Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve
To say Little Red Death is a murder mystery with a difference is an understatement. It twists and winds through a clever plot that is intricate and unpredictable with surprises emerging right through to the very last pages.
Detective Lyla Rondell is efficient and dedicated to discovering the truth and of course exposing the perpetrator, which she initially decides is a threatening man disguised as a bloodthirsty wolf. He is guilty of kidnapping and brutally murdering young women.
Allison, Lyla’s childhood friend, disappeared years ago leaving her emotionally shattered and continuing to carry her grief.
As young girls, both shared a love of fairy tales particularly those written by the Brothers Grimm, classics in the genre. The realm of the fairy tale colours the novel. Terrifying incidents occur in the dark and gloomy woods. There are red cloaks, missing golden shoes, impossible challenges, young girls imprisoned in a dismal deserted old house.
Humour edges the plot at times. The mushroom lady and her uneasy presence then disappearance is a diverting sidetrack.
It is the wonderfully controlled narrative that steals the accolades, however. For Little Red Death is an entertainment in a darkly disturbing manner. The drive to solve the crimes becomes a macabre kind of game. Reality slips and an imprisoned writer, Katie, creates the destiny of characters which await the stroke of the pen.
Reviewing a novel which is so highly original, its impact governed by the reader’s compulsion to continue to turn the page, means only general comments can be made.
It succeeds on many levels; and its content is not limited to the familiar ‘who done it’ question. Themes arise like the strength of a writer to influence, not just the characters’ lives but the thoughts of the reader. Occasionally may a more susceptible reader be led to committing a crime themselves? AK Benedict dwells on friendship and its powerful effect on the relationship of the two girls, Lyla and Allison.
The role of crime fiction is questioned, and clues, like breadcrumbs in Hansel and Gretel, are tantalisingly dropped throughout.
Fortunately we know, as seasoned readers, that these novels are works of fiction, but it is an added fascination to realise that these characters themselves know they are not real and struggle in a different way. Katie, a prisoner of the Grimm Reaper/Wolf, is a mystery writer and forges deathly plots that guide him in his bloody spree. The way AK Benedict links both strands of her book – Katie frantically writing the doom of the kidnapped and the criminal investigation is masterfully done and prepares us for the surprising twists that spring from the final pages.
In order to preserve the many convolutions of plot, I can merely limit my self to advising to read the book without too many breaks in order to appreciate the skill and complexity of this highly entertaining and remarkably clever work. With Little Red Death, crime fiction has touched on fantasy, stretched the imagination, and entered a fresh dimension leaving ideas to consider and ponder.
Little Red Death
[2025]
by A. K. Benedict
Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 978 139854 360 7
$34.99; 366pp