The Murder ComplexAuthor: Lindsay Cummings
Series: The Murder Complex #1
Publication Date: June 10, 2014
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via 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.
I experienced dystopian burnout a few months ago, so I’ve limited them a lot in my reading. The Murder Complex is one that caught my attention, though. While it didn’t blown me away, I did enjoy it. The fact that it’s a little over 400 pages, yet felt like I flew through it, is a major plus.
World-building – It’s interesting. Of course there is the controlling government trope, but Cummings did a good job with making the story different. After a plague wiped out a large portion of the population, a cure was concocted. This cure allows everyone to heal quickly and to never get sick. The remaining people now live in a large city where things aren’t all that great. They aren’t allowed to leave and they must follow the government’s commandments, or there could be deadly consequences. One thing is for sure, do not get caught outside after dark. *shivers*
Action – There is plenty of action in The Murder Complex, but it isn’t overdone. Sometimes action and fighting scenes can drag a little too much for my taste, or should I say my attention span. However, it was done really well here.
Characters – I have a thing for tough, head-strong females, so it should be no surprise that I like Meadow. Not only is she lethal, she knows how to survive dire situation. No wonder with the way she was raised. Her dad is a little loco, but it really is for their own good. If I lived in a world like that, I would absolutely make his training a necessity. Honestly, I think more girls should be taught these defense tactics now in this world. Maybe not quite how he does it though. Though Zephyr doesn’t stand out in the world of leading men, he is a nice guy that I found likable. Well, when he’s not trying to kill people, that is. We do get his perspective, which worked really well in this book.
Plot – Though it was fairly easy to figure things out, it was still a nice ride. The murder rate continues to grow at a rapid rate, and Meadow gets pulled into situations that uncover truth about what’s going on. And it isn’t pretty. I found it interesting, but there are definitely some questions that I’m sure will be answered in the next book. Thank goodness the story kept a quick pace without feeling out of control.
Overall, The Murder Complex was a good book that I’m glad I read. There is a bit of a heart pounding cliffhanger, so I’m excited to get a hold of the next book.
The Murder Complex Series
I have this one ready to go on my Kindle, so I need to get started on it soon. I’m glad you enjoyed it even if it wasn’t all that “new”. I’ll keep that in mind going in. Great review Christy!
Review twins. I enjoyed this and while I wanted more I totally agree this was fast paced and I looking forward to the next book.
“For fans of Moira Young’s Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.” -> And I’m all of that, so this sounds really good and you review only adds to that:)! I just wish the MC was a bit older.
This is one of the few dystopians that I’ve been interested in as well<—–I know the burn-out you speak of. Your review is a bit less enthusiastic than the last one I read, but I still think it sounds promising. I one-clicked the prequel anyway. I figure that's a good way to get an idea about whether or not it will work for me 😉 Great review, Christy!
Glad you enjoyed this one overall Christy! I ended up loving it – it pulled me out of a reading funk because, as you said, it’s 400 pages but they fly right by. I agree that Zephyr didn’t really stand out, but I loved Meadow as you did and really can’t wait to see what comes next for the two of them. This world is one I definitely do NOT want to live in:)
I think I am going to have to add this one, it sounds like something I would like. 🙂 Great review, I am glad that you enjoyed it.
I do wanted to read it (and I really should have, oops) but I don’t know, I’m not really that into dystopian anymore unless it’s one that blows everyone away. It just feels like repeat most of the time, and I just got bored. Glad the action was good, but not too much, it does get boring after a while, and lowers the intenseness, and yay, a good head-strong main! I heard about the romance though…don’t think I’ll like it. Shame it’s a little predictable (but see, this is why I don’t read them much anymore), but I guess most things in YA is predictable anyway, so nothings changed there. At least it was a quick read, even if it has a decent amount of pages. 🙂
I’m very picky when it comes to Dystopian, so that’s probably why I try to avoid them. This one sounds good! That tagline on the cover is so captivating. Yay to tough, head-strong girl characters! I’ll probably take this on. Thanks for sharing your review!
My friend Sara just gave me her copy yesterday and I’ve been curious about this one. I’ve followed Lindsay since before she ever had a book deal and I guess that kind of makes me want to read it even more. 🙂
I had a feeling you would really like Meadow. I super curious where the author will go from here with this one.
I am so glad to see this worked out better for you then it did for me! I found it to be a pretty addictive read but nothing else worked for me :/
That cliffhanger really was pretty intense though 😛
Lovely review, Christy!! 🙂
A year ago, or even 6 months ago I would have passed on this one. I was still in my no dystopian phase, but I have been coming out of my burnout and Dystopians are slowly starting to pique my interest again. I want to read this one so bad!
Kimba reviewed this one today and she also enjoyed it, so I will be reading this one…sometime. haha
Great Review Christy!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
I don’t really read a lot of dystopia, because the reviews for them often sound so similar. I’m glad you liked this one overall though as it does have me curious.
Oo sounds exciting. I love when I find big books that just fly by like that.
I like the sound of this one except for the cliffhanger part. Everyone is liking this one, I don’t know how it slipped by me. I should have gotten a copy.
Great review Christy. This does sound intriguing. I am a bit of an action junkie, so I could really enjoy this one.
Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace
Hmm…I rarely read dystopian, so I haven’t given this one much thought. It does seem to have an interesting premise, and any 400 page book that you can fly through must be good!
Thanks for the review, Christy!
Lovely review, I love the sound of Meadow! I havent heard great things about this so far so it’s good to see you enjoyed it somewhat.
So you loved it too ? That’s the third good review I’m reading today, I’ll really, really, really have to give it a try soon 🙂
Oh, this one sounds really good! I’ve seen a handful of 3-star ratings recently, so I’ve been a bit wary. Anyway, I love action. Meadow sounds pretty badass and I would love to read about her. Awesome review, Christy!
It really says something when 400 pg. fly by fast! I know you weren’t wow’ed but this one does sound like I would enjoy it as well. I love strong female characters too. Yep, gotta put this one on the wishlist. 🙂
I’ve heard so much about this book the last few months because it’s i followed the author on twitter and she constantly talked about it so it’s been on my radar forever but now i’m glad that reviews are coming in and i can decide whether to read it or not! Luckily it seems like this so me read (i also had a dystopian burn out a few months ago but i think it’s been long enough and is should give them a shot again!)
I agree, the action was amazing and the concept was so interesting, but I found a lot lacking in this. Mainly in the characters, I just didn’t connect with them. And the insta-love, hated it.
I agree with you this one didn’t blow me away totally but I had a lot of fun with it. And yes flying right through any book that’s 400 pages is a huge plus in my book! 🙂 Awesome review Christy!
Interesting I love Dystopians the last ones that have really stood out were Fury by Charlotte McConaghy and Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott ooooh and The One by Kiera Cass lol! Have you read any of those?
I do love the sound of this baby, but I’m still not over my dystopia funk, lol. It sounds like a good read, so I wanna try it out when this funk is over. Right now, it wouldn’t do the book justice to try it out, I think.
Happy you enjoyed it!
I really liked the Murder Complex. I thought it borrowed a lot from a whole gaggle of other dystopian reads, but then with the market so saturated, how could it not? Erin @ http://www.raisedreading.wordpress.com
I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this one- it sounds interesting. I have a thing for strong-headed female leads, too, and I’m currently in a dystopia mood.