1 to 5 of 5
Review Date: 10/20/2024
A great 'read in a day' debut suspense mystery novel.
Review Date: 8/5/2025
I was instantly drawn in by the Melbourne setting (having lived there some ten years ago), especially seeing places like Chaddy (I worked for the company who own it), the MCG, and Melbourne CBD in general - come to life on the page.
The Degenerates is gritty, weird, and uniquely offbeat, with characters (Titch especially) who you can't help but want better for. It's not your typical novel, and that's exactly the point.
However, as much as I wanted to love it, I struggled to stay connected with the characters as the fantastical elements crept in, and found the prose a little challenging at times.
The Degenerates is gritty, weird, and uniquely offbeat, with characters (Titch especially) who you can't help but want better for. It's not your typical novel, and that's exactly the point.
However, as much as I wanted to love it, I struggled to stay connected with the characters as the fantastical elements crept in, and found the prose a little challenging at times.
Review Date: 1/16/2021
This was a great read that was suspenseful enough to keep the reading pace fast, although overall a little predictable in the end, and all seemed to be tied up nicely in a bow at the end.
Review Date: 8/5/2025
A solid premise that quickly spirals into a mess of cringe-worthy dialogue and over-the-top twists. The characters act like hormonal teenagers, the writing leans too hard into shock value, and the plot (while initially intriguing) becomes predictable fast. I finished it, but mostly out of stubborn curiosity.
Review Date: 6/24/2019
This was such an absorbing read. I almost read it in one day, but then smacked myself in the face with it at 2am with 54 pages to go, so called it a night and finished it off the next day.
Such an important book. Gang culture in the UK is rarely written about, but this book did really important work not only in highlighting this culture but also of how people of colour are stereotyped so easily in those parts. It was done so brilliantly, in a style and storyline I have never seen an author write before. And it's a debut novel by a very much unknown author.
This completely got under my skin.
Such an important book. Gang culture in the UK is rarely written about, but this book did really important work not only in highlighting this culture but also of how people of colour are stereotyped so easily in those parts. It was done so brilliantly, in a style and storyline I have never seen an author write before. And it's a debut novel by a very much unknown author.
This completely got under my skin.
1 to 5 of 5
