Review: N.J. Fountain – Painkiller

Painkiller
N.J. Fountain

Monica suffers from chronic pain. Not just chronic pain, but chronic neuropathic pain. Every second of her life is filled with acute pain which breaks through even the toughest and strongest medications. When Monica finds a suicide note that she has written, her mind begins to question what else has happened in a past she doesn’t remember.

28259431Normally I couldn’t tell you the names of half the characters, but the advantage of this novel being pretty much from Monica’s perspective (which is limited to dealing with people as she can’t really go out very much) meant that I got a good solid grasp of them in my mind. When the perspective changes up, you still don’t know the whole story or a truth.

Ooh, this is a twisty one, this is. It wants to portray itself as a potential crime, but in fact it is psychological thriller which just happens to have a bit of ‘potential’ crime involved. Its far more gripping, and not nearly as bloody. Monica might be acting like a sleuth, but in fact she seems to be only just coping.

Its an interesting insight into the world of those with Chronic Neuropathic Pain. I don’t think I would be able to live like that personally. It’s certainly something my girlfriend and I spent some time thinking about! It’s a bit like dementia, but it is drug induced. Monica can hardly remember her own name, let alone who might be responsible for her condition.

I could not put this novel down. I just had to keep reading. I took it to work with me, and just couldn’t stop reading. 4 stars from me now I know ‘who-dun-it’.

4star

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