Messi Bits Book Review: Threats by Amelia Gray

Hey y'all! One of the many ways that I cope with the messi bits of my life is through reading. I've been a bibliophile pretty much since the day I was born. When I was a teenager I would get grounded from reading, I used to get in trouble for staying up late reading, and one of things my husband and I most often do together is read. I thought I would make book reviews a part of my blog in hopes that reading may help someone else deal with the messi bits of their life.

These review come from someone whose background in written English consists of AP English/Lit. in high school and one English class in college. They don't really focus on prose, writing style, word choice, etc. Rather, just my thoughts and opinions on them.

With that being said, here is the first one:

Title: Threats, A Novel

Author: Amelia Gray

Genre: Psychological Fiction

Synopsis: David's wife is dead. At least, he thinks she's dead. But he can't figure out what killed her or why she had to die, and his efforts to sort out what's happened have been interrupted by his discovery of a series of elaborate and escalating threats hidden in strange places around his home-one buried in the sugar bag, another carved into the side of his television. These disturbing threats may be the best clues to his wife's death:

CURL UP ON MY LAP. LET ME BRUSH YOUR HAIR WITH MY FINGERS. I AM SINGING YOU A LULLABY. I AM TESTING FOR STRUCTURAL WEAKNESS IN YOUR SKULL.

Detective Chico is also on the case, and is intent on asking David questions he doesn't know the answers to and introducing him to people who don't appear to have David's or his wife's best interests in mind. Win no one to trust, David his forced to rely on his own memories and faculties - but they too are proving unreliable.

My Rating: 3.5/5

My Review:

Let me start by saying that this book will mess with your head. There were quite a few times when I paused in my reading and wondered whether I wanted to keep reading. In the end, I always kept reading. Something about the twisted writing style of Gray kept me going even when I didn't really want to. If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be bizarre. As we follow David through the months following his wife's death, we get a glimpse into his grief in a way that I've never experienced before. Gray approaches grief, and its accompanying madness, with a precarious balance between brilliance and freakishness. I go back and forth between liking this book and a strong desire to never pick it up again. If you like books that view life through a very unique lens and that will give you a slight case of the creepy-crawlies, then you will love this book.

If you read any of the books I review, please feel free to comment with your thoughts and opinions, I would love to hear them!

As always,

Stay messi,

Jessi

P.S.: You can use this link for 15% off your order from my favorite place to buy books, thriftbooks.com.