Alex Does It Again, But...............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        Now, you know I just ADORED Marwood's first novel, "The Wicked Girls;" it pressed all my buttons.  Except that the end, which reviewers found so twisted and compelling, eluded me with those qualities; I thought the finale kind of petered out after a fantastic build-up.

                                         The same can be said for "The Killer Next Door," an interesting amalgamation of "The Silence Of the Lambs," "The Lovely Bones," and "10 Rillington Place."  I loved every page, but at the end, wanted more.  I figured out who the killer was quickly, but that did not stop me from reading.  Marwood's prose style is compelling, even when the material may not be.  I would much rather read about killers in an abandoned amusement park than excrement and body parts backing up in tenants' drains.  Yet the writing is skilled and atmospheric enough to make one want to proceed.

                                       Marwood's prose skill, and her characters, are very well constructed.  The people in this novel one gets to know very well, and while you may not want to hang out with them, Marwood manages to evoke compassion for people like these, who live marginally.  And while I often decry writers not providing enough background on the killer, I found it pretty easy to paint a profile, based on what is given.  I did wonder, though, about his relationships with his mother, or female teachers.

                                      Nevertheless, Alex Marwood is a writer I want to follow.  I understand there is another book of hers out there, "The Darkest Secret."  I cannot wait to get my hands on that!!!!!!!!!!

                                        And you, dears, be like Mistress Mary, and watch that garden grow!!!!!!!!!!