Author: Marisha Pessl
Version: ARC
ISBN: 9781400067886
Published: August 2013
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
[Note: I'm back! I am so sorry that it has taken so long to get this review up but things have been so crazy at work lately, maybe I'll tell you all about it sometime, that I've been too exhausted to be creative so this has been a long time coming. But finally here it is! And hopefully this is my big return to more regular updates.]Synopsis: It opens with a dead body. Ashley Cordova's body is found in a seedy part of New York supposedly having committed suicide. When former big time reporter Scott McGrath finds out he is unconvinced that the young piano prodigy's death was a suicide. McGrath knows of the Cordova family and the darkness that seems to follow them wherever they go. Deciding that finding out what really happened will kick start his career again, Scott begins a journey that will drive him to the very edge of his sanity.
Along the way Scott picks up a couple of companions, a young man that claims to have known Ashley when she was young, named Hopper. And a young wannabe actress who was one of the last people to see Ashley alive named Nora. Although at first Scott resits the help standing firm in his 'I work alone' policy he slowly finds that the two of them are not only assets in finding out all the secrets that he is desperate for. But they end up as perfect allies in the dark world that he finds himself entering with each piece of information that they uncovers.
Diving into Ashley's past means that Scott has to once again dive into the life of her father, Stanislas Cordova, the dark genius filmmaker that garnered a cult following. Digging into Cordova's life was what had cost Scott his career the first time around and this time he isn't just poking at Cordova he is messing around with his family life. Just the thought of going up against Cordova again makes his stomach turn but he is determined to get the answers he seeks and find out the truth about Ashley.
REVIEW: I was hooked from the very first page. From the opening web pages that were fake news articles and web posts from fans of Cordova and his films, I knew that what I had started was going to be an amazing journey. And I was right, this was a great book! The storytelling, the mystery, the intrigue was all so well put together that I couldn't put it down and when I did I couldn't wait to get back to it.
From the very beginning I knew that this was a good story. I was gripped from the moment I opened the book and once I got into it a little bit I was already so invested that it was an automatic love. The way Marisha Pessl wove mystery and her fake web pages into what could have been another dull 'who-dunnit' was nothing short of incredible. It wasn't really action packed but the subtle menace that followed the characters through the book sure kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
Marisha Pessl's characters were unique and lovely and perfectly flawed in totally human ways. They were truly three dimensional, they had all the flaws that people have and you didn't really like any of them unconditionally. And that's kind of what I like most about them. Scott McGrath was a rather selfish uptight man that's only real redeeming quality was the love he felt for his daughter. Hopper was this sullen, almost obnoxiously taciturn guy that feels that because he had it tough as a kid the world owes him a huge debt. Nora is this bumbling, totally naive young girl who plays up the little girl 'I have no idea' routine. And of course there is the Cordova family who are dark, secretive and possibly even murderous. Their imperfections were what made them perfect.
The writing was brilliant, especially the dialogue. Marisha Pessl has a wonderfully fresh voice that is simple and pure and one can tell that she spent a great deal of time thinking about each word and each sentence. It was really wonderfully done. I loved how well the dialogue flowed between the characters, there was a naturalness in the dialogue that I thought was simply brilliant. All in all this was a very well written book.
Now I may be a little biased about the book because I read it on vacation in Hilton Head, by the ocean, with my two best buds. But I truly liked this book. I highly recommend it to everyone looking for a good old fashioned good read. That's what this is all around, well written, great story, awesome characters. It's a triple threat and I take my tiny hat off five times to it. (Thanks DGF for that rating suggestion). This is a great, great book so go out and get it, it is very worth the read!
