9 / 10
At the beginning of this book, James Patterson, the publisher for Jimmy Patterson Books, writes a letter to the reader. He states that every book he publishes seeks one common element: true, heartfelt emotion. He also says that he wants every book he publishes to make you, the reader, feel intense emotion, and with Swipe Right for Murder, he did not disappoint in the slightest.
Derek Milman’s second novel, Swipe Right for Murder, teeters on a dangerous line of the right to love and the right to live. Aidan Jamison hasn’t had it easy. His prestigious family has not been welcoming to him coming out as gay and had him shipped off to boarding school and now they barely talk to him. Aidan wanders aimlessly looking for love and acceptance from any human being. After downloading DirtyPaws, a fictionalised and gay version of Tinder, Aidan spends the night with Benoît in a hotel room in New York City. After some smut and a sleepover, Aidan awakes to a dead body in the room. With a mysterious cult hunting him and the FBI searching for a killer, Aidan is stuck in between violence, cyberterrorism, and a split conscience surrounding good and evil and the right to life.
Milman sure knows how to write one hell of a funny dialogue. Aidan is sassy, quick-witted, and straddles a morally grey line that questions if ‘bad’ people should die. This overall theme of the novel leaves Aidan and the reader perplexed at what the easy answer is. Is it still murder if the ‘bad guy’ is killed? What makes taking a life okay? Who has the right to determine who is bad and who is good? Is mankind okay with death as long as it nestles into the parameters of their conscious? Each of these questions floats through the mind of not only the reader during this book, but the protagonist as well. Milman allows the reader to make decisions about death and the right to life while Aidan decides as well. This unique take on the novels allows for a closer reading experience and a stronger connection to the storyline as a whole.
The novel is perfect for YA readers as it has many ‘millennial’ references that were very enjoyable to discover throughout the narrative. Things like Netflix, Archie Comics, the Chainsmokers, Lady Gaga, Ru Paul’s Drag Race, and Riverdale are subtly embedded in the dialogue allowing a break in the comedic relief and morally grey thematic dispute.
Overall, I loved this book. It had me in fits of giggles, gripping the edge of my seat, and sympathising with the protagonist all within the same page. Also, how clever this this title?! There is incredible representation intertwined in the novel including LGBT+ characters, disabled characters, characters that struggle with mental illness or their health, such as heart conditions. Milman’s latest novel allows the reader, whether gay, bi, pan, trans, or straight (etc.) to face the same moral conflict. How does mankind decide the hierarchy of social status, who is determined allowed to live and who cannot? This novel is extremely moving, inquisitive and unique. A real trailblazer. I would recommend this book to any reader 15+, even adults. However, this book comes with trigger warnings for suicide, violence, and depression.
Swipe Right For Murder is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of August 6th 2019.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
On the run from the FBI.
Targeted by a murderous cult.
Labeled a cyber-terrorist by the media.
Irritated texts from his best friend.
Eye contact with a nice-looking guy on the train.
Aidan has a lot to deal with, and he’s not quite sure which takes top priority.
Finding himself alone in a posh New York City hotel room for the night, Aidan does what any red-blooded seventeen-year-old would do—he tries to hook up with someone new. But that lapse in judgement leads to him waking up next to a dead guy, which sparks an epic case of mistaken identity that puts Aidan on the run from everyone—faceless federal agents, his eccentric family, and, naturally, a cyber-terrorist group who will stop at nothing to find him.
He soon realizes the only way to stop the chase is to deliver the object everyone wants, before he gets caught or killed. But for Aidan, the hardest part is knowing who he can trust not to betray him—including himself.
