The idea of this book is interesting, and it could have had Stepford Wives–type potential for social commentary....
Alice and Jake, newly married in San Francisco, make a big mistake in signing up with a secret international cult dedicated to making sure wedding vows do indeed last until death.
Jake is a marriage counselor and therapist; Alice is a rocker-turned–corporate lawyer. A famous Irish musician represented in a copyright case by Alice’s firm is a last-minute invite to their wedding, and it is he who arranges their most peculiar wedding gift: “a substantial, elegant wood box” labeled The Pact. Jake is thinking it contains scotch, which would be bad—they met at rehab—but it’s worse than that. Inside the box is “The Manual,” a huge tome in tiny print containing regulations like those of Unit 3.12, Health and Fitness, which specifies that neither partner may gain more than 10 percent of what they weigh on their wedding day. Other rules require that couples exchange thoughtful gifts monthly, take a trip together once a quarter, always answer a spouse’s telephone call, and never, ever mention The Pact to anyone. Also mandatory is timely attendance at the group’s parties, meetings, and one-on-one sessions. Because Jake fails to carefully read the manual, he’s surprised when the penalties for noncompliance start rolling in. For example, at their first weigh-in, they learn extra pounds will constitute a Misdemeanor Six. “After that, things get a little sticky,” says a “Friend,” as the group members creepily address each other. “You two really need to do your homework.” Alice’s workaholic tendencies first land her in a nonremovable metal cuff bracelet that may contain surveillance technology, but that’s a gentle whisper of what’s in store for these two; Redmond’s (Golden State, 2014, etc.) novel will appeal to those with a weakness for punishment porn. Also, fans of unsurprising factoids—married people live longer than single people, the best predictor of a marriage’s success is credit scores, the higher your income, the more likely you are to get married. Judicious editing would have made a difference.
The idea of this book is interesting, and it could have had Stepford Wives–type potential for social commentary. Unfortunately, it's weighed down by a weak, repetitive thriller plot.Pub Date: July 25, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-34329-9
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
The promise of redemption in the end is not enough to balance the darkness.
Knoll’s debut thriller is a dark, cynical psychological comment on our culture of excess and violence.
TifAni FaNelli seems to have it all: an upcoming marriage to a handsome, wealthy financier; a job at a competitive, sexy women’s magazine; and a wardrobe filled with designer names. But buried beneath this surface is a secret past that threatens every day to destroy her success and happiness. As her marriage nears, and she finds herself under even more stress about keeping up appearances, Ani forces herself to participate in a documentary commemorating a violent incident from her high school days, hoping that she might, once and for all, be able to make peace with the past. Knoll’s novel is fragmented and unsure of what tone to take; the first part of the story seems at once superficial but also satirical in its complete obsession with designer name-dropping and diet-worshipping. When Knoll alternates chapters about Ani’s present with flashback chapters, the narrative becomes less commentary and more very depressing movie-of-the-week. The main problem is that Ani, despite the awful things she survives, is not a particularly admirable or interesting character, and she doesn't have the charisma to bring any light to the savage story that unfolds. Even the final suggestion that she will finally break away from trying to be perfect and instead be true to herself lacks punch.
The promise of redemption in the end is not enough to balance the darkness.Pub Date: May 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4767-8963-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Tudor came out swinging with Chalk Man (2018), but this one puts her firmly on the map. Not to be missed.
When Joe Thorne takes a teaching job in the small English village of his youth, he soon realizes the darkness he's tried to forget certainly hasn’t forgotten him.
Returning to the tiny mining village of Arnhill wasn’t English teacher Joe Thorne’s first choice, and teaching at Arnhill Academy, which he attended as a boy, is the furthest thing from a dream job. But his choices are limited. A gambling problem has put him in debt to a man who will break his kneecaps, or worse, if he doesn’t get his money. Well, actually, he has a frightening woman named Gloria on hand to do that for him, and she’s got her eye on Joe. But Joe has a plan. He moves into a cottage where an Arnhill teacher recently killed her young son and then herself, writing “NOT MY SON” in blood on the wall. But beggars can’t be choosers, and Joe tries to settle in at Arnhill, where it’s soon obvious that his old foes never left, and they don’t want him in their village. Stephen Hurst, a bully Joe ran with as a kid, has a hold on the town, and his son Jeremy, an Arnhill student, is a chip off the old block. Unfortunately, Stephen shares a secret with Joe that involves Joe’s beloved sister, Annie, who disappeared when she was 8 and was very different when she returned. The events leading up to her death soon after were very strange indeed, and everything leads back to a mine shaft that is the source of ghost stories and rumors that have persisted for hundreds of years. The past and present are about to collide in chilling fashion. With Joe, Tudor avoids going the way of the unreliable narrator: He doesn’t lie to readers, even if he lies to others, and he has a snarky sense of humor that adds levity. Tudor maintains a tone of creeping dread throughout the book, of something lingering always in the background, coyly hiding its face while whispering promises of very bad things to come. In the last quarter, however, she goes for broke with outright horror, giving readers an effective jolt of adrenaline that will carry them all the way to the terrifying conclusion. Readers won’t know what hit them.
Tudor came out swinging with Chalk Man (2018), but this one puts her firmly on the map. Not to be missed.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6101-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
