Monday 16 December 2013

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes


"Okay, it's not a present, it's a deposit. You're keeping it safe for me."

If you were lying back in paradise on a hammock would your choice of reading material plumb the depths of murderous serial killer depravity? If so, well welcome to my holiday reading. I chose this on the basis of my enjoyment of Beukes sci-fi novel, Zoo City which I happened to thoroughly enjoy. This is, however, an entirely different beast.

Protagonist, Kirby is a delight, which makes her torture, all the more excruciating. I don't think that's giving anything away. The blurb discusses the fact there's a girl that got away from a horrendous, time-travelling serial killer. Prepare yourself for some graphic violence, so edge of your seat style stuff and ... well you get the picture.

I'm not sure whether I deleted a star on the basis of my pretty much having a gutful of people getting gutted stories or that some aspects seemed a little all too familiar. Regardless, Beukes has done a bang up job, proving her versatility in style and genre.


4 out of 5 for this weak-stomached reader who dislikes crazy villains that prey on girls.

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