When I saw the cover of this book, advertising it as " 'Single White Female' on steroids," I thought I had found the perfect read. Since my last book, "When All Is Said," was so disturbingly depressing, I thought a trash thriller, and a real good one, from the sound of things, would be the perfect antidote.
It wasn't.
Yes, the novel actually references the movie "Single White Female." It also deals with two girls, rooming in a Chicago apartment. When one of them vanishes, Quinn, the roommate, goes on a search for Esther. Meanwhile, in a small town in Michigan, a mysterious young woman, called "Pearl", surfaces.
These two plot threads turn out to be connected. But, the book is overwritten, and annoyingly so, by two narrative voices, Quinn and Alex. I did not like Alex's chapters; I just found him stupid and annoying. He almost asked for what he got. The reader has to keep going back and forth between them, until things come together in the last fifty pages. And when it does, my reaction was just a big, "Ho hum!"
Compared to the recent "The Couple Next Door," this was not worthy of publication. I hope a movie is not made of this. It is not nearly as clever as, say, "A Simple Favor."
I cannot speak for the author's other work, but my advice to thriller fans is to cross this one off your list!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheaper thrills can come from Janis Joplin, with Big Brother And The Holding Company!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She’s a Bestselling Author??
ReplyDeleteYikes.
ReplyDeleteVictoria,
She is allegedly a best selling author,
but who knows what that means, these
days. The Times Best Seller list is not
the literary standard it used to be, because
of the crap being turned out now.
As for this writer, I had never heard of her
before, and I am certainly not going to read
another one of her books since.