BOOK REVIEW: The Death Code – by Lindsay Cummings

Title: The Death Code
(The Murder Complex #2)
Author: Lindsay Cummings
Genre: YA, Dystopia, Thriller
First published: May 26th 2015
Finished reading: January 20th 2016
Pages: 496

“There’s hope in there somewhere. There’s always hope. Sometimes it just takes a little patience before it shows itself.”

I read and loved The Murder Complex last year. Since I’m trying to finish some of my pending series and I wanted to know how the story continued as well, I decided to finally pick up the sequel. The Death Code turned out to be just as good as the first book, although slightly different. The world in this series is dark, violent and might not be for everyone, but I personally loved it. Lindsay Cummings writes in a way that makes you want to keep on reading. The chapters are short and the POV switches between the two main characters Meadow and Zephyr, which helps you understand both characters and their relationship. The prose is easy to read, the pace is fast and I liked the fact that the plot wasn’t a copy of the first book. The Death Code is a proper dystopian story set in a world I wouldn’t want to live in myself… Which makes it all the more simple to connect to the characters. If you like the genre, I would definitely recommend this series!

WARNING: do not read this summary if you haven’t read the first book in the series yet! It will most likely contain spoilers, even though I’ve made sure to keep it short.

The sequel starts a few weeks after The Murder Complex ended. Meadow is kept prisoner and is tortured without result, and Zephyr is both trying to keep her secret and find a way to save her… Meadow in the meantime is determined to resist and find a way out to find her brother, father and little sister. She promised herself to never give up until they are safe, but that is easier said than done… And it seems that they were finally able to guess her weakness. Will Meadow and Zephyr overcome their difficulties and find a way to achieve their goals?

The Murder Complex series went straight to my favorite YA dystopian list. I really enjoyed both books even though the world the story is set in is actually quite dark and violent… The characters and plot are interesting and the two books really complement each other. In The Death Code Meadow and Zephyr dive into the unknown, and that turns the sequel into a whole new story… The pace is fast, the prose itself is well written and I would recommend this series to anyone who wants to read a good and dark dystopian read without many sappy romance scenes.

WWW Wednesdays #75 – January 27th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’ve started reading Confessions by Kanae Minato earlier this week, and although it’s an intruiging read I’m not sure if I actually like the writing style so far. I’ve also finally picked up my last TBR jar pick, Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch. So far it looks really promising!

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* The first book I finished was The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings, which means I’ve finished my first series this year! I enjoyed this sequel just as much as the first book and I would really recommend it.
* I then finally picked up I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios, a book I absolutely loved. Kudos to the author for raising awareness to what war veterans are going through and doing that by writing this beautiful story in the process!
* The last book I managed to finish was my pending ARC Eternal War Armies Of Saints by Livio Gambarini. I loved the general plot and worldbuilding behind this story and it was really interesting, but it was quite a slow read and I did have some minor problems with it. More in the review!

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I loved the first book in the Veronica Mars series, so I’m probably going to read the sequel Mr. Kiss And Tell by Rob Thomas next. I have also been thinking of finally picking up The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken… Although I might read Defending Jacob by William Landay first. Last but not least, Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider is my new TBR jar pick.

WWW Wednesdays #74 – January 20th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’ve started reading my pending ARC, Eternal War: Armies Of Saints by Livio Gambarini yesterday. It’s a historical fiction/fantasy read and I’m really enjoying it so far! I’ve also finally picked up The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings… I have been wanting to read this sequel for too long now so I’m glad I finally did.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* The first book I finished is Illuminae by Amie Kaufman. People kept recommending this book to me and I have to say it was just as good as I thought it would be. Minor complaint: I NEED a physical version because the creative layout doesn’t look nearly as good on my kindle. 😦
* I then finished Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, which turned out to be quite a slow read and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I though I would. It’s more about the family history than it is about the missing girl… And somehow it didn’t manage to convince me completely.
* The last book I managed to finish (I DNFed Death Of Secrets by Bowen Greenwood) was The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas. Finally a good mystery read and a new series I can add to my favorites list!

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I might try to read I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios next, although I’ve heard mixed things about it… Confessions by Kanae Minato is also still on my list as well, but I might read Defending Jacob by William Landay first since I’m in the mood for mystery/thriller reads. Last but not least, Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch is still my newest TBR jar pick…

WWW Wednesdays #73 – January 13th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I finally picked up Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and so far I’m absolutely loving it. I can’t wait to continue reading it later today! Looks like this is one of those books that is actually worth the hype around it…

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* The first book I finished since last week is Serafina And The Black Cloak by Robert Beatty. A very good middle grade story that has a good mix of fantasy and scary elements and I really liked the prose.
* I then finished All The Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry. I was more than pleasantly surprised by this historical fiction novel. Such an original, beautifully written and emotional story!
* I was in the mood for another crime read so I picked up Confessions Of A Murder Suspect by James Patterson. It’s the first time I read a Patterson YA novel, but I flew through the pages and it was a really entertaining read.
* Afterwards I decided to read Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl since it has become a tradition to reread at least one or two Roald Dahl books a year. He is one of my favorite childhood authors and I always love rereading his work. This is not my favorite, but still good.
* The last book I finished during the read-a-thon was Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid.  I can’t say I was impressed by this one. It wasn’t terrible but there were some parts that really bothered me…
* The last book on this list, Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, was not as great as I would have thought either. It’s definitely a dark, twisted and disturbing read with many crazy plot twists and a somewhat surprising ending, but it took me a long time to actually finish it and I didn’t like the characters…

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I have a new ARC waiting for me: Eternal War Armies Of Saints by Livio Gambarini. This book set in the 13th century is a mix of historical fiction and fantasy and I’m really looking forward to it! I really should read The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings as well, so I can at least start finishing all those poor neglected series… Although I will probably read Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng first. Last but not least, Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch is still my newest TBR jar pick.

WWW Wednesdays #71 – December 30th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I have finally started reading my last TBR jar pick: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I’m still not too far into the story, but so far I’m really enjoying it… Hopefully I will magically find time to finish this read before the year is over!

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

Three books finished this week, and only because I managed to finish the last two yesterday…
* The first book is Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle. I ended up quite enjoying the first story, but things went downhill from there…
* I then finished My True Love Gave To Me by Stephanie Perkins and a bunch of other authors yesterday. I loved some stories while I didn’t really like others… But overall it was an entertaining bundle of short stories.
* Last up is The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. I really like her prose and the story, although I could have done without the love triangle. It’s quite a sad read for the Holiday season though!

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

Now I have a copy of Illuminae by Amie Kaufman, I want to start reading it ASAP! Although I might wait until after Bout Of Books 15.0 because it’s quite a long read… I also want to read The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings so I can cross of another series from my to-finish list. The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury looks like a quick read, so I might pick that one up for the read-a-thon… And Serafina And The Black Cloak by Robert Beatty is my new TBR jar pick.

WWW Wednesdays #67 – December 2nd

WWW WEDNESDAYS is hosted by Sam at Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’ve just started reading Takeover by Lisa Black after finally finishing Melophobia last night. I haven’t read a good crime novel in a while, so hopefully this one will turn out to be interesting…

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

* The first book I finished since last week is Love And Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan. This one was a huge disappointment and I still regret not DNFing it.
* I then continued with Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes. It turned out to be better than expected; entertaining with lots of crazy plot twists, although not amazing.
* The last book I finished last night: Melophobia by James Morris. A very interesting read that shows the power of music in an alternate present.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

Since I haven’t been reading that much (I’m afraid I’m about to end up in a reading slump, o no!), my possible next reads are the same as last week. The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings or The Young Elites by Marie Lu if I turn out to be in the mood for fantasy; Paperweight by Meg Haston if I want to read YA contemporary; Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman if I want to read my newest TBR jar pick.

WWW Wednesdays #66 – November 25th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is hosted by Sam at Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’ve started Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes yesterday evening and it’s still too early to tell if I’m going to enjoy this story… I’ve heard mixed things about it, so fingers crossed it’s not too bad. I’m also reading Melophobia by James Morris, a very interesting ARC and story so far.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

Three books finished this week and that’s mostly thanks to the last two being super quick reads, because it took me ages to finish Winter.
* The first is Winter by Marissa Meyer. Although I’m sad the series has ended, I really enjoyed reading this fourth book My heart almost stopped at some points in the story though; damn you plot twists!
* I decided to read my TBR jar pick Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple afterwards, which turned out to be a quick although not outstanding read. More about my complaints in my upcoming review…
* The last book I finished yesterday evening: Between Shades Of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. A very hardbreaking story, although I wasn’t fully convinced by the prose itself (it sounded too childish, and not in a The Boy In The Striped Pajamas good way.)

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

To be honest, I’m not sure what I’m going to read next… But at least these four covers color match! 😉 I might read The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings so I can cross off another series or start a new one with The Young Elites by Marie Lu. But to be honest, I’m not sure if I’m in the mood to read fantasy right now. I also want to try and read Paperweight by Meg Haston soon even though it sounds like a sad story… And I have a new TBR jar pick: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I have been wanting to read another Gaiman novel for ages so this is the perfect excuse to do just so!

WWW Wednesdays #65 – November 18th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is hosted by Sam at Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’ve decided to put Outlander by Diana Gabaldon on hold for now because I don’t seem to have enough time… So I’m currently reading only one book (it’s a miracle!): Winter by Marissa Meyer. I have been looking forward to this read ever since I finished Cress, and so far it’s just as good as I was hoping for.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

Three finished titles this week; not bad at all!
* The first is George by Alex Gino, a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist and definitely worth reading even though the prose can come over a bit childish at points. It has a very strong message…
* I picked up Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli afterwards and I have to say I absolutely loved this read. I wish I had gotten a copy sooner, because this book is simply brilliant!
* The last book I finished is The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes. I think romance fans will probably love this read, but I’m not a fan of the genre and thought part of the plot was quite predictable as well.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I will start Melophobia (ARC) by James Morris as soon as I’ve finished Winter. I also want to try and read The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings so I can finish another series, and I have been looking forward to Between Shades Of Gray by Ruth Sepetys as well. (I might actually read the second one first because it’s been I while since I’ve read a book during WWII.) And my next TBR jar pick is still Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.