’s development and newfound vengeance.

Other than the main character, I don’t think I clicked that much with any of the other characters; even though there’s a small ensemble, I think this is one of those books that focuses very much on a singular perspective as opposed to how books like One Of Us Is Lying were told from one perspective but still gave each character backstory.

The writing style was also really great overall, though I definitely still had my preferences between Hayden’s perspective and the after-the-fact recounting of it by another character.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this but wish I clicked with it and the characters a little more. I think this is probably a good read for anyone who likes sci-fi mystery. ( )