Review of The Dead Womans Bed

[Laney K]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Dead Womans Bed" by Hzal Anubewei.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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The Dead Womans Bed by Hzal Anubewei is a unique book that captures the situation of Chab waking one morning to realize that Ursulla, a former partner, is dead in his guest bed. Chab had not seen her for twenty years, though she still seemed to be able to bewitch him and had convinced Chab to let her in the night prior. Why does Ursulla have such power over Chab? What will happen now that Ursulla is dead?

The poetic and emotional language used in the book was a key strength. While reading, there were a few lines that stood out to me, such as the following: "Criminals are like tumbleweeds caught in a swamp of decaying thoughts." I thought this was a striking image that captures the author's writing style. Anubewei also utilized repetition to create an eerie tone in the book. The plot was also compelling, as I wanted to learn what secrets would be revealed by the end.

I am unsure if there were formatting issues or if it was intentional, but the spacing was a little all over the place. There were seemingly random line breaks in the middle of sentences and other related issues. It is quite possible this is a creative choice rather than an error, as the entire book was formatted like this; however, I found it a bit annoying to read. There were very few paragraphs that were formatted normally. The book also did not use any sort of quotation marks or punctuation to indicate the start and end of dialogue. It took me a while to get used to this, and I can say I was not a fan of this choice as it made parts confusing to read.

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. I am taking off two stars due to the above-mentioned issues. There were also a few editing errors throughout the book; it could use additional proofreading. For those looking for a traditional novel with conventional punctuation and flow, this is not the book for you. If you are a fan of poetry and a bit of horror, then this could be the book for you. It is also short enough to read in one sitting, making it perfect for an afternoon.

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The Dead Womans Bed
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[Shirley Ann Riddern Labzentis]

Nice review. The book seemed intriguing until you mentioned the flaws in the formatting and editing. Putting your book out with these sorts of issues is careless. I will not be reading this one until it's edited properly. Thanks for the review!

[Onyemuwa-dave]

I appreciate you sharing your thoughts on this book. It sounds like a really unique and haunting read. Your point about the formatting and lack of quotation marks is interesting; it does seem like a stylistic choice that could be divisive. The line "Criminals are like tumbleweeds caught in a swamp of decaying thoughts" is indeed very striking. I don't think I will try the book out because of the bad editing. Thanks for the detailed and fair review.

[Kibet Hillary]

The statement on criminals is, indeed, food for thought and I hope that many such similar striking statements can be found in the book. My curiosity is piqued to know how the death occurred and who was behind it and the motive as well. Thank you, @Laney K, for the enlightening review.

[Spoorthy S]

The books seems interesting. I'd love to read the book, ofcourse after the editing is completed. But I have to admit; it piqued my interest and now I want to know the motive of the killer. Thank you for the review. I'll check it out!!