Curfew

Curfew by Jayne Cowie has a unique concept with a female dominated society where men are tagged and have a curfew. The story is told through alternating points-of-view (Sarah, Cass, Helen, Pamela, and Mabel). Pamela, a detective, has her story told in the first person. After the body is found in the beginning of Curfew, the story goes back four weeks. We are introduced to each character and get their backstory. The characters came across caricatures instead of a realistic people. This is especially true of Cass who is seventeen and knows everything (sometimes her behavior seemed more appropriate for someone fourteen). Cass’s character was over-the-top and exaggerated. I wanted well-rounded, realistic characters. Only one character grew or developed by the end of the story, but the growth was not all positive. Most of the women view men as not to be trusted. There are no likeable male characters in the story. The murder is very simple and can easily be solved long before the reveal. The book started out strong with the murder, but I soon found myself bored. I found Curfew to be predictable and the viewpoint too skewed. The man-hating became tiresome after a couple of chapters. Curfew does contain foul language, violence, and intimate situations. By the end of Curfew, I had to wonder if the writer liked men at all. Curfew had a good blurb, but it ended up being a dud.