Review
“The feeling that someone was watching me” - Shelley After a bitter divorce and a brutal bully attack at school Shelley and her Mother retreat to a rural cottage and try to shut out the rigours of the World. Shelley is facing her final exams prior to University and has home tutors due to being unable and unwilling to face again the horrors inflicted on her at school. Her Mother is equally unable to stand up for herself and takes a low paying job at a local law firm even though she is far better at the law than the partners of the firm. A sense of tranquillity and routine shrouds the two women as Shelley prepares to celebrate her sixteenth birthday. Naturally this being a dark genre novel, the peace is shattered one night when an intruder breaks in. What follows will surprise both Shelley and her Mother as they fight to reclaim their lives. Author Gordon Reece is better known for graphic novels and children's books, some strangely published in Spain. Actually I didn't know who Gordon Reece was prior to picking up Mice but in this this game you are meant to be all knowing. Any-ways, and stop interrupting, Mice sees Gordon Reece stepping outside his comfort zone and going with a full length novel, did the mice roar or scurry under the sofa? If nothing else, and there's certainly a lot else, Mice is extremely well written with recurrent motifs and other things likely to have English Literature types extremely interested. Reece has his main character, the book is told in first person narrative form, constantly referring to herself and her Mother as mice, in other words victims waiting on a cat to pounce; “mice are terrified of confrontation”. The Author hammers away at this idea right through the first block of the novel in order to nail the sudden change in Shelley, and later in her mother, as things begin to spiral out of control. Like all good dark genre novels, chaos enters the equation and change is in the wind. Equally Shelley has unresolved issues with her parent's divorce and constantly refers to “the matrimonial home”, a phrase that has that fine ring of crystal as Stephen King would say. Reece is strong on characterisation and in Shelley has a fine and believable protagonist. The pacing might be slightly slow for those wanting a jammed packed action orientated summer blockbuster but fits in strongly with the story Reece is telling. Things really don't get rolling till you are about a third of the way through the book as the Author takes time out of his schedule to introduce the major characters and getting Audience sympathy happening for them. The much put upon Shelley and her Mother might appear to be weak characters, and Reece builds them that way, but when the chips go down the old adage of not messing with suburbanites comes to the fore. The Author is pointing out all people have their breaking point beyond which civilisation begins to crumble. Please note this in no way means Reece has gone down the Last House On The Left (1972) path but is more apt to be compared to Straw Dogs (1971). Shelley joins Peckinpal's David Sumner in taking some delight from throwing off the shackles of polite civilisation. The final block of the novel gives the reader who has persevered with the book plenty of payback, it's engaging and the twists and turns will keep you on your toes as things start to spiral out of control. So the pacing works for the novel but be aware things take a wee while to kick off. What Gordon Reece does do well is ask the reader to question their definition of what is right and what is wrong under stressful conditions. How far would you go after being victimised in your own home? Is Shelley's actions justified on moral grounds outside the legal ramifications? Standard dark genre musing then, if you stare long enough into the abyss will it stare back. What Reece does is go beyond a simply decision on what is right and what is wrong, and asks the Audience if they feel sympathy for a character who not only goes beyond normal limits but who when she is being honest relishes the opportunity of no longer being a victim. It's a strong statement and I leave it to the individual Reader to make their own mind up, I had complete sympathy for Shelley and her Mom by the way. I also wanted to point out the excellent cover artwork by Ruth Gruner, highly original and effective. Author Gordon Reece grabbed me by the shirt collar and forced me to read Mice in one sitting. I couldn't put the book down and thoroughly enjoyed the narrative, one of the best Young Adult works I've read this year, or if being honest since I started reviewing for ScaryMinds. It's not often that a book is well written, has good narrative flow, and has depth and themes to groove to. Gordon Reece for sure should be aiming at writing additional novels. The mice definitely roared with this one. Mice is available from all good book stores, but if needing location help check out Allen & Unwin. Gordon Reece has an official home on the web right here.
ScaryMinds Rates this read as ... A superb Young Adult Novel that should appeal to readers of all ages.
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Disclaimer: Please note this review reflects the opinion of the team at ScaryMinds and should in no way be construed as
representing the views of the AHWA Shadows Award Judges. This review is for the edification of ScaryMinds readers and does not constitute a
“literary criticism” or any other criteria the Shadows Judging panel may take this year.