R.L. Royle

Lucy's Monster tells the story of a leading Hollywood actress with the world at her feet and her subsequent slide into mental breakdown - with catastrophic consequences. It is a very interesting idea for a story and the blurb on the back cover really drew my attention, with its promise that this was unlike anything I'd ever read. The author certainly does have a unique style, but overall I didn't find it to be particularly well-written. The style was somewhat annoying, and in places the book felt overwritten. It read like a first draft that had a lot of promise but needed a rewrite. There were also quite a lot of errors which a good edit would have sorted out - for example, one page a character leaves the table leaving his food untouched ... turn the page and there is a reference to his empty plate.

Overall, strong plot, good characters, but somewhat let down by the writing. Worth reading if you like a pacy story, but if you are looking for strong writing this won't be for you.… (mais)

This is a story which relates the events within a haunted flat and also the dynamics of an ordinary family. Although it was very creepy in places, the real interest however, turned out to be the story of the family itself. I completely related to the mother's story and found the story of the teenage son, Chris, thought provoking, funny and sad at the same time. This was mainly because it highlighted the tenuous nature of family relationships and how communication isn't always as effective as it could be, consequently Chris was misunderstood at times. I admire R L Royle's ability to understand the fragile nature of such relationships especially as she is able to relate the story from so many different viewpoints. It is those differing viewpoints which make the story so good - showing how the same events can affect the characters so differently. I found Sal's story to be the creepiest and a couple of incidents set me thinking about things that I knew of that had happened. Coincidently something fell in the room next to me while reading this part - needless to say, I had to sleep with the light on afterwards! A wonderful read!… (mais)