Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Left For Dead by Diane Langford - A Review (4 Star)

This is quite a nice little find. I only bought it as part of a selection of "Mask Noir" stories I picked out from AwesomeBooks.com, but I have to say I am really impressed.

The plot is fairly predictable with a few interesting inter-relationships, but it is the main character that makes this one good. Montse Letkin is an investigator for the housing association in the very very near future. Her mother, a complete leftist, abhors her life choices to work for the "system".

When an opportunity comes up for some more clandestine work that will open some serious doors for Montse's career she has to balance the peculiar job with personal issues - including putting up a friend and her kid, and trying to engage with her estranged mother who resents her every choice and is in the middle of having a serious operation in hospital.

Things get even more interesting when Montse's employer, who'd given her the special task, falls out of a window.

Montse is wonderfully conflicted - not in a cliched addict way - unable to admit she is suffering from depression, trying to achieve a life for herself whilst always looking for some sort of approval or acknowledgement from a mother she has semi-consciously worked towards being the antithesis of.

A thoroughly enjoyable story revolving around a very rich and original protagonist.

No comments:

Post a Comment