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A review by anarchasemiyah
Jane Doe Black by Nia Forrester
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Jane Doe Black is more than just your run of the mill legal suspense thriller. Lainey Abbot on her journey to discover what happened to her missing sister while in the midst of balancing her work as an ADA and a burgeoning drinking problem, will have you wishing you could be by her side to help her wade through it all. I know this may be an unpopular opinion, but there is something almost profound watching a black woman be a “mess. Being imperfect, being scattered, being insure. Lainey does not have all it together and I know she wouldn’t hesitate in agreeing with me. Her journey to get a thing called closure that is seemingly always on the run, debating about her politics regarding retribution vs. justice, and finally stepping into the woman life is shaping her to be is a brilliant one to behold.
Jane Doe Black is perfectly paced and builds to a climax that will have you eagerly turning the pages. It is a train ride that you hope safely gets you to your destination, but you’ll inevitably leave your seat with remnants of the ride. It is filled with candid commentary about our justice system that has successfully disregarded the lives of those they never cared about protecting in the first place. Lainey’s character development is a well deserved reward in what is truly a bittersweet tale. Jane Doe Black with multiple moving subplots, carefully crafted detail, and a compelling cast of characters does more than check all the boxes; it adds a few more to the list for the reader to consider as they turn the final page.
Nia Forrester’s incomparable talent as a storyteller is not bound by genre. What she does in her goal of depicting “live, love, and the human condition” is something that still manages to knock me off my feet every time I open myself up to a world she’s created. Jane Doe Black pays homage to the black girl gone missing, the ones still not found, and the people dedicated to making sure they can one day receive some semblance of justice. A novel filled with grief, loss, love, and struggle, yet an emphatic reminder to hold on to happiness even with its tendency to be fleeting and seemingly
Jane Doe Black is perfectly paced and builds to a climax that will have you eagerly turning the pages. It is a train ride that you hope safely gets you to your destination, but you’ll inevitably leave your seat with remnants of the ride. It is filled with candid commentary about our justice system that has successfully disregarded the lives of those they never cared about protecting in the first place. Lainey’s character development is a well deserved reward in what is truly a bittersweet tale. Jane Doe Black with multiple moving subplots, carefully crafted detail, and a compelling cast of characters does more than check all the boxes; it adds a few more to the list for the reader to consider as they turn the final page.
Nia Forrester’s incomparable talent as a storyteller is not bound by genre. What she does in her goal of depicting “live, love, and the human condition” is something that still manages to knock me off my feet every time I open myself up to a world she’s created. Jane Doe Black pays homage to the black girl gone missing, the ones still not found, and the people dedicated to making sure they can one day receive some semblance of justice. A novel filled with grief, loss, love, and struggle, yet an emphatic reminder to hold on to happiness even with its tendency to be fleeting and seemingly
out of reach.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Sexual assault