Library Limelights 299

 

Ashley Winstead. The Last Housewife. Ebook download from TPL. New York: Sourcebooks Landmark, 2022.

When publishers' blurbs lure you into a novel with their bombastic phrases and promises of dramatic secrets, you can't be 100% sure you've picked something that both entertains and compels—to your own taste, of course. This one, to my mind, turned into something quite unexpected.

Shay Evans is an on and off writer who quit her job with a magazine to write a book; now uninspired, she can afford to be the stay-at-home wife of Cal Deroy. The "life of luxury" is boring. But word comes that her former best friend of college days, Laurel, killed herself by hanging, on their old college campus. Shay doesn't believe it; Laurel would not do that, she must have been murdered. Hooking up with true crime podcast journalist Jamie Knight, a childhood friend she'd lost touch with, Shay gives herself a week to investigate with his help. A week she doesn't necessarily want to explain to Cal who is away at a conference. She is concealing a dark, uncomfortable experience in her college past that included Laurel and another friend, Clem. Eight years ago Clem had died the same way, same place. Police see no evidence of foul play in either case.

In between forays to uncover Laurel's recent activities and state of mind, Shay asks Jamie to conduct interviews with her, in their spare time, needing him to understand fully ‒ so he can make a podcast about Laurel and her fate. How could three young women be seduced by one charismatic man to accept his physical and intellectual domination? "Liberate" themselves from "unnatural" modern feminism? Layers of damaging psychological effects are implicated—for the outspoken, tough Clem and shy, vulnerable Laurel, as well as Shay herself. Shay intends to avenge her friends Maybe unburdening the past will help release her from the addiction she still carries. Yet she must follow Laurel's trail into the very places that trigger her— clubs and a cult where women are willingly humiliated and abused by men.

Is the author trying to reconcile many parts? How young women can be groomed into wanting masochism and slavery? How groups of men resist the new social order by treating women as inferior in every way? Accepted by women who need to feel pain and worthlessness, who believe they control their own lives, make their own choices (as in "a strange mix of power over people [men] and being at their mercy")? It would be pretty hard to justify the point of such a novel, unless for mere prurience. Jamie swallows Shay's sordid history, obviously caring for her unconditionally. Then I tried to stop being so critical, out of revulsion alone. These particular three women all had absent fathers when growing up. They'd been subconsciously conditioned at home to be ignored and loveless.

And so: my reaction shifted in slow motion from one side to another, back and forth. Is overcoming such brainwashing, coming back to reality, in the cards for Shay? She has a good start. I have a memory of recently writing that an author took misogyny to extremes. Author Winstead has 'em beat, and people like this no doubt do exist. But if Winstead was on a crusade against abuse of women she might have reined in her imagination a bit; the cult leader's character eventually veered away from credibility, IMO. Whew, not an easy read! Its own kind of horror story.

Shay

▪ Six months and here was the truth: I wasn't a writer, I'd turned into a housewife. (30)

▪ Why had I thought going to the police was the right answer, when they hadn't helped before? (42)

▪ Linda was painting a picture of a deeply depressed Laurel. (82)

▪ "He caught my eye and winked, and I remembered how he'd told me I could call him Don, or Dad, or Peter, whatever I wanted." (172)

▪ "I told you this was real." Nicole paced, hand rising to her bloody mouth. "And not to come unless you were sure." (193)

▪ "So Clem quit soccer, Laurel quit theater, and I quit writing." (217)

▪ "Jamie, I terrify myself." (302)

▪ "I can't tell if Don brainwashed me, or if I was this way all along, and that's what made me an easy mark." (303)

Cult philosophy

▪ "She's mastered fear. She's powerful. That's what real submission can do for you." (175)

▪ He said we were learning our first lesson, humility and service in praxis, and the more we worked, the more the virtues would sink into our bodies. (204)

▪ Accepting your ontological limits was the highest form of freedom. (205)

Ian Rankin. A Heart Full of Headstones. UK: Orion Fiction, 2022.

Rankin shocks us immediately: Rebus is in a courtroom and he is the one on trial. We don't know the charge, but we will from the 500 pages to come. Rebus' old "pal" Cafferty, the now-ailing crime boss of Edinburgh, hires him to find Jack Oram, who disappeared five years ago with money from a Cafferty-owned pub. Furious at the time, Cafferty says he wants to apologize to the man, who has recently been spotted in town, because apparently Oram needed the money to pay for his brother's funeral. Does Rebus believe Cafferty's flimsy excuse? I don't. Everyone else thinks that Cafferty terminated Oram. Rebus is enjoying his retirement and ignoring his own failing health by keeping busy, practising his craft, so to speak. He begins with the QC Lettings office where Oram had been seen; manager/owner Fraser Mackenzie denies any knowledge of the man. We know that won't stop Rebus.

DI Siobhan Clarke, with DC Christine Esson, gets embroiled in the case of fellow cop Francis Haggard, charged with domestic violence. The stricken wife Cheryl is being guarded by her sister Stephanie, who is unconvinced that Haggard, out on bail, will obey a restraining order. Stephanie is recently divorced from her husband, developer James Pelham. Haggard is certain he can make his upcoming trial go away by threatening to spill inside information about the notorious Tynecastle ("Tynie") police station, but he's also pleading "PTSD" from stressful years stationed at Tynie. Naturally, this is greatly disturbing for the corrupt cops and former cops who worked there. Even Rebus' name has been hinted at, among others, such as his retired friend Alan Fleck. Rob Driscoll and Chris Agnew are two of the currently rebellious police at Tynie. It's not a shock when Haggard is found stabbed to death in his rented suite.

Moving along: Rebus finds Oram's son; Cafferty and/or his personal assistant Andrew has a hidden agenda; Pelham and Mackenzie are best buds; the name Tony Barlow needs explaining; Laura Smith tries to stay anonymous as creator of the online Courant news, but she crosses more than one criminal; Mackenzie's daughter Gabriella is an entrepreneur in her own right; Beecham and Crosbie are ex-cons with suspicious connections. Clarke and Esson join the Major Incident Team (MIT) under DCI Trask regarding Haggard's murder. The unwelcome Malcolm Fox from headquarters is on the MIT as well; his boss ACC Jennifer Lyon is a top cop well aware of her own interests. Inner politics and workings of Police Scotland are fascinating.

You see how the names and characters multiply, interacting in provocative ways; Rankin presents us with a broad cast. And Rebus—the nosy civilian―inserts himself everywhere at every opportunity. Because he and Siobhan are and always will be friends, perhaps passing tips to each other about their current jobs. In the face of this most dense and tangled imbroglio yet, Rebus has something up his sleeve; what on earth could he possibly have in mind? It's Rankin and Rebus at their very best—don't miss it!!

Siobhan

▪ "That's not going to be how it works, Malcolm. I can't believe you'd even try this on." (26)

▪ "He liked to showcase the unofficial training new officers were put through. Lessons in racism and sexism, lying under oath, cooperating with criminals ..." (57)

▪ "I can never remember," she said, voice raised loud enough to carry, "if they're called Tynie because of their brains or their dicks." (91)

▪ "If she wants further promotion, she needs the bosses on her side, and she knows who it is Fox ultimately reports to. Makes her more likely to listen to his theories and play by his version of events." (127)

▪ "There's a line in the sand, John, remember that. I'm the cop here, not you." (140)

▪ "Everything's fucked, isn't it?" (288)

Rebus

▪ When the man crouched to check the legs of his trousers, Rebus had a mind to plant a knee in his face, but he reckoned there might be consequences. (13)

▪ And suppose Rebus did track him down, was Cafferty really about to offer an olive branch to the guy, or was it not far more likely he'd be tying a noose to that branch instead? (32)

▪ "I'm sod all to do with any of it, Alan, got that?" (79)

▪ "You joined a profession, Christine. With Siobhan, every case is more likely to turn into a crusade." (107)

▪ "Whole team needs to hear what I've got to say," Rebus explained. "But before that, I need to see the victim's face." (137)

▪ "If you're going to lie to a murder inquiry, it has to be watertight. Wee tip for you there." (150)

Others

▪ "She's a bit bruised ‒ mentally, I mean – but her sister is being a complete bloody rock under the circs." (48)

▪ "I've already hit record," she said. "So unless you want to find yourself on remand, you'll walk out of here right now." (54)

▪ "You old fuckers can plan all you want between you, but you're not taking me down, not without a fight that'll make you wish you'd never started it." (235)

▪ But Rebus remained the prize, dangling just short of him. Maybe not for much longer, though. (251)

▪ He had already waved Tony Barlow in front of Fox in the hope of ensnaring Rebus, but he wasn't sure Fox had fallen for it. He knew that Fox wanted a sacrifice, and ideally that would be Fleck himself. (260-1)

Abusers

Haggard was a uniformed officer based at Tynecastle police station who stood accused of domestic abuse, "abuse" being the current terminology. Previously it had been called domestic violence, and before that, domestic assault. None of the three, to Clarke's mind, came anywhere near defining the severity of the crime. She had encountered victims turned to husks; self-belief, trust and confidence scooped out. Some had suffered all their married lives ‒ often physically, always psychologically. The abusers ranged across class and age, but this was the first time she'd had to deal with one of her own. (19)

Major Incident Team

"And you're okay with the sudden turnaround? From offender to murder victim, I mean?"

"I think I'll be fine, but we can't forget that he was a seasoned abuser."

"Yet," Fox broke in, "there's plenty of evidence that he regretted his past and was preparing to atone."

"He was desperate, Malcolm," Clarke snapped back at him. "A bent and violent cop who was going to blow the whistle to avoid jail."

Trask held up a hand, palm outwards. "Can we maybe focus on our job, which is identifying and charging his murderer?" (124)

                                                       😊

       HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL, AND WELCOME 2023!