Sometimes when reading a mystery or thriller book, when the ending is being telegraphed really hard, I think it must be a misdirection. Then, when the telegraphed ending is revealed as a big shocking twist, I wind up disappointed. This, along with an inability to connect with the main character were two of the main issues I had with These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall.
The story follows Mickie Lambert, a twenty something woman who creates “digital scrapbooks” for mostly older adults who want to preserve their precious memories. She is enamored by her most recent client, Nadia Denham, a curio shop owner with early-stage Alzheimer’s. She is determined to finish the project even after Nadia is found dead from an apparent suicide. However there seems to be a sinister undercurrent to Nadia’s collection. She is also getting threatening messages on her phone and slipped under her door, making her wonder what exactly she’s gotten herself into.
As I said above, it felt pretty obvious to me where things were going from early on in the book. This may be a product of me reading too many mystery novels. Also, Mickie seemed to continually make some questionable choices regarding her own safety e.g. continually forgetting to lock her doors and not paying attention to her surroundings. I suppose some of this could be attributed to her youth, but you would think the scariness of her situation would have smartened her up a bit. It was extremely frustrating for me as the reader. The book was good enough to keep me reading to the end and I’d definitely read another book by Rachel Howzell Hall, even if this one wasn’t my favorite.