Negative Girl

I’d like to thank both NetGalley and Datura Books, from whom I received an ARC of Negative Girl.

I really liked the distinct neo-noir style of writing in this crime thriller. Every other chapter switches between the first-person POV of Martin and his assistant Valerie, and I like a good dual POV story, but these two characters are so alike that they don’t each feel like their own person. Their voices are too similar and I often found myself glancing back or checking the last page for a clue as to whose chapter I was reading.

Everyone in the book is either in a band, used to be in a band, plays an instrument, and/or is super into music, which is cool, but Martin and Valerie both talk about music and name drop a lot of bands and songs to the point that it felt like a bit too much.

The plot was a little predictable but enjoyable, and I loved the relationship between Martin and Valerie. As mentioned before, they’re very alike so they ultimately have a lot in common, including similar toxic situations with old friends. Their friendship, however, was lovely even when it was rocky. It was nice to read a book with a purely platonic male/female best friendship, where they loved and took care of each other but there were no underlying sexual motivations or tension.