A dad recommendation. The lurid pink writing on the cover gives an impression of what to expect, as perhaps does the title. This is a page-turner high on intrigue with a sort of sexy anti-heroine. It’s easy to see the compulsion of a work such as this, and to its credit, I did not anticipate the climax/reveal. Beyond the coming-of-age U.S. college angle (homage still clearly being paid to The Secret History), the dynamic most explored by Kurian is psychopathy. Nearly all the key protagonists in the story are clinically diagnosable as psychopaths, or are specialists in the treatment/investigation of the behaviour. Trying to second-guess a psychopath, or to guess how far they may be willing to go to fulfil their ends, is far from easy. Bluff and double bluff, the ease of (compulsive) lying and abnormally unempathetic behaviour provide much of the narrative drive. Two different quests for justice (in the broadest sense) also sustain tension. It’s not high literature, but it’s certainly compelling. Seven and a half out of ten.
By Vera Kurian