Fury
Author: Shirley Marr
Publication Date: 5/1/10
Publisher: Black Dog Books (no US date yet)
Blurb (GR): Let me tell you my story.
Not just the facts I know you want to hear.
If I’m going to tell you my story,
I’m telling it my way.
Strap yourself in...
Eliza Boans has everything.
A big house.
A great education.
A bright future.
So why is she sitting in a police station confessing to murder?
ETA: (This blurb seriously rocks)
Review:
I was hooked on this from the first page-- It was like reading about The Heathers murdering someone. A bunch of rich, spoiled high school girls are picked up for murder and the entire book flits back and forth between the main character, Eliza, harassing a psychologist who is attempting to elicit her story and flashbacks to the days leading up to the crime as Eliza actually shares the backstory. It was interesting to read a book in which we already know the killer from page one, nay, from the back cover. It did not ruin the excitement of the unraveling and I actually began to feel sympathy for Eliza despite her heinous personality. (okay, maybe only an inkling of sympathy but still…) Most of the characters in Fury are rather unlikeable but I still found a relationship to enjoy throughout the entire book—that of Eliza and Neil, childhood friends whose snarky but endearing friendship might not be as strong as it once was but the foundation is still there and I loved when Neil showed up in the storyline. I don't want to spoil anything but I just need to say that the ending was a little emotional for me...
The high school scenes in this book felt like a combination of Rushmore and Courtney Summers’s Some Girls Are and Cracked Up To Be—in that they seemed to live in Stepford and everyone was a bitch. Even the guys, who had names like Alistair Aardent. Speaking of names, what the heck was up with the plethora of Jane Austen names up in here? Eliza, Marianne, Ellanoir Dashwood (that is not a misspelling on my part)? Obviously Jane Eyre wasn’t Austen but Eliza’s nemesis is named Jane Ayres. Maybe I’m just being nitpicky but I would’ve enjoyed this book even more if everyone had original names and I didn’t get the feeling that Shirley Marr has a hard on for Jane Austen. (because seriously, a lot of us do)
The ending of this book is absolutely unsatisfying. And I can’t write about it without spoilers so I’m just not going to. Just know going into this one that some threads will be left hanging. Recently, Kat started a discussion about the differences between the Aussie and US legal systems when it comes to the treatment of minors. I was at a complete loss about a lot of what was going on—why did she have no advocate? Why was she being questioned without a parent or lawyer present? What are the procedural due process rights for Australians? I’m pulling out my hair here! Do they have a bail system? Too.many.legal.questions.
Anyway, I found this book entertaining. It is somewhere between 6 and 7 stars. I feel like this review bites the big one but whatever, you can’t win them all. (unless you are in Pleasantville before it turned to color…because everyone knows they DID win them all before Reese Witherspoon gave Paul Walker a BJ)
P.S. This cover rocks. Three cheers for relevancy!
P.P.S. Thanks to Missie at The Unread Reader for putting this unobtainable Aussie book on tour in the US.
3.75/5 stars
Author: Shirley Marr
Publication Date: 5/1/10
Publisher: Black Dog Books (no US date yet)
Blurb (GR): Let me tell you my story.
Not just the facts I know you want to hear.
If I’m going to tell you my story,
I’m telling it my way.
Strap yourself in...
Eliza Boans has everything.
A big house.
A great education.
A bright future.
So why is she sitting in a police station confessing to murder?
ETA: (This blurb seriously rocks)
Review:
I was hooked on this from the first page-- It was like reading about The Heathers murdering someone. A bunch of rich, spoiled high school girls are picked up for murder and the entire book flits back and forth between the main character, Eliza, harassing a psychologist who is attempting to elicit her story and flashbacks to the days leading up to the crime as Eliza actually shares the backstory. It was interesting to read a book in which we already know the killer from page one, nay, from the back cover. It did not ruin the excitement of the unraveling and I actually began to feel sympathy for Eliza despite her heinous personality. (okay, maybe only an inkling of sympathy but still…) Most of the characters in Fury are rather unlikeable but I still found a relationship to enjoy throughout the entire book—that of Eliza and Neil, childhood friends whose snarky but endearing friendship might not be as strong as it once was but the foundation is still there and I loved when Neil showed up in the storyline. I don't want to spoil anything but I just need to say that the ending was a little emotional for me...
The high school scenes in this book felt like a combination of Rushmore and Courtney Summers’s Some Girls Are and Cracked Up To Be—in that they seemed to live in Stepford and everyone was a bitch. Even the guys, who had names like Alistair Aardent. Speaking of names, what the heck was up with the plethora of Jane Austen names up in here? Eliza, Marianne, Ellanoir Dashwood (that is not a misspelling on my part)? Obviously Jane Eyre wasn’t Austen but Eliza’s nemesis is named Jane Ayres. Maybe I’m just being nitpicky but I would’ve enjoyed this book even more if everyone had original names and I didn’t get the feeling that Shirley Marr has a hard on for Jane Austen. (because seriously, a lot of us do)
The ending of this book is absolutely unsatisfying. And I can’t write about it without spoilers so I’m just not going to. Just know going into this one that some threads will be left hanging. Recently, Kat started a discussion about the differences between the Aussie and US legal systems when it comes to the treatment of minors. I was at a complete loss about a lot of what was going on—why did she have no advocate? Why was she being questioned without a parent or lawyer present? What are the procedural due process rights for Australians? I’m pulling out my hair here! Do they have a bail system? Too.many.legal.questions.
Anyway, I found this book entertaining. It is somewhere between 6 and 7 stars. I feel like this review bites the big one but whatever, you can’t win them all. (unless you are in Pleasantville before it turned to color…because everyone knows they DID win them all before Reese Witherspoon gave Paul Walker a BJ)
P.S. This cover rocks. Three cheers for relevancy!
P.P.S. Thanks to Missie at The Unread Reader for putting this unobtainable Aussie book on tour in the US.
3.75/5 stars
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