A dark, humorous portrait of a dysfunctional modern family. With its interesting premise and diverse, flawed characters,...
If revenge is a dish best served cold, then Marylou Ahearn is serving up ice cream.
Some 50 years after being unknowingly exposed to radiation during a scientific study of pregnant women, she vows to finally kill the doctor in charge of the experiment—one Wilson Spriggs. Not only did the procedure leave her with lingering health issues, but she remains convinced that it contributed to the death of her daughter Helen, who passed from childhood cancer. Taking her alias, Nancy Archer, from the radioactive heroine of the camp classic film Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, she heads down to Tallahassee, where Wilson now lives with his daughter and her family. Moving into their neighborhood, she befriends Wilson’s 13-year-old granddaughter Suzi, and discovers, to her chagrin, that he is suffering from early dementia symptoms and is unlikely to even remember the experiment. Biding her time and deciding whether or not to kill the old man, Marylou plans to secretly torment his family, not understanding that they are already doing that to themselves. Mom Caroline feels stifled in her marriage to Vic, and dreams of moving to Memphis with her eldest daughter Ava. Ava, an awkward beauty, is obsessed with Elvis Presley and dreams of becoming a model. The oldest son, Otis, who struggles, like Ava, with Asperger’s Syndrome, is secretly trying to build a breeder reactor in a backyard shed, using information he gleans from his grandpa. And weary patriarch Vic is sexually tempted by an old friend, Gigi, who works for him. Marylou insinuates herself into all their lives, taking Suzi to a megachurch and Ava to a photo shoot, where a sleazy photog snaps nudes of her. Several family disasters ensue, and Marylou ends up kidnapping Wilson, who may recollect more than he lets on.
A dark, humorous portrait of a dysfunctional modern family. With its interesting premise and diverse, flawed characters, Stuckey-French’s (Mermaids on the Moon, 2002, etc.) black comedy could have been even stronger. A tighter plot and a more developed heroine would have helped.Pub Date: Feb. 8, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-385-51064-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Genetically engineered dinosaurs run amok in Crichton's new, vastly entertaining science thriller. From the introduction alone—a classically Crichton-clear discussion of the implications of biotechnological research—it's evident that the Harvard M.D. has bounced back from the science-fantasy silliness of Sphere (1987) for another taut reworking of the Frankenstein theme, as in The Andromeda Strain and The Terminal Man. Here, Dr. Frankenstein is aging billionaire John Hammond, whose monster is a manmade ecosystem based on a Costa Rican island. Designed as the world's ultimate theme park, the ecosystem boasts climate and flora of the Jurassic Age and—most spectacularly—15 varieties of dinosaurs, created by elaborate genetic engineering that Crichton explains in fascinating detail, rich with dino-lore and complete with graphics. Into the park, for a safety check before its opening, comes the novel's band of characters—who, though well drawn, double as symbolic types in this unsubtle morality play. Among them are hero Alan Grant, noble paleontologist; Hammond, venal and obsessed; amoral dino-designer Henry Wu; Hammond's two innocent grandchildren; and mathematician Ian Malcolm, who in long diatribes serves as Crichton's mouthpiece to lament the folly of science. Upon arrival, the visitors tour the park; meanwhile, an industrial spy steals some dino embryos by shutting down the island's power—and its security grid, allowing the beasts to run loose. The bulk of the remaining narrative consists of dinos—ferocious T. Rex's, voracious velociraptors, venom-spitting dilophosaurs—stalking, ripping, and eating the cast in fast, furious, and suspenseful set-pieces as the ecosystem spins apart. And can Grant prevent the dinos from escaping to the mainland to create unchecked havoc? Though intrusive, the moralizing rarely slows this tornado-paced tale, a slick package of info-thrills that's Crichton's most clever since Congo (1980)—and easily the most exciting dinosaur novel ever written. A sure-fire best-seller.
Pub Date: Nov. 7, 1990
ISBN: 0394588169
Page Count: 424
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1990
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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