A new love for sociopathic, unlikeable and unreliable narrators has been unlocked! Sweetpea by C J Skuse is a dark comedic novel that had me staring at the pages in both shock and awe. Rhiannon is an unapologetic female protagonist who has clearly been written quite unapologetically (and perhaps cathartically?!) by C J Skuse. The book, whilst firmly in the black comedy genre, is also a brutal social commentary. Genre defying at times it’s full of murder, mystery, secrets and trauma. Sprinkled with just the right amount of humour, it is well constructed balance of the good and the bad. The only issue being at times you won’t know who is right and who is wrong, such is the talent of C J’s pen, who really are the good guys in this novel?
I was tempted to add a warning about language in my review and somehow I don’t think it’s needed. Book Club Members who would have never picked this one up, had it (mostly) forced upon them by us and have survived to tell the tale! It’s a book that you can easily pick apart and dissect as part of a book club discussion and the best bit? There are FOUR more in the series!
About the Book
The last person who called me ‘Sweetpea’ ended up dead…
Rhiannon is your average girl next door, settled with her boyfriend and little dog…but she’s got a killer secret.
By day her job as an editorial assistant is demeaning and unsatisfying. By evening she dutifully listens to her friend’s plans for marriage and babies whilst secretly making a list.
A kill list.
From the man on the checkout who always mishandles her apples, to the driver who cuts her off on her way to work, to the people who have got it coming, Rhiannon’s ready to get her revenge.
Because the girl everyone overlooks might be able to get away with murder…
About The Author
C.J. SKUSE is the author of Pretty Bad Things, Rockaholic, Dead Romantic, Monster and The Deviants. She was born in Weston-super-Mare. She has first-class degrees in creative writing and, aside from writing novels, she is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.
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