Having escaped a traumatic situation in Memphis, Valerie is relieved to be back home in Perrine in Upstate New York. She works as an assistant to for Martin Wade at his private investigation firm.

Martin, during his hard-living youth, was known as Basil Wise, the former frontman to a short-lived post-punk band The French Letters. After he cleaned up, he got his license and opened his firm, Wade Agency, performing background checks and work for divorce cases, at which Valerie proved to be competent and hardworking.

The book opens with the arrival of a new case: a young woman, whom Martin finds strangely familiar, wants his help keeping away from her biological father. To his concern, Martin eventually learns the dad is his former bandmate Ron Carlock. That's when Martin realizes that he knew this client when she was a child, and that her real name is Janie Carlock.

Martin decides not to take the case because of a conflict of interest: Ron is his best friend, and is in town. And though they're both clean, Martin knows he needs to stay away from his former bandmate for his own sobriety. Janie accepts this, but then turns up drowned, and Martin and Ron fall apart, with Valerie told by Janie's bandmates (turns out the young woman is a musician) that they want to hire her to look into Janie's death, which they feel is possibly murder.

Valerie begins digging on her own, as Martin refuses, as he's grieving and feeling guilty, and falls off the wagon with Ron. Valerie finds out much more about Janie's life, or double life, as Janie was studying classical violin, while performing in secret with punk band Machine Gun Snatch. Janie had been living with Nora, her guardian, and longtime friend of the French Letters bandmates. Nora provided Janie with a stable life after Janie's mother died years earlier, and Ron was addicted.

Music is woven throughout this satisfying story, as Cudmore uses songs to chart the mood of investigation's progress, as well as the struggle between Valerie and Martin. Cudmore competently creates flawed characters who are just trying to make it through each day, who are swift to run from connection and to strike out in anger. Valerie and Martin seemed to work reasonably well together at the beginning of the novel, but their professional relationship is severely tested by Martin's dysfunctional friendship with Ron and all the memories and yearning for drugs it brings back. Cudmore also does a wonderful job of evoking the atmosphere of the French Letters' heyday in all its glory and self-destructiveness.

I loved the way Cudmore explored the corrosive effects of addiction on relationships and how it took openness and support for Martin and Valerie to get past their demons and make forward strides in their mental health, investigation, and business. When the identity of the murderer is revealed, it's sad and terrible and obvious and tied partially to old jealousies, but it's also an important turning point for the two central characters. I did not know what to expect going into this novel, but it's fair to say that I liked it and its two main characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Datura for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This book had me from the first few pages, really well written and I enjoyed this book, it was fast paced and I managed to finish it in a few days

There's darkness in this book, obsessions, but also an exciting story that I thoroughly enjoyed and couldn't stop reading.
The author is an excellent storyteller and this story about fall/redemption, darkeness, and the solitude of the city is not a hearwarming one but a very good one.
Love it.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This one grew on me.

When it started, it didn't feel noir enough. And, while it never reached that grim, edgy, noir feeling, it ended up being a good read.

I loved our characters and really loved how the author approached the difficult subject of addiction.

Before I knew it, I was really into the book and hoping it would end well for our characters.

Would read the author again!

Trigger warnings for Negative Girl include: addiction, suicide and parental death.
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Within the first chapter I was interested to see where the story was going to go. I am ashamed of myself that it took me so long to pick up this book because I'm really empathising with these characters.
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• "Deacon used to joke that I was a music empath – that I absorbed everyone else's tastes – and it was true, to a certain extent." - This is sorta to some extent the same thing I do. I tend to stop listening to music I used to listen to in favour of new playlists or bands people make for me or music people recommend I listen to.
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"When all my walls had come down, when my soul was ugly and raw and hungry, she was the one who cared enough to hold me together." - This quote caused a bit of a reaction. This line hurt me, because it's true. There are few people I want to see me hurting, few people I'm content to have see me fall apart.
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"Junkies will always break your heart" - This is a concept I can relate to, but not in the same way. I know I hurt a lot of people. I know I did, because they told me so. And I've tried to make amends for the hurt I caused in the depths of my despairAnd that's one reason things have to stay as they are. I can't fall into that fire again. It'll hurt too many people, people I care too much about to let it happen.
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Thank you to NetGalley and DaturaBooks for sending me an ARC copy of this book.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Negative Girl is a gripping noir thriller that delves into the consequences of addiction and deceit through the intertwined lives of its protagonists, Martin Wade and Valerie Jacks. Award-winning author Libby Cudmore, who first introduced these characters in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, skillfully weaves their complex narratives in alternating chapters.

Martin, the former lead singer of the punk band The French Letters, now runs a private investigator agency in Perrine, New York, haunted by his fiancée's mysterious disappearance. Valerie, fleeing a troubled past in Memphis, finds refuge in Perrine, where she takes a job at her aunt's bar and forms a bond with Martin while helping him on a case involving Janice Archwood, a young woman whose death raises suspicions of murder.

Cudmore constructs a rich narrative filled with flawed characters, tension, and intrigue, complemented by a relevant soundtrack that enhances the story's mood. Negative Girl offers a poignant exploration of the darker sides of fame, addiction, and the human condition.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

I was thrilled to receive a copy of "Negative Girl" from Netgalley and Datura Books. This captivating book masterfully intertwines a neo-noir murder mystery, unfolding through the distinct perspectives of Martin and Valerie. The characters are richly developed, adding profound complexity to the narrative, although I occasionally felt the pacing was a bit sluggish, requiring extra effort to stay engaged. The incorporation of music throughout the story resonated deeply with my background in the music industry, which I found particularly delightful. While the plot at times felt a touch disjointed, I couldn't help but be fascinated by the quick succession of events and the portrayal of the victim, Overall, "Negative Girl" is an intriguing and thought-provoking read that offers a fresh take on the noir genre, making it a truly engaging and rewarding experience.

#ThrilledRead #NoirMystery #CharacterDevelopment #EngagingPlot #MusicIncorporation #FreshPerspective #CaptivatingStorytelling #ThoughtProvoking #ImmersiveExperience #BookReview

This was a fast paced and exciting mystery, I read the whole thing in one sitting. The characters had interesting backstories and they alternated POVs but sometimes felt too similar that I forgot which POV I was reading. There were a few things that were left unanswered, and some things that resolved a little too neatly. It was a short book but I could have done with more in some places and less in others

Thanks to Datura Books, Netgalley and Libby Cudmore for this e-arc

The book is suspenseful and mysterious. The characters are multifaceted. They kind of have a past and something they have escaped from. This is a poignant neo noir thriller. The author has shared about the drug addiction and dark underbelly of America. A young woman approaches Martin because she needs protection from her biological father. The father turns out to be old bandmate. Unthinkable happens and it brings out secrets, obsession and buried truth.

Thanks to the Publisher for giving me early access.

Martin and Valerie tell this Neo-noir murder mystery that will likely be more enjoyed by those familiar with the bands and music quoted liberally throughout. The plot is basic but the characters are good. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

I really liked the distinct neo-noir style of writing in this crime thriller. Every other chapter switches between the first-person POV of Martin and his assistant Valerie, and I like a good dual POV story, but these two characters are so alike that they don’t each feel like their own person. Their voices are too similar and I often found myself glancing back or checking the last page for a clue as to whose chapter I was reading.

Everyone in the book is either in a band, used to be in a band, plays an instrument, and/or is super into music, which is cool, but Martin and Valerie both talk about music and name drop a lot of bands and songs to the point that it felt like a bit too much.

The plot was a little predictable but enjoyable, and I loved the relationship between Martin and Valerie. As mentioned before, they’re very alike so they ultimately have a lot in common, including similar toxic situations with old friends. Their friendship, however, was lovely even when it was rocky. It was nice to read a book with a purely platonic male/female best friendship, where they loved and took care of each other but there were no underlying sexual motivations or tension.

I really liked this detective story!

Read if you like traumatic pasts, addiction issues, found family

#NetGalley

Do old Rockstars ever retire if their fame dies? After all, their recordings will survive and Not Fade Away. The “French Letters” were big in the late eighties/early nineties Punk scene until drugs and booze ruined their fourth album and they fell apart. Martin Wade who, under the name Basil Wise, was the keyboards, lead vocals, and songwriter for the band went into rehab. This was partly because the album crashed and burned and partly because his artist girlfriend, Celeste, left him and disappeared. Now he’s a Private Investigator in the small town of Perrine in upstate New York; divorces, minor domestics, nothing too complicated.
Valerie Jacks, freelance stringer for music journals, has fled home to Perrine from Memphis, after a violent, possibly lethal, fight with her lover, Katy. Interviewing Martin for an article, they had discovered they were sympatico, and so Valerie had ended up as his assistant.
One morning a young woman, purporting to be Janice Archwood, hires Martin to ‘warn off’ her junkie father, who she believes has come to town with a view to inveigling money from her. He contacts the father, who turns out to be Ron Lockwood, former lead guitar in the band. This means that ‘Janice’ is actually Janie, daughter of Ron and his late wife, Sharon, who overdosed when Janie was just a toddler. Janie is now a classical violin player, seemingly far removed from the Rock and Roll drug scene, while Ron is still immersed. Martin is riddled with guilt, feeling he let her down when her mother died, and worried that Ron will drag him back into the Scene. He decides that the agency should cut off all ties, but Valerie has other ideas and keeps the file open. Then Janie is found dead!
This is at heart a whodunnit, but its main attraction for the reader is likely to be an insight into the world of Punk and Postpunk music, using copious references to real groups and their songs. The title ‘Negative Girl’ comes from a Steely Dan song and I think it’s referencing Janie, but the lyric could fit with Valerie. The language and general ambience of the story feels real (not my scene but I can relate). The murder-mystery element is not particularly complicated, although it does its best to mislead. I think It’s worth 3.5 stars, rounded to 4.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

Negative girl is a brilliant book by Libby Cudmore. The two main characters are really well written and the story moves on well. Highly recommended.

A very enjoyable modern noir set in the musical world, with its musical accompaniment too! Music, drugs, alcohol, addiction, broken relationships and a lot of heartbreak! Martin and Valerie are broken, complex characters, but so very likeable, developing nicely along the narrative line. From this point of view, Negative Girl feels like the beginning of a series, featuring the two; and If that is the case, I'd love to read another instalment! I'd say the mystery is a tad predictable, but Cudmore does throw in a few red herrings and nothing is revealed too soon, resulting in an entertaining and gripping read!

Thank you for the copy I tried to get into this one but it just wasn’t for me. That’s more about me as a reader rather than the book.
The premise was great but I just wasn’t immersed in the story.
I suggest people that love the music industry give this a try.

I am rating based on writing and fairness.

Ordinarily neo-noir and heartwarming feel like they should be oxymorons but that's exactly what this book provides: a moody, atmospheric tale of murder, music, and found family. Martin and Valerie make up the Wade detective agency. They run background checks, scour pawn shops for hocked jewelry, and catch philandering spouses in the act. When a woman walks in with a familiar face that Martin can't quite place, it's the first step in a sequence that will lead to him facing down demons from deep in his past.

If you're a music nerd, this will be right up your alley. The references scatter throughout write their own playlist to accompany the story.

This isn’t a unique story and there’s nothing new here but the way the author used music simply elevated everything about it.

I will have to recommend it to everyone I know as it is like a secret shorthand throughout the book. A must read for any fan of Rock.

Thanks to NetGalley & Datura for allowing me to read the ARC for this book coming out on September 10th.

This book was an average read. I enjoyed the connection to music throughout a lot. If you know music, then the way the author used it to describe emotions would make sense to you. As someone who works in the music industry I did really enjoy that portion of it. As for the plot itself, it felt very all over the place to me. I feel like things were happening extremely quick and there was no smooth flow as things were revealed. I did enjoy the Hannah Montana-esque feel to the character who is the victim in the book. Definitely interesting seeing that from a mature point of view.

Valerie was honestly such a hard character to like. She just seemed so unsure of herself constantly and it really just bothered me. I understand why she was like that but I feel like it was just too much non stop throughout the book. I did like the character of Martin a lot. He is definitely the ideal anti-hero.