Review: MILDRED PIERCE by James M Cain

Publisher Blackstone Audio
Length 10 hours
Format audio-book
Published 2007 (originally published 1941)
Series Standalone
My Copy borrowed from the library

My Review
Set during depression era America, this family drama takes the reader deep into inner suburbia where a housewife, mother, and businesswoman can echo noir with the best of them.

Mildred Pierce is the type of book I imagine modern day authors such as Megan Abbott writing. It's seeped in darkness that bubbles to the surface yet never really shows its intentions. Rather using a subliminal tone delivered through deep characterization and a slight of hand twist in plot direction. 

Veda, Mildred's daughter is something else. Self centered, manipulative, and plain bitchy, she has no redeemable qualities yet its her character that makes the book. Mildred comes off as a sap, bending to her daughters every request until finally a gross wrong is done to her. By that time it's too late to turn back; the drama dead in the dust.  

Mildred Pierce is a classic that largely held my attend but it was prone to lapses of semi-boredom where nothing much seemed to happen. That said, given this book was written so long ago, it holds up remarkably well. 

The audio version suffered from a narrator that struggled to make the characters distinguishable at times, particularly early on in the novel. That said, the pitch and breathless delivery fit the tone of the novel perfectly.  

Overall, I give Mildred Pierce 3/5 stars. 

Review: THE PASSENGER by Lisa Lutz

Publisher Titan
Length 384 pages
Format paperback
Published 2016
Series Standalone
My Copy provided by the publisher

My Review

I love books that start with a bang. From the first sentence The Passenger vice grips your attention and doesn’t let up.

"When I found my husband at the bottom of the stairs, I tried to resuscitate him before I ever considered disposing of the body." 

After the killer sentence, a mystery slowly unravels; why does Tanya run? She says she didn’t kill her husband, yet innocence is damn near forfeited when she hot foots it out of town, not only leaving behind her dead husband but her former life for she is no longer Tanya Dubois, rather someone else, and then someone different, and then someone else again...a pattern of why’s and constant change accompanied by ever-present danger ensures.

The Passenger is a fast paced thriller that, while entertaining does read a little same-same. Bouncing from town to town, finding danger and violence at nearly every turn, Tanya’s (or Amelia, or Nora, or Sonya) ever changing identity did get tiresome without cause. We eventually do find out the reason, and it’s a good one but perhaps a little more time spent in each locale rather than speeding through personalities and places would have benefited the overall flow of the story.

This is my first book by Lisa Lutz and as far as thrillers with a deep sense of mystery go, it’s pretty good. I found myself constantly making assumptions as to why Tanya was doing the things she did, even with the subtle hints peppered throughout, the reason remained elusive until the end – making this a well crafted mystery.

3/5 stars. 

Review: THE PLEA by Steve Cavanagh

Publisher Orion
Length 400 pages
Format paperback
Published 2016
Series Eddie Flynn #2
My Copy arc provided by the publisher

My Review 

I’ve read reviews which compare The Plea’s style to a mash-up of the fast paced action packed books by adventure/action author Matthew Reilly with the tense thrills and courtroom twists of John Grisham’s legal thrillers and can’t think of anything more fitting to describe the Eddie Flynn books by Steve Cavanagh.

The Plea hits hard and fast. The opening pages see the former conman turned lawyer Eddie Flynn dodging bullets and fighting for his life before the story takes a breath and moves back in time in the lead up to the present day gunfight to document a blow by blow account of how Eddie found himself in such a dire situation.

There is always something happening in The Plea, be it Eddie’s courtroom tactics boarding on the brink of genius or the constant threat of his families safety. The balance between reality and absurd fiction doesn’t quite mesh at times but if you suspend your belief enough, The Plea is all the better for it – I mean, the guy hardly catches a breath, sleeps, or eats for nearly two days while fronting up in court, dealing with the FBI, dodging Mexican cartels, and protecting a billionaire potentially framed for large scale money laundering. It can be exhaustive reading – yet it’s addictive.

Despite being book 2 in the Eddie Flynn series, The Plea reads well as a standalone (I’ve not read The Defense, book 1 in the series) but I’m sure references made to Eddie’s earlier escapades throughout the novel will have more meaning for those familiar with The Plea’s predecessor.

I’d rate this book 3/5 – lengthening the time frame of the story to a week from the couple days in the book would've made The Plea read more plausible, but hey, it’s fiction and it’s entertaining; legal thriller junk food for the mind.