Curfew by Jayne Cowie

"Mystery" Genre card with dark woods and light in the distance

This was one of my favorite reads of 2021! I loved the dystopian setting, the murder mystery, and the character POVs!

We are transported to a country where laws have been passed to keep women safe. Men are required to wear tracking devices on their ankles, and they have curfews. Being tracked or caught outside comes with jailtime. This means men cannot have jobs that would require them to be out after curfew. They can’t have long commutes, and many end up being the homemaker while the wife or girlfriend works. This law is only in one country, and so some people have chosen to move while so many choose to stay. I thought it was an interesting dynamic for the story to have an option to not live under the rules and regulations.

The story is told through multiple POVs and through a past and present timeline. I really enjoyed the multiple POVs. It helped to unravel the murder mystery in small pieces, and it was like being given delicious crumbs, and I couldn’t wait to find the whole cookie!

This is a murder mystery story first and foremost, and it’s a great story. We know there is a body, but we don’t know who it is. We begin to have ideas of who might have been killed, but the story really leaves you guessing until the big reveal.

The backstory on the curfew for men was due to the rising violence towards women. I liked that this premise brought about this concept for the author. There is an afterword with some interesting comments from the author that I recommend you read!

Overall, I loved this book, and I didn’t want to put it down. If you enjoy murder mysteries with a police procedural feel, you’ll enjoy this one!

Where to Find This Book:

Amazon ~ Goodreads

Think The Handmaid’s Tale but with the women in charge, set in a world where all men are electronically tagged and placed under strict curfew, and the murder investigation threatening to undo it all.

Imagine a near-future Britain in which women dominate workplaces, public spaces, and government. Where the gender pay gap no longer exists and motherhood opens doors instead of closing them. Where women are no longer afraid to walk home alone, to cross a dark parking lot, or to catch the last train.

Where all men are electronically tagged and not allowed out after 7 p.m.

But the curfew hasn’t made life easy for everyone. Sarah is a single mother who happily rebuilt her life after her husband, Greg, was sent to prison for breaking curfew. Now he’s about to be released, and Sarah isn’t expecting a happy reunion, given that she’s the reason he was sent there.

Her teenage daughter, Cass, hates living in a world that restricts boys like her best friend, Billy. Billy would never hurt anyone, and she’s determined to prove it. Somehow.

Helen is a teacher at the local school. Secretly desperate for a baby, she’s applied for a cohab certificate with her boyfriend, Tom, and is terrified that they won’t get it. The last thing she wants is to have a baby on her own.

These women don’t know it yet, but one of them is about to be violently murdered. Evidence will suggest that she died late at night and that she knew her attacker. It couldn’t have been a man because a CURFEW tag is a solid alibi.

Isn’t it?

Just the Facts:

Curfew by Jayne Cowie
Genre: Dystopian Mystery
Publisher: Berkley
Pub Date: March 22, 2022