Could this novel exist without the male voice—or should it? Hard to say, but it’s a fascinating read.
Hall interrogates whether a man can be a “good man”—and from whose perspective.
Running from his failed marriage, Cole, the narrator, leaves London for England’s South Coast, where he takes up animal trapping and tries to get over his ex-wife. Soon, in his somewhat tentative way, he’s making gentle moves on his new neighbor, an artist. For her part, Lennie seems to appreciate Cole’s companionship, even as she’s not ready to sleep with him yet. Then, on New Year’s Eve, two young women who’ve been hiking through the south of England to raise money to help female victims of violence go missing. Their disappearance follows a recent confrontation with Cole, and it soon appears he may be a suspect. This is the first third of Hall’s novel; then suddenly she pulls the rug. Part Two offers backstory in the voice of Cole’s ex-wife, Mel. By the time Part Three begins, the rug has been pulled once again. In addition to these narrative voices, Hall includes excerpts from Twitter and various news outlets, an artist statement by Lennie, and interview transcripts, so the novel emerges through layers of perspective and interpretation, all pointing to a single question with incredibly complicated optics: Is it enough for a man to be “good” if he still refuses to listen, if he lives comfortably ensconced in the language and power of the patriarchy? Lately, it seems like every thriller wants to weigh in on the post-#MeToo landscape, and the better ones—and Hall’s definitely is—find some nuance in the commentary. The only thing that niggles is whether Cole deserves to have a say—the first and longest one, at that—in the novel. There’s something ironic about bemoaning the supremacy of the male voice and also offering quite a bit of perspective from the lone male character, but the approach does emphasize the way society’s expectations vary wildly for a “good man” versus a “good woman.”
Could this novel exist without the male voice—or should it? Hard to say, but it’s a fascinating read.Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781638931553
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Gillian Flynn/Zando
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.
The feds must protect an accused criminal and an orphaned girl.
Maybe you’ve met him before as protagonist of The 6:20 Man (2022): Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine, who’d had the dubious fortune to tangle with “the girl on the train,” is now assigned by his homeland security boss to protect Danny Glass, who's awaiting trial on multiple RICO charges in Washington state. Devine has what it takes: He “was a closer, snooper, fixer, investigator,” and, when necessary, a killer. These skills are on full display as the deaths of three key witnesses grind justice to a temporary halt. Glass has a 12-year-old niece, Betsy Odom, and each is the other’s only living relative—her parents recently died of an apparent drug overdose. The FBI has temporary guardianship of Betsy, who's a handful. She tells Travis that though she’s not yet 13, she's 28 in “life-shit years.” The financially well-heeled Glass wants to be her legal guardian with an eye to eventual adoption, but what are his real motives? And what happens to her if he's convicted? Meanwhile, Betsy insists that her parents never touched drugs, and she begs Travis to find out how they really died. This becomes part of a mission that oozes danger. The small town of Ricketts has a woman mayor who’s full of charm on the surface, but deeply corrupt and deadly when crossed. She may be linked to a subversive group called "12/24/65," as in 1865, when the Ku Klux Klan beast was born. Blood flows, bombs explode, and people perish, both good guys and not-so-good guys. Readers might ponder why in fiction as well as in life, it sometimes seems necessary for many to die so one may live. And what about the girl on the train? She's not necessary to the plot, but she's a fun addition as she pops in and out of the pages, occasionally leaving notes for Travis. Maybe she still wants him dead.
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781538757901
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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