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Author: Lydia Cooper
Genre: Mystery
Length: 336 pages
Published: 2013
Publisher: Tyrus Books
Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) In Lydia Cooper's wry and absorbing debut novel, we are introduced to Mickey Brandis, a brilliant twenty-eight-year-old doctoral candidate in medieval literature who is part Lisbeth Salander and part Dexter. She lives in her parents' garage and swears too often, but she never complains about the rain or cold, she rarely eats dead animals, and she hasn't killed a man since she was ten. Her life is dull and predictable but legal, and she intends to keep it that way.
But the careful existence Mickey has created in adulthood is upended when she is mysteriously led to a condemned house where she discovers an exquisitely mutilated corpse. The same surreal afternoon, she is asked by a timid, wall-eyed art student to solve a murder that occurred twenty years earlier. While she gets deeper and deeper into the investigation, she begins to lose hold on her tenuous connection to reality--to her maddening students and graduate thesis advisor; to her stoic parents, who are no longer speaking; to her confused, chameleon-like adolescent brother; and to her older brother, Dave, a zany poet who is growing increasingly erratic and keenly interested in Mickey's investigation.
Driven by an unforgettable voice, and filled with razor-sharp wit and vivid characters, "My Second Death" is a smart, suspenseful novel and a provocative examination of family, loyalty, the human psyche, and the secrets we keep to save ourselves.
But the careful existence Mickey has created in adulthood is upended when she is mysteriously led to a condemned house where she discovers an exquisitely mutilated corpse. The same surreal afternoon, she is asked by a timid, wall-eyed art student to solve a murder that occurred twenty years earlier. While she gets deeper and deeper into the investigation, she begins to lose hold on her tenuous connection to reality--to her maddening students and graduate thesis advisor; to her stoic parents, who are no longer speaking; to her confused, chameleon-like adolescent brother; and to her older brother, Dave, a zany poet who is growing increasingly erratic and keenly interested in Mickey's investigation.
Driven by an unforgettable voice, and filled with razor-sharp wit and vivid characters, "My Second Death" is a smart, suspenseful novel and a provocative examination of family, loyalty, the human psyche, and the secrets we keep to save ourselves.
My Review:
I give this book a 5 out of 5.
I received a copy of this through a Goodreads giveaway.
In all of the books I have read, I have never found a character more fascinating that Michaela (Mickey) Brandis. I was hooked in the first few pages. I have to say that Mickey is probably my favorite fictional character to date. The entire novel is written in her matter-of-fact voice. You see the emotions of others and it's definitely a jarring contrast to Mickey's lack of emotions.
This novel is slated as a mystery and a thriller. I found it to be a little different than most mysteries and thrillers. There are two mysteries that Mickey needs to solve: who killed and mutilated the homeless man in the condemned home, and who killed Aidan's mother twenty years prior. Usually with a mystery or a thriller, you find danger lurking at every step. Not so with My Second Death.
There's also one more mystery lurking in those pages: what happened to cause Mickey to kill a man when she was ten? Clues are scattered throughout the novel, little mentions here and there of things that occurred when Mickey was a child, both leading up to and after the murder she committed.
Throughout the novel, you watch as Mickey awkwardly deals with the emotions of her parents, younger brother, and other people she encounters. She has a close relationship with her older brother, though he seems to be going in a downward spiral with drugs again. The only other person she seems to be able to relate to in any way is her roommate, Aidan.
There aren't a lot of shock moments, as many mysteries have. No red herrings to draw Mickey into danger or away from the culprit. It's almost as if the murderer wants Mickey to figure out who killed the homeless man. Later a homeless woman Mickey has befriended (in a way) is also murdered. And while the reader can probably figure out the killer at that point, it's not revealed until much later. And Mickey herself doesn't seem to figure it out either.
I really, really enjoyed this book. While it would be have been wonderful to have more action, I was so captivated by the characters that it didn't matter. I honestly don't think that there is any part of this book that I did not like, except perhaps that the ending was pretty fast-paced compared to the rest of the book and felt it was a little awkward compared to the slow pace of the rest of the novel.
In all of the books I have read, I have never found a character more fascinating that Michaela (Mickey) Brandis. I was hooked in the first few pages. I have to say that Mickey is probably my favorite fictional character to date. The entire novel is written in her matter-of-fact voice. You see the emotions of others and it's definitely a jarring contrast to Mickey's lack of emotions.
This novel is slated as a mystery and a thriller. I found it to be a little different than most mysteries and thrillers. There are two mysteries that Mickey needs to solve: who killed and mutilated the homeless man in the condemned home, and who killed Aidan's mother twenty years prior. Usually with a mystery or a thriller, you find danger lurking at every step. Not so with My Second Death.
There's also one more mystery lurking in those pages: what happened to cause Mickey to kill a man when she was ten? Clues are scattered throughout the novel, little mentions here and there of things that occurred when Mickey was a child, both leading up to and after the murder she committed.
Throughout the novel, you watch as Mickey awkwardly deals with the emotions of her parents, younger brother, and other people she encounters. She has a close relationship with her older brother, though he seems to be going in a downward spiral with drugs again. The only other person she seems to be able to relate to in any way is her roommate, Aidan.
There aren't a lot of shock moments, as many mysteries have. No red herrings to draw Mickey into danger or away from the culprit. It's almost as if the murderer wants Mickey to figure out who killed the homeless man. Later a homeless woman Mickey has befriended (in a way) is also murdered. And while the reader can probably figure out the killer at that point, it's not revealed until much later. And Mickey herself doesn't seem to figure it out either.
I really, really enjoyed this book. While it would be have been wonderful to have more action, I was so captivated by the characters that it didn't matter. I honestly don't think that there is any part of this book that I did not like, except perhaps that the ending was pretty fast-paced compared to the rest of the book and felt it was a little awkward compared to the slow pace of the rest of the novel.
You can purchase My Second Death through Amazon in either hard copy or Kindle format.
Have you read My Second Death? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.
Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.
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