Debbie Y's Reviews > Holly

⛧

Considering the fact that I enjoyed the vast majority of 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨's work, and that he just happens to be one of my favorite authors, I approach this review with frustration, as the highly anticipated 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲 has left me with nothing but a foul taste in my mouth. 


A week prior to its release, I heard about the controversy surrounding this book and became even more curious about it, so I decided to take a leap and see what it's all about. Reading it felt like opening the fridge at 3 AM while you're parched, just to realize the only offering is a half empty bottle of juice. You're not quite sure how long it's been open, yet your intuition tells you it has been a while. Your curiosity and desire for something cold overcomes your suspicion, so you get it closer to your nose. When your olfactory bulb fails to provide clarity about whether the juice has gone bad, you decide to take a sip and find out. 


Well, I sipped, I gagged. Here are my conclusions:


𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 used 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲 as a vehicle to shove his political views down the readers' throat. Mind you, I enjoy the blend of politics in fiction, when it's done with good taste and expands the mind. Most importantly, I respect other people's rights to think and see things differently. However, I was disappointed to find that 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 has failed to do the same by pointing his finger at people who think differently than him. The audacity. The excessive mentions of Covid, vaccines, masks, and the representation of those against it as the root of all evil, made it impossible for me to show a fragment of appreciation towards what could have been a barely mediocre detective thriller, yet ended up being a slow, toothless, formulated, preachy reading experience. The unnecessary, constant mention of Covid has served no purpose whatsoever to the plot of this book. In my opinion, it did the exact opposite. It buried it. 


Holly's character, who once held a spark which I quite liked in 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨's previous work, has been assassinated by her very own maker. 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 has turned her into an intolerant, judgmental hypochondriac. Certain revelations regarding the villains from the get-go made the plot become even more mind-numbing and oh so predictable. This book exhausted my patience sorely and made me roll my eyes one too many times. It was the first time I ever wanted to abandon a book by 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 before reaching halfway through it, yet I decided to finish it in the hope it would get better. It didn't.


"𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟. 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐢𝐭?... 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞, 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲? 𝐍𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧."


The only thing I liked in this book was this quote. I truly hope 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 has managed to destroy his own itch and get rid of some of his poison.