Book Review: Theme Music

THEME MUSIC | T. Marie Vandelly
07.23.2019 | Dutton Books
Rating: 5/5 stars

Dixie Wheeler’s life is defined by her past. She has carried the trauma and stigma associated with her family for decades. Dixie is “Baby Blue”, the lone survivor of her father’s murderous rage that left her mother and brothers butchered. Twenty-five years later, all Dixie wants is a chance to connect with the family she never knew and spots an opportunity to do just that when her childhood home and site of her family’s grisly deaths is put up for sale. She moves in with high hopes of understanding her past, but quickly begins to feel her sanity slipping as the ghosts of her past haunt her and the presence of her father’s evil force envelopes her mind. Bodies start to pile up and Dixie must find a way to redeem what is left of her soul.

WOW!! THEME MUSIC is everything I want from a horror meets thriller meets psychological study. The minute I started reading this one I was weirded out and on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what was going to happen with Dixie. This book is dark, murderous, and spellbinding!

Our main character and the central focus of this book is Dixie Wheeler, who has lived through an unimaginable situation. Dixie has little memory of her family since she was only one-year-old when they were brutally murdered and her overwhelming desire to reconnect with them in some way pours from the pages of this story. Dixie doesn’t always go about this in the most sane or normal ways and the reader is left to cringe and judge her actions while also feeling immense pity for her. The way Vandelly sends Dixie into a downward spiral of madness is almost a voyeuristic experience, as you’re not sure you should be watching someone travel this far into darkness. 

The overall plot and evolution of the story is impossible to talk about without giving away something. It’s dark and at times unsettling, but nothing that Vandelly writes about or crafts is done for show. This book is incredibly methodical and you really need to pay attention to what’s happening or you risk missing an important detail. I’m floored that this is a debut and cannot wait to see what comes from Vandelly next!

This book is available to buy from: Amazon | Book Depository

Disclosure: What Jess Reads is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way influences my opinion of the above book.