Despite being reminiscent of others in this genre I found this debut novel utterly compelling. I couldn't put it down and finished it in a day. Initially I wasn’t sure, it took me a while to settle down to the author’s style. The structure of the book with its dual narrative switching between the two main female characters felt disorientating, edgy almost. But I think that’s exactly how it was supposed to make me feel. For this is a most uncomfortable book to read. I don’t think it is possible to like either Katherine or Lily as their generation fuelled power struggle ping pongs its way through the book and reveals something darker, more unsettling. They are both manipulative and scheming. The tag line ‘They say revenge is a dish best served cold. But it tastes sweetest when it’s cooked slow.’ offers the reader a big hint to prepare them for the story not merely being one of rivalry in the workplace. It’s deeper and more sinister throwing up other issues to consider. I’m no plot spoiler so I’ll say little other than offer the blurb.
‘’Trusting you was my first mistake. To Katherine, twenty-four-year-old Lily Lunt is a typical "snowflake." It seems like the privileged, politically correct millennial will do whatever she can to make it big as a writer, including leveraging her family's connections. To Lily, Katherine Ross, a career woman in her early forties, is a holdover from another era: clueless, old-fashioned, and perfectly happy to build her success on the backs of her unpaid interns.
When Lily is hired as the new intern at the magazine where Katherine is editor in chief, her arrival threatens the very foundation of the self-serving little world that Katherine has built. She finds herself obsessively drawn to Lily, who seems to be a cruel reminder of the beauty and potential she once had--things Lily uses against Katherine as she slowly begins to undermine her, sabotaging her work and turning the magazine's new publisher against her. Is Katherine being paranoid? Or is Lily seeking to systematically destroy her life? As Katherine tries to fight back, a toxic generational divide turns explosive and long-buried secrets are exposed--with deadly consequences for both. . . .
Gripping and provocative, Precious You delivers an unsettling, provocative take on the contemporary workplace, turning the professional roles women play on their heads in a razor-sharp, revenge-driven thriller for our age."
It’s interesting to examine the two differing points of view between the Generation X and the Snowflake (that in itself sounds like that little of a good book!). The author has explored the gulf between expectations, motivations, perceptions and ambitions of these two seemingly different women. But you kind of think that if they were the same age they would be similar? It threw up questions and considerations about contemporary attitudes in the workplace, focusing obviously on women.
It's a narrative that makes you feel edgy and unsettled. The obsession and the compulsion from the protagonists get to you,insidiously. There was a hint of what I like to call the Patricia Highsmith effect. Where peoples' actions and reactions are just very slightly off-balance in an almost indefinable way but as the reader it bothers you and you just know it's all going to go horribly wrong.
It's a narrative that makes you feel edgy and unsettled. The obsession and the compulsion from the protagonists get to you,insidiously. There was a hint of what I like to call the Patricia Highsmith effect. Where peoples' actions and reactions are just very slightly off-balance in an almost indefinable way but as the reader it bothers you and you just know it's all going to go horribly wrong.
It’s not a feel good book. Don’t expect to come away feeling uplifted even after you’ve finished and the ends are all tied up. But then would you expect to when you read a psychological thriller? ;)
My thanks to HQ stories for a proof of this book and a spot upon the blog tour.
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