REVIEW: The Murder Complex (The Murder Complex #1) by Lindsay Cummings

Title: The Murder Complex (The Murder Complex #1)

Author: Lindsay Cummings

Genre: YA Dystopia

Release Date: June 10th 2014

Purchase: Amazon (Kindle, Paperback)

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 have wanted to read The Murder Complex ever since I laid eyes on the cover. The title also left a very strong impression in me. Murders! Who doesn’t want to read about them?

The novel started strong and good. I loved every part of it! Meadow is a ruthless killer, she’s tough and independent and she can totally kick your ass. I like her, though some people might not like her for her skewed morality.

“Until they rip us apart, and even then, I’ll fight.”

Zephyr, on the other hand, was… meh. I didn’t find him as badass as Meadow. I don’t totally hate him but I don’t love him either. The story should be about the two of them but Meadow was overshadowing Zephyr.

“We’re all good until we’re not strong enough to be anymore.”

I also like the fact that Meadow’s family is very much involved in the story. In other books the protagonist’s family is always cast aside to make room for the protagonist’s adventures. But that’s not the case here. Her family is as badass as her. I especially like Perri, she seems a really sweet younger sister. Koi is a great brother to Meadow, he doesn’t show his affection much but you can just tell that he loves his sisters.

Fair warning though, I find a lot of gratuitous violence in the book. I understand that it’s all about murders and all but I find it ironic that there isn’t one dirty word in it but the violence was a little too much for a YA book. I mean, young kids read this!

If there’s one thing I hate so much in books, it’s the cliffhanger. I really enjoyed reading The Murder Complex… until I got to The End. The ending pissed me off because it just cut off in an epic scene and now I have to get the sequel to know what would happen next. This is why sometimes, I don’t like reading books in a series. I do recommend this book to everyone, if you don’t mind a little bit too much violence and cliffhangers. It’s a great book, but that ending sucks.