Saturday, June 26, 2010

Beautiful Malice Review


Beautiful Malice
About Rebecca James
Rebecca James is married with four young children (all boys) and until recently ran a kitchen design business with her husband. See rebeccasjames.blogspot.com

ISBN: 9781742373003
Australian Pub.: May 2010
RRP: $24.99
Publisher: ALLEN & UNWIN
Subject: Young adult fiction

With a page-turning plot and characters that leap off the page, this is the story of an obsessive friendship and dark secrets that can no longer be hidden.


'Truth or dare?' she asks.

I hesitate. I have so many secrets, so many things I don't want to reveal, but this is only a game, only a bit of fun. 'Truth,' I say finally. 'I can imagine one of your dares, and I don't fancy running down Oxford Street naked tonight.'

'Truth,' Alice says slowly, drawing out the vowel sound as if she's savouring the word. 'Are you sure? Are you sure you can be completely honest?'

'I think so. Try me.'

'Okay.' And then she looks at me curiously. 'So. Were you glad, deep down? Were you glad to be rid of her? Your perfect sister? Were you secretly glad when she was killed?'

Katherine has moved away from her shattered once-perfect family to start a new life in Sydney. There she keeps her head down until she is befriended by the charismatic Alice, and her life takes her in new directions. But there is a dark side to Alice, and as we learn the truth of Katherine's sister's death and Alice's background their story spirals to an explosive finale.

A potent, intense and simply unputdownable psychological thriller from an exciting voice.


Let us start by hearing what the 14-year-old teen queen, (aka my daughter) has to say about this novel. “I’m a massive supernatural fan. You won’t find many books that don’t have vampires, werewolves, zombies, fairies etc, in them at the moment. Yet I love the story Beautiful Malice. There are technically three stories, a somewhat present, past and future, the story is well written and definitely a must read/ It is a fantastic thriller with loss, gain and all the eeriness that is wonderful.”

The start of this first novel for up and coming author Rebecca James is brilliant. This psychological thriller will draw you in from the first page. It is a story about how one wrong decision can affect the rest of your life, while your choice of friends can have the same affect.

The main character, Katherine, has suffered great trauma in her life, and is befriended by a very different character, Alice. Both girls have their own personal demons and dark secrets, but Alice’s character is extremely unpredictable and very much “The Single White Female.”

I think that many people will be able to relate to the destructive relationship between the two women; A damaged and shattered soul seeking solace in another, who is just as damaged, but more destructive.

This thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page.

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