Killing It
Asia Mackay
Lex Tyler is ready to go back to work, adorable baby Gigi at her side. There’s only one small problem – her job is killing people off for Platform Eight, a division of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Her newest assignment is to infiltrate a group of London’s elite mummies with Gigi in order to kill off a Russian patriot.
I read about half this novel while waiting for the action to begin. I’m sorry, I just don’t find it that entertaining that she forgot nipple pads, and whether breast milk has DNA in it. I continued reading after a month or two had passed and still felt underwhelmed. The ending promised to have a little more action in it, but in the end it felt rushed and unfinished. I needed significantly more shadowing throughout the novel to feel convinced about the betrayals…
The sexist language and swearing doesn’t add anything to the story, it just made me cringe in revulsion. I fully understand that being a ‘Rat’ would be dominated by men with crude language, but I’m also certain that I’d rather Lex showed a bit more restraint with her own language at home!
I really like the idea behind this novel which pokes fun at the problems women have at work after going back when they have had a baby. Lex meets them with ?style? and tries to smack preconceptions out of the boys’ heads. What could be worse than going back to killing after giving birth to a new life? This novel reminded me of The Thief of Light – the protagonist is a woman doing a man’s job better than him and paying the price for it.
I don’t understand why Lex is so relaxed about Will and Gigi being at home by themselves. If it’s so easy for her to break into houses better guarded than her own, wouldn’t she feel more anxious about hunting a Russian oligarch?
Anyway, this novel’s slow start/finish/entirety and crude conversations leads me to give it a 3 star rating. I’m certain I have read another novel similar to it, but better executed – does anyone else remember?
Allen & Unwin | 25th July 2018 | AU$29.99 | paperback
The detailed gore at the beginning of the novel was cringe worthy and my feeling was that it was unnecessary. The torture might have been intended to make things feel Gothic and gloomy, but instead I just felt revulsion. I also couldn’t work out why I should care about David and Thomas. What were the men’s purposes in this novel?
The photos in this book are enough to make you drool and then go for a hunt in the freezer for a cookie (jam drop or choc chip? Yes please!). The discussion of the literature is also thoughtful and might introduce you to a couple of little known classics that might take your fancy. I only wish I was part of a book club so that I too could bake some amazing cookies in the theme of the book of the month.
The blurb promises that Simon will have to hunt for his teacher, but the majority of the novel is really about getting to know Simon and understand his relationship with the world. I actually really enjoyed Simon’s unique perspective. It’s exactly how I would imagine thoughts to be of a mildly autistic child (in my limited, and purely academic knowledge that is). I liked each of the small parts that came together to understand his worldview, and how he saw other people and imagined his insides reacting to different situations.
I’m surprised they managed to catch the killer as they were so busy swearing at each other and cracking stupid jokes. I never got Carrie’s motivation for being a cop and her naivety and bright-eyed shine weren’t authentic. It seemed to me that there was a huge focus on the previous child serial killer, but I struggled to work out what the gory details really were.
Oh ouch! Those twists! Poor Ophelia. All I could think of was Shakespeare’s Hamlet, where the hapless Ophelia drowns herself. In comparison, this Ophelia is pretty spunky! I think she is quite brave for surviving in that toxic environment.
This novel opens with a bloody fight scene that positions the reader to empathise with Raven while at the same time wondering why he has killed before. Although the blow by blow of the fight is written slightly awkwardly, the feeling behind it is strong enough to seep through the action and encourage the reader to keep going!
This book is a flip-through book, where you are going to want to just glance at each page until you find something that takes your fancy to build. Come prepared with a box of random LEGO parts to build with, and there will definitely be something there for you. I’m personally fond of the buildings and not so fond of the oversized minifigures.
The author has managed to make four very different women all equally interesting to read about. The mix between internet posts and insight within each woman’s head is done well and doesn’t detract from the storyline. The internet posts hold the different perspectives together. I felt like I got to know them all as people and this made it easier to sympathise with them even when they made choices that I myself didn’t agree with.
