Hey Everyone,
Today I have a book review for you. I was sent a copy of Sweetpea via Netgalley in exchange for my review. My opinion of this book is in no way biased by this fact.
Blurb….
The last person who called me ‘Sweetpea’ ended up dead…
I haven’t killed anyone for three years and I thought that when it happened again I’d feel bad. Like an alcoholic taking a sip of whisky. But no. Nothing. I had a blissful night’s sleep. Didn’t wake up at all. And for once, no bad dream either. This morning I feel balanced. Almost sane, for once.
Rhiannon is your average girl next door, settled with her boyfriend and little dog…but she’s got a killer secret.
Although her childhood was haunted by a famous crime, Rhinannon’s life is normal now that her celebrity has dwindled. By day her job as an editorial assistant is demeaning and unsatisfying. By evening she dutifully listens to her friend’s plans for marriage and babies whilst secretly making a list.
A kill list.
From the man on the Lidl checkout who always manhandles her apples, to the driver who cuts her off on her way to work, to the people who have got it coming, Rhiannon’s ready to get her revenge.
Because the girl everyone overlooks might be able to get away with murder…
Review…
Right from the start of Sweetpea, you get an insight into the mind of Rhinannon. The book is set out in dates like a diary format. In the first entry, we see Rhinannon cut off a man’s penis and leave him to drown. Now Rhinannon doesn’t really kill for the sake of it, because of the urge to, she kills as an act of vengeance or justice. Not for her but for victims of paedophiles, child abusers, rapists, murders and anyone else that has done something which she feels they have not served the appropriate time for. Rhinannon also kills for self-preservation. The killing urges are always linked to her partner Craig’s infidelity.
As we continue through the book we see the highs and lows of Rhinannon and her temperament, which does hit a point where it does look like her mind is unravelling and she loses grip of her mental stability and we see her kill an innocent taxi driver.
However, after this she manages to grasp herself again and ends up falling pregnant and starts to see things differently, losing the urge to want to kill.
However, it all goes a bit wrong when AJ the man who is the baby’s father demands to be part of it. AJ is a young man of 19 who Rhinannon has been having an affair with behind her partner Craigs back, this started because she admitted that she had killed someone and wanted to keep him quiet.
Rhinannon kills AJ as she feels backed into a corner. Things have been going well for her and Craig, he has stopped his affair and is giving her and her bump all the attention she has been craving. AJ threatens to ruin all that.
Things then take a bad turn as Craig is arrested abroad during a football match for bad behaviour and ends up been a suspect for all Rhinnnon’s murders as she was setting him up prior to them getting back on track.
Rhinannon goes away for a hen party and gets a call from Craig saying he has been arrested and that the police may go to their home, this panics Rhinannon as she hasn’t moved AJ’s body. She immediately goes home to try and dispose of him. During which she actually admits she loved AJ and it’s pretty obvious she realises she has made a mistake and Craig isn’t who she wants.
The book ends as there is a knock on the door before Rhinannon has the chance to move AJ.
I found the book really enjoyable. You couldn’t tell from one entry to the other how things were going to go, how Rhinannon’s mental state would be and how far she would go. AJ was such a shame as he really did love her and she could have had the life she wanted with him.
I will be picking up the sequel to this if there is one as I really want to find out what happens to Rhinannon now she is pregnant.
Rating: 4/5
Thanks for reading.
The Stationery Geekette x
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