We Don’t Talk About Emma, a review by Joanna

Detective Nikki Mayeaux is all set to exact vigilante justice on Herman Napleton, the corrupt hotel owner who got away with the gang rape of Emma, the teenage daughter of one of his friends. When she arrives at his home, she discovers someone else got there first. Assuming it was Emma, who has disappeared into the New Orleans street kid community, she and her partner and ex-boyfriend Keith vow to find and protect her, but as Herman’s associates also start dying violently, how far will she go to save a clearly disturbed killer?

This book appears to be a standalone, but all the way through I kept feeling like I had missed a previous instalment – there’s all sorts of backstory about Nikki & Keith’s previous relationship, the loss of her sister and her relationship with Emma, forged during the rape investigation which foundered due to crucial evidence disappearing from police storage. Then there are all the various “Gutter Punk” characters – a borderline offensive term which is repeated far too often. I found Nikki hard to like because she’s so unprofessional, bordering on unhinged, and we don’t ever actually get to meet Emma until the end. The plot was very slow and repetitive with way too long spent in Nikki’s head. The ultimate reveal felt very obvious and the outcome implausible. If you love this/these authors then do give it a go as other reviewers clearly enjoyed it more than I did, but for me it’s 2.5 stars rounded down.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hampton Creek Press. We Don’t Talk About Emma is available now.