The Murder Complex

by Lindsay Cummings Narrated by Caitlin Davies, Josh Hurley

Overview

An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller-set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate-by Lindsay Cummings, co-author (with Sasha Alsberg) of the New York Times #1 Bestseller Zenith. ""Legend meets La Femme Nikita in this dark and dangerous bloody thriller. The nonstop action of The Murder Complex kept us guessing at every twist and turn. It's a must for fans of action-packed dystopians like The Hunger Games and Divergent.""-Justine Magazine

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision. The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is-although he doesn't know it-one of the MC's programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family? Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is a dark and compelling debut novel by Lindsay Cummings.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

04/14/2014
Cummings debuts with a bloody dystopian thriller, in which what’s left of humanity hides behind the great Perimeter and scrabbles over increasingly scarce resources. No one dies from natural causes, thanks to nanites in humans’ bloodstreams, and as a result violence and murder are commonplace. Sixteen-year-old Meadow Woodson fights to the death to earn a job that will let her feed her family. Everything changes when she meets Zephyr James, a mysterious young man secretly programmed to be a killer. Together, they confront the darkest secrets of their society, while battling each other and a host of other enemies. Cummings takes her dystopian setting to almost ludicrous extremes before springing a flurry of surprises on readers. The frequent perspective switches between Meadow and Zephyr are almost whiplash-inducing, and the characters prove hard to sympathize with: Meadow kills with worrisome casualness, Zephyr is almost too tormented by his role, and their predictable romance has little grounding. The setting remains nebulous, and the cliffhanger ending leaves much to be resolved. Ages 14–up. Agent: Louise Fury, L. Perkins Agency. (June)

Kirkus Reviews

2014-04-09
In a world where no one can die, murder is the only way out.In an overcrowded, not-so-distant future Florida, the Initiative keeps a close eye on citizens. Years ago, a plague threatened humanity, but Pins implanted under the skin release nanites that keep everyone healthy. Sixteen-year-old Meadow has been trained by her fisherman father to survive and to kill if necessary. Zephyr, 17, is an orphaned Ward; his job is to clean up the corpses of the victims of the 300-plus murders each month with his only friend, Talan. Zephyr has blackouts and is sure he has killed several people; and sometimes during his blackouts he dreams of a silver-haired girl. When Zephyr and Meadow meet, they set in motion a series of events that will change their world...and maybe the world at large forever. Cummings' debut, a bloody sci-fi thriller, strains credulity as the plot twists mount and previously held beliefs are shown to be false. Zephyr and Meadow trade off present-tense narration duties in alternating chapters, but their voices are not distinct enough for the device to work well. The world built is interesting enough, but it never comes alive and peters out at the close.Those in need of more dystopian fiction (is there anyone in this glut?) could do worse, but it's not a first purchase. (Dystopian romance. 14-17)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170266609
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/10/2014
Series:	Murder Complex , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

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