Karen spent 30+ years as a Civil Servant, mostly in Revenue which is where she developed my absolute hatred of poor writing skills! Her favourite genre is now crime/thriller/police procedural/legal genre with the occasional foray into chick-lit and general fiction.
This is the story of Delia/Cordelia as she makes her way through life with scant regard for others. As with the previous books by the author, the main character is a sociopath, however, the author has outdone herself in her latest outing creating this creature.
Nugent’s novel focuses on Cordelia Russell, an aging woman living a lie (or is she?), on the South of France’s Riviera in grim poverty, but with the pretext of being well-heeled, but down on her luck. She is living a fantasy, one that is traced from humble beginnings offshore in Ireland, to the France of the wealthy. Then a body appears, and the dark story commences, and as it does so, we follow the life and thoughts of this nasty woman.
Cordelia Russell is beyond unlikable, as she is both repellent and nasty, but expertly crafted by Nugent to be vividly portrayed on the page. She is not a person one should rely on, nor should the reader in terms of her story.
Adroitly written, mainly in the first person with sharp dialogue, Nugent allows the story to unravel in a measured fashion, not unlike Patricia Highsmith, or the darker work of Barbara Vine.
It is a psychological thriller more than a crime novel per se, and as a narrative it is an exceptional one.
It was little surprise to see this dark thriller win both the Crime Book of the Year, and RTE Radio 1 Listener's Choice prizes at the Irish Book Awards.
Highly Recommended.
