Review #48 - A Thousand Cuts by Simon Lelic

Trigger warning: murder and suicide

Despite the fact I bought this is in New York's Strand bookstore this book is British. It's about a teacher who goes into assembly one day and goes and kills three people. It follows the police woman in charge of the case and her working out why the teacher did this atrocity.

The book is written from two different types of perspectives; one is the third person following the police advancements of the case and the other is the dialouge from the testimonies. This is where the writing really really shines. They are woven together really well. Each character has a very distinct voice and this is probably the book's strongest point.

This book is gorgeously British, from references to supermarkets to the education system. I loved it for that. I don't think it would have had the same effect if it was set in the USA as they have a much stronger gun culture and school shootings are much more regular (which is just awful). It was shocking and the response was so strong because it never happens.

It was very gripping and paced really well. The narrative added to the pace in a really positive manner. It was just a really good crime novel that isn't too gory.

There was a lot about prejudice and bullying cultures throughout the book which felt like a social commentary. This part in the book especially was very dark and wasn't exactly a summer read. Most definitely an adult book.

I would recommend this if:
You want a non-gory entry into crime
You would like a book on crime that is very British
You want a book that is a caricature of British senior schools.

I gave this four stars.

Buy it here

Review #41 - The Treatment by Suzanne Young

Trigger warning: suicide

Spoilers - Slight spoilers to The Program

The Treatment is the sequel to The Program. It's set in the near future in the US where suicide is an epidemic so teens are put into "The Program" which cures them but with terrible side effects. 

I really liked The Program but I found The Treatment pretty boring. I didn't really enjoy the plot as a lot of it involved hiding out in buildings and fighting which wasn't really that interesting. I think the real issue is that there is much less threat involved in this book so it doesn't have the suspense of the first book.

I really didn't like James in this book and Sloane was very drippy. I didn't feel like their relationship was particularly healthy either. The dialogue felt overly sentimental and I didn't feel like I really wanted them to stay together but it was portrayed that Sloane's mental health would deteriorate if she didn't have James.

If I were to try and tell you the feel of the sequel I'd say it was a mix between Catching Fire and New Moon.

I read the whole thing because it is a quick read. A really great aspect of this series is that it only contains two books which I really enjoyed. I hate feeling like I have to slug through three books in order to get an ending but this was conclusive and I do really admire Suzanne Young for that.

I felt there was no subtlety with this book, the dialogue spelt everything out to the author which was really, really annoying. It treated me like an idiot.

Also the cover is one of those American covers so the spine is gorgeous.

I would recommend this if:

You read The Program

You love reading series

You want a good old dystopia
You want a really nice American copy of a book on your shelves

I would not recommend this if:

You were upset by the themes in the program

You are upset by suicide

I gave this two stars

If you do want to buy this I get 5% commission from the book depository:

Hardback (the cover isn't accurate on this)