Bang Band You’re Dead! reminded me a little of The Mysterious Case of the Dog in The Night-time. We get a chapter in the present, then a chapter of something else. In The Dog in the Night-time, it was random, yet interesting facts, in this book, Dhami uses the opposing chapters to flesh out the back-story.

I almost gave up on the book in the first chapter. The opening of the book is slow and a bit sloppy, but soon picks up. The story focuses in on the events of one day in March when Mia’s school undergoes a school shooting. Mia’s mother is bipolar and leaves her and her brother Jaime to pick up the pieces. Through the back-story, we learn about how Mia has so far attempted to deal with her mother’s illness. Mia’s mother’s bipolar disorder was very well described and absolutely believable. It was refreshing to read such a thoughtful and intense description of a devastating mental illness. Dhami didn’t mince words.

Three quarters of the way through the novel, Dhami introduces a surprising twist that leaves the readers a bit breathless. The twist was fine, the ending was not. The book felt as if it just left us in a lurch. With a book that focuses so much on mental illness, it just felt a bit incomplete, and unbelievable. The writing was interesting, the story was fresh, but the ending left a lot be desired.