These Toxic Things: Book summary and reviews of These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall

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Cloggie Downunder

brilliant crime fiction
These Toxic Things is the seventh novel by American author, Rachel Howzell Hall. Twenty-four-year-old Michaela Lambert is a digital archaeologist for the Memory Bank, and her latest client is Nadia Denham. Nadia’s Memory Bank will be a digital collection of those things she holds most dear, together with their background stories.

Nadia owns Beautiful Things Curiosities Shoppe, located in a run-down little plaza next to a diner, a locksmith, a hair salon, a boarded-up bar and a carpark that harbours a collection of somewhat derelict RVs. Real-estate developer, Peter Weller is keen to get his hands on the plaza but, to his annoyance, the remaining four shop-owners are standing their ground, despite some underhand tactics.

At their first meeting, Mickie’s new client has arrayed her precious keepsakes on a table with notes for each item detailing when and where it was acquired, and from whom. But before they get together for a more thorough discussion, Nadia is found dead, an apparent suicide, something that sits completely at odds with Mickie’s impression of an enthusiastic woman eager to digitise her memories for her own future reference.

Mickie’s boss insists she go ahead with the project, for which he has been paid, but she has to endure the chagrin and disdain of the store manager, Riley. The items and their backstories are quite intriguing, although Mickie notes that they all seem to have come from desperate women, some of whom later met with nasty ends.

Meanwhile, Mickie’s personal life is in upheaval: creepy notes under her door; threatening texts ordering her to stop what she is doing; a car tailing her home; and a weirdo confronting her in a café. Luckily, she has a very supportive family with police connections, and some good friends. She’s a smart girl, shares whatever concerns her and listens to their sound advice and observations.

While her ex-boyfriend (inconveniently also her boss) is not quite off the scene, Nadia’s rather dishy son seems interested, and interesting. But Mickie is being careful: there’s some nutjob out there grabbing young women and killing them, and no way is she going to add to the list of victims.

Howzell Hall gives the reader a story that is cleverly plotted with several red herrings and a chilling twist. This is a tale that may have us considering where we perceive personal danger lies. Her characters are believable and Mickie’s family and friends are so appealing that many will envy her relationship with them.

It is certainly refreshing to have a protagonist who is fairly security conscious, one who doesn’t assume she’ll be OK but, instead, lets people where she’s going and when to expect her back, who doesn’t go and investigate a strange noise on her own but calls for help. The Magic 8 Ball predictions as section headings is a cute touch. Another brilliant crime fiction read that puts Howzell Hall firmly on the Must Read list.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer.

GerrieB

Clever Hook, Annoyingly Lead
These Toxic Things has such a clever premise that I dove right into it. However, by the halfway mark I had figured out most of the plot and more importantly I was sick of the main character. Mickie Lambert constantly borrows and stains her mom’s clothes. She drives a hand me down Mercedes because she wrecked her dad’s car, so mom
and dad bought another car and gave her the Mercedes. . She lives in a garage apartment behind her parent’s house. She has received threatening notes, and texts and has been followed but she just can’t remember to set her alarm system. She quit a good job working at her dad’s company to join a start up
company her new boyfriend runs. Her new job requires her to photograph objects and type in details with a bit of research. It takes her days and days to accomplish anything. She only works a few hours a day before running out to party with her friends. The story takes a long time to get moving and it almost bored me to death. The best parts center around Beautiful Things , the curio shop and it is here that the book shines. Unfortunately, too much time is spent with Mickie and her drama and her whining and dining ( pun intended) . There were plot maneuvers that annoyed me such as days and days of rain in LA to prolong the construction of a fence. I loved the premise , the set up was so clever and many of the characters were really interesting but Mickie Lambert needs a rewrite. She’s too annoying and immature by half.

Other books by Rachel Howzell Hall at BookBrowse