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In Malice, Quite Close
| Title | In Malice, Quite Close |
| Writer | |
| Date | 2025-03-16 18:57:00 |
| Type | |
| Link | Listen Read |
Desciption
A haunting and sophisticated debut in which priceless art and unspeakable desires converge. French ex-pat Tristan Mourault is the wealthy, urbane heir to a world- renowned collection of art-and an insatiable voyeur enamored with Karen Miller, a fifteen-year-old girl from a working-class family in San Francisco. Deciding he must "rescue" Karen from her unhappy circumstances, Tristan kidnaps her and stages her death to mask his true crime. Years later, Karen is now "Gisele" and the pair lead an opulent life in idyllic and rarefied Devon, Washington. But when Nicola, Gisele's young daughter, stumbles upon a secret cache of paintings-all nudes of Gisele-Tristan's carefully constructed world begins to crumble. As Nicola grapples with the tragedy that follows, she crosses paths with Amanda Miller, who comes to Devon to investigate the portraits' uncanny resemblance to her long-lost sister. Set against a byzantine backdrop of greed, artifice, and dangerous manipulations, In Malice, Quite Close is an intoxicating debut that keeps its darkest secrets until the very last page.
Review
I am afraid to pick up another book too soon after this one, for fear that it might be much like chasing a fine wine with a pasty toothbrush- letting it linger a bit seems far more attractive. I will say, admittedly, that I was contemplating moving on to another book a bit after the initial excitement had faded- what a mistake that would have been. The story here is great, and full of savory characters and exciting twists, but the language here is the real winner. I praise Brandi Lynn Ryder for her absolute command of the English language and consequently, my full and floral imagination. If I could write like this I would exhaust myself to death by pen. I sometimes underline passages from books that I find particularly impressive or poetic, but with this book, ordering a copy entirely in "underline" might be more appropriate. Brava! Bien fait!
