Book Review: The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings

The Murder Complex
The Murder Complex #1
Author: Lindsay Cummings
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia
Released: June 10th 2014
Review Source: Greenwillow Books | Edelweiss

An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate. For fans of Moira Young’s Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision.

The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?

Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is a dark and compelling debut novel by Lindsay Cummings.

I feel like I’ve been waiting forever just to read this book, so I think my excitement is justified. The title itself suggests blood, and just look at that beautiful shade of blood red on the cover. What’s not to get excited about? Haven’t read a book with death and bloody details in a while, it was overdue. Surely I can't be the only one who enjoys a bit of gore every now and then, right?

From square one the characters were interesting. Meadow being the fifteen-year-old girl who has wicked fighting skills and killer instincts, and Zephyr, he’s a whole different puzzle to piece together. He intrigued me the most. A lot of questions tumbled through my head regarding him and his actions. They’re compelling characters. There hasn't been a book in a long time where both main characters have held my attention and had my curiosity sky high at the same time. It was refreshing.

As the story progresses the twists don’t stop unfolding. I loved every second of each revelation. Not going to lie, I didn’t have much faith in the ending, but wow, it pulled through. I’m kind of worried for book two, though. It feels like one of those stories where no character are safe and I have a feeling I might shed a tear or two in the second installment.

The Murder Complex does end on a cliffhanger so if you’re not a fan of those I would suggest waiting on book two!