Diary of a Teenage Serial Killer by Jem FoxMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Diary of a Teenage Serial Killer is a thriller with an interesting, fleshed out heroine, but superficial in it's other characters and with fast paced, but still not very exciting action.
The Good: Diary of a Teenage Serial Killer surprised me. Darla is a surprisingly well fleshed out character for the thriller genre. I was not expecting her motivations and viewpoint to be so thoroughly thought out. The best parts of the novel are when Darla is reasoning and thinking through how she will react to the situations she finds herself in. Jem Fox has done a great job bringing a character to life. She is also a character that can kick some serious behind. It's good when a thriller heroine can walk the walk as well as talk the talk.
The Bad: While the creation of the character Darla is the best aspect of Diary of a Teenage Serial Killer, the rest of the characters are the worst. A lot of this is due to the diary format of the novel. It only gives Darla's thoughts and viewpoint. Still, the motivations of other characters could be drawn better through dialogue and interactions with Darla. None of the others caught my attention.
The scenes of the novel that are most action and thriller genre oriented are definitely not as strong as the sections where Darla is by herself and thinking through her options. The action is fast paced, but not very remarkable or exciting.
There is also one plot element that I did not at all find believable. I won't give it away because it is a big spoiler, but if you read it you will know what I am talking about.
The Bottom Line: Jem Fox has created a great thriller heroine, but the rest of the novel is a bit of a let down.
I'd say that if it is done in diary format it is entirely proper for the main character to NOT know what others are thinking. After all, if I write a journal I am not also a mind reader :)
ReplyDeleteThat's true. I think it's a limitation in this case, but the author could have given us a better impression of other characters through dialogue and action.
DeleteI don´t think I will read it even though the title sounds catchy...but 3 out of 5 is kind of lame
ReplyDeleteEver read Lawrence Block's Getting Off? It's basically softcore erotica, but the protagonist is young, female, and a serial killer. This book reminded me of Block's.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this review, Trev. It was great.