Mice
by Gordon Reece
Awesome suspense!
What happens when a
human decides not to be a mouse anymore? How does violence affect
an individual? In his stunning work of suspense MICE, Gordon
Reece poses these questions and more.
Shelley and her mother Elizabeth are timid, shying away from
confrontation. Others take advantage of them sometimes without even
thinking. Who are they to object to the mistreatment?
Whether it be by Elizabeth's ex-husband and current boss or Shelley's
lifelong friends, bullies gravitate towards them. When pranks
turns to full blown menace, Shelley and her mom scurry like mice in
retreat to Honeysuckle Cottage, a hiding place far removed from
others. Finally, their idyllic surroundings provide them with a
degree of safety from others. No longer taunted by bullies,
Shelley now excels in the academic work with her tutors as she prepares
for her examinations. Then, suddenly, on the night before her
sixteenth birthday, everything changes. Danger intrudes into
their secure sanctuary. In the horrifying events that follow,
Shelley and her mother find themselves acting in ways they never could
have imagined themselves capable. Just how far will they go to
protect themselves?
Gordon Reece's MICE is an outstanding work of psychological suspense
full of crazy, unexpected twists. Just when life seems to go
smoothly, another slight wrinkle or sometimes shocking turn of events
changes everything. MICE is a book that keeps a reader glued to
the pages til the very end, thoughtful after the end, and also anxious
to talk about it with other readers. Gordon Reece's excellent
characterization draws the reader's inner emotional allegiance to
Shelley and her mother, despite the uneasy, escalating action which
troubles one's inner sense of morality. One can't help but root
for them against all odds, and yet, one feels a certain guilt in doing
so as their actions become more and more questionable and these actions
transform their inner character. Gordon Reece creates nuances
within the mother-daughter relationship that give dynamic depth to the
characters, character who experience inner changes within themselves as
the novel progresses.
MICE is not a book for the faint of heart. Gordon Reece does not
shrink from describing difficult topics of school female-to-female
bullying and violence. MICE is also not a book for readers
looking for a rigid, simplistic moral code with easy answers.
Rather, MICE is a book that will challenge readers to look within the
story and themselves. For this reason, MICE would make an
excellent book club choice for book clubs anxious to discuss complex
issues. Don't get me wrong --- despite the issues discussed, MICE
is a very fun book to read, not only for the edge-of-the-seat suspense
but also for the sense of humor the author instills in some of the
scenes.
My one word of advice is to read MICE before there is too much buzz
about the book and spoilers multiply. Even the dust jacket
description says a little too much. Fortunately, I ignored it and
just plunged straight into the actual novel. Part of the joy in
reading this book is wondering in which direction the author will go
next. Gordon Reece doesn't follow the expected suspense
path. If you like a suspense different than that the
run-of-the-mill formulaic narrative, MICE will delight with its
surprises. Fortunately, he also does not ruin the novel with an
expected ending but rather chooses an ending that opens a book up for
stimulating discussion. Awesome!
