Title: Not Your Mary Sue
Author: Rebecca Frost
ASIN: B09PL3PC1C
Publisher: Aesthetic Press
Pages: 273
Source: Review copy from the publisher
Blog Tour Organised by Random Things Tours
A not so classic girl meets boy story begins when a televangelist’s adult daughter, Marcy, journeys to a secluded island resort where she awakens a captive of a handsome, charming, notorious serial killer who requests she pen his autobiography explaining all of his intentions and crimes in detail. She finds herself horrified that she is intrigued by him and maybe even…infatuated by him. He has more control than she realizes as he slowly begins to brainwash her just as the autobiography is completed. Once she is rescued and he is arrested, Marcy begins to pull her life back together only for her captor to escape and her brother becomes a new suspect in a murder.
Official Summary
08 June 2022
When you open this book the author grabs hold of you, pulling you headfirst into an intense tale. You are thrown into the life of a young woman who experiences the unthinkable. I found myself so engrossed in this story that I ended up exhausted by the time I read the final page.
The author refers to various books by Stephen King, which was an awesome touch. (Since I am a huge King fan.) This story is told from Marcy / Mary Sue’s perspective, and you spend a large part of the book in her head. Experiencing her emotions and thoughts almost as if they are your own. This woman has had a rather unusual life and when she is trapped with a serial killer, she begins to question everything. The author did a brilliant job in bringing this character to life, keeping you engrossed in Marcy’s thoughts from start to finish with this rather unusual girl meets boy story.
When Marcy’s mother dies, her father sends her to a secluded island for the summer. Marcy who is considering suicide finds herself alone with a serial killer who wants her to tell his story. While Jay keeps her captive on the island and shares the gory details of his actions, Marcy finds herself confused. How can a monster be so nice? The man is charming and handsome. How can Jay be determined to save her life when he has taken so many. There is more to this man than meets the eye and Marcy is forced to endure every detail of his monstrous actions, things she would much rather not think about while Jay is subtly brainwashing her.
This book was intense. It is a story that pulls you in and holds on tight. You will not want to read this book in one sitting. While the author managed to convey the gory details without being too graphic, this book is deeply disturbing. Experiencing Marcy’s emotional struggles leaves you feeling drained. I felt as if I had as many sleepless nights as she did. The author did a magnificent job in keeping me engrossed.
Marcy is an unusual young woman. She has spent her life being controlled by the men in her life. Growing up in the limelight, Marcy was trained to always show the perfect smile. When she manages to escape, determined to commit suicide, she finds herself a prisoner of yet another man who tells her what to do. A man who is a monster yet provides her with a will to live. She is struggling to accept that this man is taking care of her while he shares so many horrible details about his actions. She is in turmoil as she deals with Jay at the same time as questioning so much about her life. When she is rescued and finally building a life for herself, Jay escaped from prison and the safety of those around her is put at risk.
This book is deep and emotionally intense and well worth checking out if you are keen on a serial killer tale with a difference. The author explores the other side of the monster, showing that even killers are human while giving you an internal look at the woman he wants to write his biography. If you are a King fan, you will enjoy the reference to some of his characters.
Also by Rebecca Frost
Surviving Stephen King: Reactions to the Supernatural in Works by the Master of Horror
Stephen King frequently places his human characters in danger against a supernatural antagonist. These characters, being realists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, must first overcome their disbelief at what is happening to them, and then decide what to do about it. Both their explanations for the strange happenings and their attempts to deal with them can be divided into four main categories: cultural appropriation; Christianity, especially Catholic rites; attempts at utter destruction; and a resignation to simply live—or die—with the supernatural intact. This book examines over 30 of King’s works, revealing that the overall success of the characters in removing the supernatural threat from their towns, or perhaps defeating it entirely, does not depend fully on which of these four paths of action they choose. It is possible for any attempt to destroy the supernatural threat to fail, and what works in one of King’s books will not have the same outcome in another. For King, the most likely success comes when his characters can choose a course of action that allows them to stand and be true to themselves.
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About The Author
Author bio from the publisher
Rebecca Frost is a published academic who researches and writes about serial killers. Her dissertation was about the history of written true crime in the United States. She is the author of three books published through McFarland on Jack the Ripper, H.H. Holmes, and Making a Murderer, and is currently under contract for two books about the works of Stephen King, one through McFarland and one through Lexington. She uses her research into both real and fictional serial killers in order to realistically craft her own murderous characters.
Thank you to Anne Cater, from Random Things Tours for including me on this blog tour. This was a gripping unusual read which I have no doubt you will enjoy reading. I look forward to hearing what you think of this one, so remember to drop me a line, or leave a comment below to share your thoughts. Until next time…Happy Reading!
Sounds like a good read!
A rather unusual one….
Seems like an exciting book.
Yep, I enjoyed this one.