3.5 stars (I really wish we could give half stars. 3.5 is exactly on the nose.)

Viv Klein is a semi-struggling young photographer in L.A. when she is vilified for taking a photo of a murder victim and publishing it online. Many of her small number have f clients choose not to work with her after her infamy goes public and in an effort to help Viv (and himself) her friend, David brings her into the strange world of death photography. Abby Katz, a reporter with the L.A. Times interviews Viv about her original photo, then becomes fascinated by Viv’s new job and wants to write a big story about it.

This one was weird for me. Does it make any sense if I say it was very L.A., both in subject matter and tone? I quite liked it; lots of morally gray areas here (kind of. I know that people do death photography on the regular, especially with infants) and I’m a big fan of FMCs who are far from perfect, so Viv worked. If the subject matter interests you it’s worth a look.

This book is a journey of photographer Viv Klein who takes a photo of a dead woman, which leads to the murder being solved. While you are on this journey, there are multiple stories intertwined with Viv. It's a mixed media format with news articles and a private discord conversation. I liked this story, however, it was tragic and sad at the end.

I am thankful to Tara Sanders Brooks and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I would say this book is for those who do not mind a sad ending and like a mixed media format book.

This book wasn’t really for me. It definitely had some good points and it picked up a lot towards the end, but ultimately, I felt the first 60% sort of out-weighed the rest of it.

There are a couple of reasons why I didn’t enjoy the book, mostly with the writing and plot. The characters were interesting, though I don’t think they’ll stick with me. I was happy to read about them. I liked Viv and Abby and enjoyed seeing their thoughts for a while. David was definitely one of my favourites, he was so much more unapologetic than either Viv or Abby. A lot of the characters were a little flawed, “morally grey” or “unlikeable,” which I don’t see as a bad thing—it added some interest. I will say that I found Jerry to be a little clichéd and overblown, but I did enjoy how strange the characters were.

Now, the problems. I think the issues with the plot and writing are similar: the author spends too long on exposition. Every scene opened with the POV character reflecting on their past or some abstract idea, and there was some really unnessecary backstory. For the vast majority of the book, nothing happened without due time thinking. This might have been easier to stomach if it wasn’t so overwritten and depressing. It felt like the writing was trying hard to be self-aware, clever, cynical but not succeeding. It had a nice rhythm, but in some places it was terrible. The description of Viv speaks for itself. “Just another midsize bottle blonde … intentionally roguish pixie cut to denote that she’s artistic … a bland, European mutt.”

Who describes their main character as a mutt?? It’s dehumanising and off-putting. So is telling us that she’s “an LA six at best.” I mean … really? It isn’t less sexist because the author is a woman.

The exposition for the plot was also annoying. Viv had taken a photo of a dead woman, which despite having happened before the book started, takes up the first 20% of the story. For most of the book nothing happened without due rambling, most of which was pointless. In spite of that, when the author wanted it to be fast-paced, it was and it was well-written. The photography scenes were also more direct. The book would have been a lot better if the author could have applied that throughout the story. By the 60 or 70% mark, the pacing had picked up a lot, and I enjoyed it much more. I found the last part of the plot confusing and quite random but still better than the beginning.

The ending was satisfying, in that the character arcs were resolved nicely but not too rounded. It was still interesting and left me curious to learn more.

The queer rep was also great. It was very casual, but all the main characters were queer and very relaxed about it. It was refreshing to read about queer adults living their lives, with no trauma or anxiety around that part of themselves.

There were also some small formatting issues that I’m sure will be resolved by the publication date!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the DRC, I enjoyed it.

Viv finds herself in the centre of the spotlight when she shares a photo of a young women's deceased body. Amidst the threats of the community - her image assists the PD to solve the murder. LA times reporter and powerful film producer enter the scene to dig deeper in Viv's story.

This story was hit and miss for me. There were moments that had me on the edge of my seat, chasing more information, wanting all the answers. And on the other side - there were times (and a lot of) that I was rolling my eyes wanting the story to just progress and move on. Overall, I enjoyed the storyline, just found the pacing off putting.

Thank you NetGalley and Tara Sanders Brooks for an advance reader copy for this text, in return for a honest review.

The story was a bit slow I wish it was more but never the less good !!! I will recommend for those that like this genre

This one lingers. It’s slow and aching in that way where every chapter feels like a bruise. Tara Sanders Brooks writes like she’s peeling back skin—intimate, raw, and somehow still beautiful. The story weaves memory, motherhood, and fractured love into something that’s quiet but devastating. There’s no big twist, just life hitting in slow motion. If you liked Ask Again, Yes or Everything I Never Told You, this hits that same emotional vein. I finished it and felt like I needed to call someone I haven’t talked to in years. It hurts—but in that way that matters.