Say Nice Things About Detroit by Scott Lasser

Published by: W. W. Norton & Company

Genres: Fiction

Pages: 267

Rating: 2/5

Summary: David Halpert moves back to Detroit after his marriage failed and his young son passed away. He is visiting his parents in Detroit at first but decides to move there permanently after his dad asks for help dealing with David’s aging mother. Shortly after returning, he reads that his childhood sweetheart, Natalie, and her brother Dirk, an FBI agent, were murdered. This murder draws Natalie’s sister Carolyn back from L.A. to Detroit. This book follows how David and Carolyn’s lives intertwine as they come back home to Detroit.

Pros:

-        The murder of Natalie and Dirk provide an interesting way to set up the return of David and Carolyn.

-        The book focuses on why someone would want to return to Detroit. I generally enjoy books that are focused on the love of a city.

-        A few bits of suspense.

Cons:

-        The story jumped between years and characters. While this was needed to an extent to tell the story, it could have been done in a less confusing way. It took me a while to fully understand the characters because of this.

-        Overall, the plot was very slow moving. Towards the end there were a few pages that had some action, but not enough to keep me interested.

Final Thoughts: An interesting book if you want a slow-paced story about a middle-class white man and rich, white woman moving back to the rough parts of Detroit after living elsewhere for a few decades.