Retro Review: Maestra

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

5 stars. So, Maestra tells the story of Judith Rashleigh, art expert and expert murderess. She spends her days toiling away as a junior employee at an art house and her nights at a creepy hostess bar being paid to satisfy customers with her company. Upon discovering her shady boss’ shady fraud scheme, Judith goes on a rampage of sorts - a sweaty spree hopping from country to country leaving dead bodies and fake names in her wake. It’s wonderful and sneaky and fun. Maestra is zesty! It is zesty Italian with extra zing. The pace, the drama, the bloodshed, the sex - delightful - the most enjoyable reading experience I’ve had in a long time.

It certainly isn’t perfect; Judith displays some incredibly contradictory personality traits. It’s absolutely, one hundred percent unrealistic. It’s superficial. Still, there is strong writing in the “art parts,” which I found enjoyable and an interesting distraction from the somewhat rompy plot. 

Speaking of, I hope people weren’t too shocked. I didn’t find it that shocking, I just found it … open in ways other books aren’t. It’s constantly like, yeah, let’s go there, let’s open this door. I respect that. I admire it. It’s irresistible. I don’t know if it is feminist in the traditional sense of the word (though I hesitate to put parameters on that word), but it certainly expands upon a favorite topic of mine: complex, sexually aggressive women. More of that, please.

I can see the comparisons to Tom Ripley and Vicky Sharpe, but honestly, Judith feels like her own new thing. Is it wrong to say I relate to her? That I enjoyed watching her succeed? She channels that massive chip on her shoulder into getting exactly what she wants whatever the cost. It’s kind of impressive.

Maestra isn’t particularly profound, but it is profoundly entertaining. I can’t wait to read more, if for nothing else than the author’s expertise on a subject I love. Many individuals in the art world are - to quote a colleague of mine who spent years in the gallery business - “snooty,” and Hilton completely challenges that notion by creating a female character who is not only badass but also super, super emotionally into art. I loved it.

Maestra on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: In a Dark, Dark Wood

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

3 stars. I didn't really like this. I was seduced by the creepy title and the promise of a dark thriller but all I got was a basic story told in weird increments. It was mediocre and predictable and while it kept me turning pages I just really didn't care.

There were a lot of annoying things about this book but the biggest, for me, had to be the protagonist. I know others have commented on her here and I would agree that she's just damn ridiculous. Consuming a story of any kind requires suspension of belief, and I'm willing to suspend a lot if the action is enjoyable and satisfying in its own way. But I'm really unwilling to believe that a girl was so traumatized by a pretty typical (yeesh, that may be misguided - common? fairly common?) romantic experience that it dictated every action years later. My favorite phrase, used by a reviewer above, is "psychologically improbable." Yeah, that just about covers it.

And it's the plot, too - everything's so campy and melodramatic and twisty in a way that simply isn't creative. It wasn't dark enough, for me. I mean, I was super unsettled by the fact that she even went to the stupid bachelorette party in the first place, but I was unsettled in a "oh, this narrator is really fucking dumb," and "a bachelorette party? I'd rather put a campfire out with my face" sort of way.

I read an interview with Ruth Ware in which she described this book as a combination of Agatha Christie and the Scream movies. Cool! What a fabulous concept. And also an extremely admirable goal. I am into it! I just don't think she got there, though, with this one. Poor execution. I'd like to read some of her other books and try her again, though.

In a Dark, Dark Wood on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: Before the Fall

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

3 stars. I'm a huge Noah Hawley fan. Fargo and Legion are so incredibly creative and engaging and strong, so obviously I opened Before the Fall with high expectations and a side-eye on the hype. And did it get there? Did it do it for me? Well, sort of.

I've been thinking a lot about Goodreads and social media and its impact on the book world, and I would agree with many that Goodreads "reviews" should really be called "reactions." If I were to "review" this book, I'd probably give it a higher score than if I simply "reacted." I mean look, critics loved this book. They raved about it. "Ingeniously nerve-racking" - New York Times. "Terrific thriller" - Washington Post. "Highly entertaining" - AP.

My purpose here is different, though. I just want to chat! I want to provide my opinion in an informal (lazy) manner without feeling the pressure to recommend or not recommend. I want to unpack and extrapolate to a certain degree but keep things firmly in the realm of "response" rather than "review."

Ugh, okay, back to the book: I just don't know. I loved the concept - I like group dissection stories in which a bunch of characters are introduced and we learn about them one-by-one. I liked the mystery and the social commentary and the insights about families and relationships. I liked that it starts with a plane crash and moves backward and forward to build the narrative. I was delighted by the cinematic details and the deep characterization for which Hawley is particularly well-known.

BUT, I didn't like the ending, so much, although it was the type of dark turn I normally really enjoy. I thought the political / entertainment industry satire fell a little flat. Overall, it lacked a spark, I think, for me. It lacked the special flavor that usually keeps me reading something like this. It just wasn't spicy enough! I'm still a huge Hawley fan (his work this season on Legion is triumphant), but as I said, this is just a solid sort of for me.

Before the Fall on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: The Night Manager

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

4 stars. The Night Manager tells the tale of a man named Jonathan Pine and his drive to bring down a rich criminal named Richard Roper. Pine infiltrates Roper's inner circle with the complicated support of the government, and - apologies for the old (yet appropriate) spy novel cliche - finds himself tangled in a web from which he will likely never escape.

This is one of those books that forced me to step back and say okay, regardless of how I feel about the story, it's an impressive piece of writing. Among the book's many merits, the dialogue stands out - it's perhaps the most spectacularly consistent use of colloquialism I've ever encountered (thanks to the italic emphasis on certain words, I could hear the British accents in my head). And the dedication to detail makes this book a bit of a project to get through; it required a certain amount of concentration I haven't needed since reading Shakespeare. That's not a complaint.

About the ending: I typically don't mind ambiguous endings. I really don't. Sometimes I find them to be much more satisfying than those that are wrapped up neatly in a bow. However, in this case, it felt like running a marathon for which there was no true finish line. Why dedicate so much time and energy to a story whose main plot line, ultimately, bears no real fruit?

Is that the point? That life, in the end, offers no rewards? That the bad guys go on being bad guys, and the good guys go on pretending they aren't bad guys, and the rest of us go on running in circles trying to figure out who is who? That's pretty bleak. That's a bitter piece of fruit, right there. Which is fine. But somehow it still felt like the ending diminished the story.

Maybe I'm a little unsatisfied because of something more specific. I don't mind a traditional villain's success as much as I mind a plague of unchecked office weasels taking over the earth. Like, I'll take Voldemort over Dolores Umbridge any day. The bureaucratic buttheads were simply a nightmare for someone like me, whose office is rife with tangled power plays and control for the sake of control. I wanted to see those ego-driven, political maniacs nailed to the wall for their pointless trifling. Sigh. I think this says a lot about me: that truthfully, I'm fine with Roper going free. But I'm not fine with the buttheads winning.

This was a really interesting read. It had a little bit of everything; some very, very good writing. I'm not sure I would recommend it, exactly, but I have no regrets about seeing it through.

The Night Manager on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The Silent Patient

4 stars.

Hello. I am one cocktail in. I read this in one sitting on the beach today. This review is going to be LIT. 

Ugh, it's all about the twist, isn't it?

I predicted it about 5 pages prior to the big reveal (after not predicting Mystic River, I'm REALLY off my game!) and here's the thing: I liked it. It clicked for me. In a good way. I feel like we complain a lot about twists - we act like predictability is like, a giant error and somehow ruins a book? No. I'm not someone who is bothered by spoilers because watching two puzzle pieces fit together is satisfying for me regardless of my level of surprise/shock.

Anyway.

The Silent Patient is about a psychotherapist, Dr. Theo Faber (I loooove the name Theo), who becomes obsessed with helping/fixing/curing a mysterious patient named Alicia Berenson. Alicia, a formerly successful painter, was institutionalized after being charged with the murder of her husband, immediately after which she stopped talking. Dr. Theo launches a pseudo-investigation to determine what really happened the night she shot her husband in the head five times. Throughout the book we learn concurrently more about her and the good doctor himself before the rug is ripped from under us per usual.

The writing here is really solid. I recently realized that I prefer and love short, concise chapters, and these are delightfully dainty. It's a pageturner, and really compelling, so you won't be able to put it down. It reminded me a tad of The Woman in the Window, which I enjoyed, or maybe The Girl on the Train? At least in terms of some ambiguous vibes coming from our narrator. The point is - if you are a fan of those types of books, you will enjoy this. If you are not, you won't. 

There's a lot of hype around this book, and it reminds me of the hype around many other releases similar to this. Because it's similar to those. I wouldn't say there's necessarily anything super special about it, but it's not bad. Good writing, good plotting, good twist. There's some really weird narrow-minded stuff about therapy, and some very unrealistic medical stuff, but it is what it is. I'll take that popcorn please.

Beach read win!!

The Silent Patient on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Cross Her Heart

4 stars. I see why there were mixed reactions to this book. Yes, it's completely ridiculous and unrealistic and perhaps even predictable for those of us well-versed in the twists and turns of psychological thrillers. But look, I think I may have liked it for those reasons...? I really enjoyed turning the pages of this one, I really felt the drive to keep going. The writing was great, the characters were distinct and the ending was surprisingly satisfying.

Cross Her Heart is a multiple-POV thriller with flashbacks. In short, concise chapters (which I personally love), Sarah Pinborough tells the story of Lisa and her daughter Ava and how they cope when they are threatened by a seriously masterful villain from Lisa's past. The story unfolds through the eyes of Lisa, Ava and Lisa's best friend Marilyn, each of whom has secrets of their own. It's a classic, twisty, fast-paced mystery with a heart-stopping (if somewhat tidy) conclusion.

As others have pointed out, things do feel a bit forced here. Characters have questionable motivations. Characters fall in love after one date. Characters are generally stupid, fooled and tricked into scenarios I could see coming a mile away. But this is a popcorn book, and I was willing to suspend belief just to let the intensity of the story wash over me. It's a tight plot, you have to admit. Maybe it's cliche at times, but the writing is solid. And there are some fantastic girl power moments.

Maybe you will see it coming. Maybe you won't. Just enjoy the ride. I've certainly read worse.

Cross Her Heart on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Stillhouse Lake

4 stars. My heart is officially racing. 

Stillhouse Lake begins when Gina Royal, housewife and mother of two, discovers that her husband has a secret. A huge, life-altering, sadistic secret. Not a spoiler: he's a prolific serial killer who carries out his crimes in the garage of their family home. When he's finally arrested and stopped, Gina must work to rebuild her life while keeping her family safe from a world that wants revenge. 

She thinks she's finally safe at Stillhouse Lake. It's a small, remote town in Tennessee and she reluctantly settles in knowing her kids could use some stability. And then (typical), a body shows up. Gina has to fight off death threats on a daily basis, now she has to deal with suspicion from the police plus a new copycat murderer. It's a thrilling pageturner with a gut punch of a climax.

Gina is an excellent and well-written character and perhaps the anchor that steadies this twisty turny story. I found her mama bear instincts to be smothering and so annoying but also heartwarming and justified. Caine explores the horrific impact of cyberbullying, internet culture, even dipping her toes into the true crime obsession, adding an interesting and unusual layer of threat for our heroine to deal with. 

Gina also, quite frankly, has no use for men. I really, really, really noticed and loved that. Men are in the story: she meets a few, gets close to one, saves his life, and takes down others as needed, but really, this is her world and the men are just there to fuck up. HA. So just like in real life. I admire Rachel Caine for achieving this so deftly, for taking such a feminist approach.

Gina’s two children, Lanny and Connor, are also well-written. Both have agency and interests and speak in distinct voices. Like their mother, they are traumatized, which I think can be difficult to portray in young people without using cliches. And their presence in the story is nuanced - sometimes they bring humor, or love, or extra fear to the story, sometimes Lanny is a typical irritating teenager and sometimes Connor is naive. They felt like real kids, to me.

Alright, so, this is a thriller, of course there's a twist or two. I happened to predict them early. That's okay. It was still an immensely enjoyable read. I would recommend this for fans of Jane Harper - both craft concise, character-driven thrillers with awesome villains and intense action sequences. And yeah, THAT ENDING. I want more.

Stillhouse Lake on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: Red Sparrow

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

3 stars. In some ways this is a very typical spy novel full of technical tradecraft, desk-thumping, breasts and a whole lot of America fuck yeah!! Pure male fantasy. Also, I don’t trust the author’s portrayal of a Russian woman. Or of Russia, actually. I'm sure Jason Matthews tried to be fair and inclusive, but if I were Russian I think I'd be slightly offended with how cleanly the story came across as good vs evil. Matthews basically spells out for us his theories on Putin and Russia and the political resentment pitting these two countries against each other and ... it's just too simple.

Also, men: a woman should never, ever be blamed for the fact that you are attracted to her. Jesus.

But there is some surprisingly delicate, beautiful writing here - the element of Dominika’s color clairvoyance, for example, was lovely. I liked the recipes! The caricatures of U.S. politicians and bureaucrats felt astoundingly real. Sure, the romance was predictable and boring and melodramatic, but it earns three stars for an engaging, interesting plot and a tight story.

Red Sparrow on: Amazon | Goodreads

Retro Review: Pines

When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.

2 stars. Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho to investigate the disappearance of two fellow agents. Upon arrival, Burke is involved in a serious car accident and wakes up in a town where nothing is as it seems. Stranded and confused, Burke begins to unravel the mystery of the town in an adventure that ends in a fight for his life.

Well, this book was exhausting. And not in a good way.

It was sort of like one giant, extended chase scene (that seriously pushed the limits of reality) with a bizarre plot twist at the end.

Don't get me wrong - the plot twist was fascinating, and twisted, and science fiction in the BEST way. It's just that EVERYTHING ELSE - the writing, the characters, the dialogue - was so shoddy it detracted from the impact of the big reveal.

I actually ended up skimming a lot, especially toward the end. And I'm such a weirdo perfectionist that I almost NEVER skim, even if I hate what I'm reading.

I just couldn't take any more of "Ethan's Survival Guide to the Idaho Wilderness." I just couldn't handle another scene in which the superhuman secret agent somehow avoided the town mob armed only with pure adrenaline and insane rock-climbing abilities.

It's such a good concept. But man, is the execution poor.

I really liked the author's afterword, and his obvious admiration of Twin Peaks. In my opinion, though, had he channeled even half the subtle creepiness of David Lynch into the story, he would have been much better off. It was obvious that something was wrong the minute Ethan arrived in Wayward Pines - but that was the problem. It shouldn't have been that obvious, at least not at first. The town shouldn't have fought him so hard so quickly. The clues should've been more subtle, and quiet - and thus would've been so much more unnerving.

Watch the TV show instead. It's a tremendous mystery that makes so much more sense.

Pines on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Looker

4 stars. I feel so lucky that I can, in this day and age, read extensively about complicated, layered, real women. Women who are capable of good and evil. Successful women with problems, women who are fulfilled in different ways, strong, stubborn, obsessive, struggling, sexual women who fuck up and buck up and own the fact that being a women means being a fighter. Women who are large and loud and present.

Yes, we still have a long way to go, particularly in featuring women of color and other diverse voices. But I'm thrilled to see so many artists explore what it means to be female, especially under the surface. I particularly enjoy authors like Gillian Flynn, Madeline Miller, and Ottessa Moshfegh, who poke and scrape and peek under the blanket, pulling at the knots, giving even the most grotesque and dangerous of us a pointed spotlight.

More of that, please. I really do eat it up. But when so many artists - starved to be heard - jump on the train, that train gets crowded. And common elements emerge. Trends. And suddenly what once felt new and fresh feels derivative and stale. Things start sounding familiar. 

A depressed, spiraling, recently-separated, wine-guzzling, self-loathing, utterly judgmental female becomes obsessed with someone. Another female, perhaps. Becomes tangled up in a crime. She is unlikeable, and an unreliable narrator. The Girl on the Train. The Woman in the Window. Notes on a Scandal. Even Sharp Objects. And now, Looker.

AND IT'S AWESOME! I loved it. Yes, it feels familiar - in the BEST WAYS. This is a succinct pageturner that takes you into the mind of a middle-aged college professor, recently separated, who becomes infatuated with an actress who lives down the street. Yes, she guzzles wine, she's full of self-loathing, she swings between envy and anger, she's hypercritical of others - all characteristics we see frequently in these types of books. But Laura Sims manages to keep things moving in a sharp and witty way, placing you right in the terrifying headspace of someone suffering a nervous breakdown.

I think what's so terrifying about this is we can all relate to our unnamed narrator, in small ways. Her outlook overlaps ours. I think many of us have experienced a bizarre sense of entitlement when it comes to celebrities we admire. Her struggles with infertility sound absolutely brutal and serve as a fascinating explanation (not excuse) for her descent into madness. I liked the tight focus and the level of detail, despite it being so short. I liked the poetry. And I loved the ending.

I would argue that this isn't solely about the obsession with the actress, so don't go in expecting that. It's about a variety of factors and circumstances, internal and external, contributing to one flawed woman's breakdown. Her sense of justification was twisted but very human. I was glued to the pages as she slowly lost her grip on reality. I almost rooted for her. I almost rooted for her to go for it, to cross the line. Looker provided a really weird, and really fun, reading experience - a true, in my opinion, psychological thriller.

Looker on: Amazon | Goodreads