Fickle

By Peter Manus

Perfect for fans of Caroline Kepnes's You and the thrillers of S.J. Watson, Peter Manus has written a twisting noir mystery that Booklist calls, "An incredibly daring novel and a complete success."The distance between what you see and what you believe can be the distance between life and death. On a winter night in Boston, a man falls to his death in front of a subway train. The sole witness, a shaken young woman, explains to the police how the man shoved her aside as he made his way to the tracks. But when her blog turns up on the dead man's computer, the cops begin to look for other connections. Was the man a cyber-stalker, charmed to the point of desperation by the irreverent musings of a noir-obsessed blogger? Or are the connections between subway jumper and innocent bystander more complicated? This dark and intricate tale of obsession and deception is told in the form of a blog written by an elusive narrator known only by her online name, "l.g. fickel." Deep into the night, every night, fickel blogs about "Mr. Suicide" and the ensuing police investigation with an eerie prescience. She is joined in her blog chats by a loyal group of obsessives, all of whom share with fickel a passion for the dark art of noir. Is fickel's tale that of an innocent woman frantically trying to figure out how her blogging has enmeshed her in a murder spree, or is she a manipulator, playing the part of sexy, hip, young thing as she grinds out her revenge on those she feels have betrayed her?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1626818428
• ISBN13: 9781626818422
• Release Date: January 2017
• Publisher: Diversion Books
• Length: 376 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Keeps you guessing all the way through.

I love the unreliable narration enabled by the format (someone's blog) and quite naturally questioned by fickel's commenters. By the end, they, and we, still don't know What Really Happened, which is a true delight. If you've ever read a comment thread on a blog, you know how authentic Manus' creation is. Impressive. (Bonus creepy points if you read Fickle while on Boston's Green Line going through the Hynes ICA/Mass Ave station.)

Fickle

I fell in love with the main character, Fickle and was on her side throughout the book. There were lots of twists and turns in the plot until the very end, when the biggest twist of all occurred. The clever way the characters were portrayed and the dialogue was unique to this story of suspense and intrigue. The blog form was original, but even if one is not up to being familar with some of the terminology, it doesn't take anything away from the end result which is indeed surprising. Such a character with such creative dialogue is rare to find in todays fast paced suspense books. I for one am looking forward to reading more from the new and unique style of this creative writer.

A Must Read

This emerging author's debut novel dares to put a new twist on the genre. Foregoing the classic format of most novels, Manus takes a chance by writing in a style that makes the entire story seem all the more realistic. This risk pays off in the well executed creation of his characters and the story itself. Contemporary themes are immersed throughout this modern novel in the author's innovative style of writing; while the story itself is so enthralling I found myself shocked at the paths he would go down. A provocative look at our culture, technology, and just plain old suspense this book is one of the best I have read in 2008. I am eager to see what route Manus' sophomore novel will take.