Killing the Unicorn by Lizella Prescott
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book Summary:
He was the father of my adorable, two-year-old twins, and he still wanted me, with all my lumps and flaws. I should have melted into him. I should have longed to be vulnerable and intimate and seen.
And yet I felt nothing but a bone-deep exhaustion…
A COMPLICATED MARRIAGE
Since having twin daughters, Helen has lost her waistline, her libido, and her edge. Mann, her wealthy, high-flying husband, has tried to be patient. But he needs more than she can give. A lot more.
When he asks to open their marriage, Helen agrees. She would rather bend than risk a high-stakes divorce.
A DANGEROUS OBSESSION
When Mann connects with Julia, Helen is relieved. At first. She likes Julia, a gentle woman with a tragic past. But her husband is moving fast. Too fast. And a series of odd events unnerves Helen and makes her wonder if Julia is lying about her past…or worse.
As Mann falls deeper into love, Helen becomes obsessed with Julia even as she questions herself. To protect her children and her sanity, Helen must discover the truth: is Julia a danger to her family, or is she?
Book Review:
Wonderful fast paced book – I absolutely loved how it neatly wrapped up at the end.
This spate of domestic noir thrillers that are all the trend now (starting with Gone Girl) have thrown up some real gems. This is one of those. Quite unlike some others.
It’s a domestic tale, but with a twist. A polyamorous twist, to be precise. Haven’t read any like this before, and I’ve read a lot of the genre. It’s expected, and with this genre you are supposed to expect the unexpected. And yet! Utterly well structured.
The character arc was wonderful. All the characters were very well developed. I have read books where even the pivotal characters sometimes seem one dimensional..just flat, y’know? But here even minor characters were very nuanced. You can tell how much effort Ms. Prescott has put into this book, and it shows.
Helen was quite indecipherable at times, and I loved it. I would like to talk more about her and Mann and Julia. But I can’t. If I do, it would be foreshadowing for spoilers. I so dearly want to talk more about it. But I don’t want to give anything away.
Clearly, from the blurb of the book you know something is gonna go down. But what and how? And how is me telling you about these three going to give you an idea? Well, it will. Read the book and find out.
I would actually like to see a sequel about how Helen gets on after everything​ that went down. Any more description about that would be a spoiler, but suffice to say I’m sure it would make for a supremely interesting read – though I’m not sure whether that’s something Ms. Prescott would write. Her writing is more dystopia/domestic noir. But I’d read it if she wrote it, that’s for sure. Honestly, I’d read anything she wrote.
Basically, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and breezed through the read. More than anything, it shows you how deep the author’s knowledge of human nature goes. Noir is truly her genre and she shines. Now you guys know that I try to stick to just reviewing the book alone, and do not go on and on about authors for the most part, but I have read her other works too, and they’re beautiful.
Ms. Prescott is a really talented writer. You can check out some of her wonderful short stories on Medium here, and you’ll know why I’m raving so much. Somehow reminds me of O. Henry. And that is a compliment of the highest order, Ms. Prescott.
*A review copy was provided to Oh Just Books by the author in exchange for an honest review*
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