White Lady (The Bell Collection) by Jessica Bell

White Lady (The Bell Collection) Reviews

• 
  Jim

  I should probably say up front that Jessica and I are friends. I should add that I’m not the friend you turn to to ask if your bum looks too big in something you clearly know you probably shouldn’t be trying to pull off at your age. I should probably also say up front that I don’t read thrillers and am frankly a bit of a literary snob. Not many people, be they Nobel or Pulitzer Prize winners, get five stars out of me. So the fact that I’m giving this book four stars is an achievement. The frustrating thing for me is that there’s a five-star novel lurking under the covers here and I fully expect many readers to give the book five stars and gush over it.
  
  I’ve read all of Jessica’s novels and this has ‘Jessica Bell’ stamped all over it. She has a voice. She has a style. She has ability. She also has one or two (for me—this is my review) annoying habits and the main one, the one that loses her that fifth star from me, is a tendency to over-describe. It slows down the action and quite bluntly: people do not talk like this. A simple example: “After a detour to a chemist’s with my rented dark-blue Mercedes…” All she had to say was, “After a detour to the chemist’s,” and who gives a toss how she got there? The chemist is important—the character has a problem with over the counter medication—but the make and colour of the vehicle that gets her there isn’t. Now, to play devil’s advocate for a moment, the character who says these lines is Celeste who is the kind of person for whom labels matter—this particular chapter opens with, “I collect my Louis Vuitton luggage off the conveyor belt”—but it still feels unnatural and forced but it’s worse when the others do it. I can see where the problem lies. If we had a third person narrator you could get away with this but since the people who’re involved in the action also have to double as narrators things need to get crammed into their dialogue that really ought not be there. This isn’t a problem that only Jessica has to face. Just look at any American TV series and there are moments of inexplicable exposition—common abbreviations and expressions are ‘explained’ to people who really don’t need anything explained to them—which really need to be prefaced with, “For the folks at home,” or, “In last week’s episode” because they’re our proxies.
  
  Now on the plus side I was impressed with how Jessica handled the plot here. This is the first time Jessica has plotted a novel beforehand and filled in the blanks and I expected her working to show. A plot is a contrivance and—and this is especially obvious on TV shows—you know pretty much what’s going to happen: someone’s going to be pulled in early on who’s the obvious guilty party only to get released because it’s never them and the person who did it is the last person you’d expect but someone who was introduced in the early part of the show and, if it’s a two-parter, you know there’s going to be a second death at the end of the first episode leaving you hanging. Well we had none of that here. There is a bad guy, Ibrahim, a drug lord on the run from the police, but, wisely, he’s mostly only ever talked about. He’s like the bogeyman: the idea of him is enough. Unlike the bogeyman Ibrahim is real and it’s not the idea of him that’s terrifying but the threat of him. The real action takes place among all the people whose lives are going to be affected by his imminent return assuming he’s not returned already.
  
  Like your bog-standard Agatha Christie the cast of this book are all ordinary, seemingly nice enough people: Sonia, a maths teacher, and her son, Mick; her boyfriend Nash, a gym teacher at the same school, and his daughter, Mia. They’re not without problems—what ordinary family doesn’t have some problems?—Mick’s a disruptive element at school (in common parlance, the school bully) and Mia’s overweight. Both adults live alone with their kids. Nash’s ex-wife, Celeste, has married a “dirtbag plastic surgeon from LA” but is starting to regret chasing the money and Sonia’s ex-lover is… well, actually he’s the drug lord who just happens to have been Nash’s best mate; he was actually best man at Nash and Celeste’s wedding. Mick bullies Mia at school—she’s an obvious target—but, and this is fairly typical of youngsters, deep down he actually has a thing for her. And that alone would probably be enough material for a fairly substantial novel. Until Kimiko arrives on the scene offering Mia pills to help her lose weight (in return for a small favour) and Celeste decides she’s had enough in the States and wants her family back and, oh, there’s something you need to know about Mia’s birth AND what the hell is Mick doing with a box of knives hidden in his bedroom?
  
  The story is told through multiple first-person narrators: Mia, Nash, Mick and Sonia. The chapters are short and the action jogs along nicely. There’s a point towards the end of the book where one of the characters talks about the events of the previous fortnight and I thought: What fortnight? It’s been a couple of days surely? This happens with TV shows too. Little you can do about it. Actually if I’m being honest this has the feel of a novelisation. I can honestly see this working as a script which would also get rid of a lot of those pesky descriptions.
  
  The climax is a mess. It’s meant to be a mess. I applaud the fact that she was brave enough to make a mess and not tidy up after herself. The problem with most plots is that the writers feel the need to tie up all the loose ends and that doesn’t happen here. Everything—and, okay this was a necessary contrivance on Jessica’s part—comes to a head at the same time but she handles it well. And very surprisingly. The one thing every writer wants to hear from their reader is, “Well, I didn’t see that coming.” Yes, there is a bit of foreshadowing that I picked up on but I was still surprised by the direction she chose. And then suddenly it’s all over and we’re left with our mouths hanging open. But we’re not done yet.
  
  The climax leaves us with questions. In the final chapter we jump seven months into the future and into Mia’s head and we find out how things played out but the really nagging question still isn’t answered. Thankfully there’s an epilogue. I won’t say whose head we’re in but I read this chapter three times and each time with greater care. I think I know what happened. I think I do. But maybe not. I think if anything it’ll be this ending that will divide readers. It’s not exactly open-ended but it is open to interpretation.
  
  The description of the book is: Thriller, Domestic Chiller, Chick Noir. At times is has a bit of a YA feel to it—inevitable when three of your characters are seventeen and the adults aren’t exactly that mature either—but it’s not a book you’d want young Young Adults reading. (God, I hate genres.) The language—especially from Mick—is coarse. The sex is not overdone and not badly done—I personally have yet to find an author who can write about sex well—but if you don’t care to read about sex don’t worry: what little there is is over quickly enough. And the same goes for the violence. It’s graphic but she doesn’t linger.
  
  All in all then a good effort. An improvement on her last novel. Still not my kind of novel but I have to ask myself: Has she achieved what she set out to do? Well, only she can answer that one but I think she’s a lot to be pleased about. I also think she can do better and I look forward to seeing what she produces next.
• 
  Carolyn Injoy

  White Lady by Jessica Bell I received a free kindle copy of White Lady by Jessica Bell in a goodreads promotion in exchange for fair review. It was an intriguing book. I gave it five stars.
   
  Written from multiple points of view: Mia, daughter of Celeste & Nash, who are separated. Nash & Sonia are both teachers & 'special' friends.  Mick is Sonia's & Ibrahim's son. Ibrahim is a hardened criminal. They too, are separated.
   
  Sonia listens to Mick's stereo through the wall. "Stereo full blast. Magic Dirt: 'I Was Cruel.' It's the only song I ever hear anymore."
   
  Sonia is out having a drink with Nash. She's had three double bourbons. "It has been a long time since I felt the effects of alcohol, and it is absolutely splendid. I can still hold it down pretty well. Remarkable really. Even more remarkable that I think it is something to be proud of. But I am."
   
  I have to say my sympathies lay with Mia & Mick. They were the broken innocents in this tragic story. There is violence but all of it carried the story line forward.
   
  Link to purchase: 
  http://www.amazon.com/White-Lady-Jess...
• 
  Bri

  **I WON THIS BOOK IN A GOODREADS GIVEAWAY**
  
  When I first started to read this book, I felt really lost. The beginning didn't make sense to me and I almost thought to put it down. But I'm really glad I didn't! As you read, what made no sense in the beginning starts to make sense. It builds the story up so you have some sort of understanding of how things come together at the end. It seems like it's pointless info until you finish the book. Everything comes together in a really awesome way. I don't typically read books like this but damn this book was addicting ! I thoroughly enjoyed it and I seriously hope there is a continuance of the story in the future. I'm interested in reading more of Jessica Bell's work. Her writing style is much different than I'm used to but I like it. The ease of this story and the way the characters thoughts were relayed in such a raw and real way felt like you were each character. Great read!
• 
  Medeia Sharif

  Nash and Sonia are boyfriend-girlfriend. They're both single parents, they get along well enough, and they're teachers. The dangerous thing between them is their association with one of Melbourne's drug lords. Nash was his good friend, while Sonia is his ex-wife. Sonia remembers all the things she did for her ex, but she tries to squash those memories to focus on the present.
  
  Their children are attracted to each other. Nash's daughter Mia and Sonia's son Mick become an item. Mia gets hooked on drugs. Mick has a foul mouth and an equally foul mood. Mia's drug connection, Kimi, gets involved with the two of them in a plan that seems well-thought out, but things are about to get really bad.
  
  The alternating viewpoints are brilliant since these parents and their children come to life. The story is gritty, with realistic and flawed characters that wound into my brain and wouldn't let go. The book is high on action and suspense, with the events weaving together to a shocking, bloody ending--the reader will then fully understand what the cover is about. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Julie

  I was offered a free copy of this book directly from the author in return for an honest review. From the blurb, I wasn’t expecting a cosy mystery but the constant explicit language and characters wanting to slit throats hits the reader bang in your face. On the other hand, Jessica Bell has tried to do something different in telling the story through multiple points of view. At first I found this hard to get into as I was only just getting to know one character when it was onto the next chapter and a different point of view leaving me to imagine what it must be like to suffer from schizophrenia. The book has been described as ‘edgy’ or ‘gritty’ and if that appeals to you then you will enjoy this book. I wish I could say I’d enjoyed it more but it was just that bit too near the edge for my tastes. Nevertheless, I can appreciate what the author was trying to achieve.
  
• 
  JJ Marsh

  A drug dealer, an overweight teenager, a foul-mouthed delinquent, a plastic surgery addict and a woman who yearns for sharp objects – families don’t come much more dysfunctional than this.
  A strong story, peopled with painfully real characters, and so visual it reads like a film script.
  With the atmosphere of Melbourne sunshine and the tension of a heist, this book grabbed me from the start and I scoffed it in one sitting. The tale is spun in various voices, each distinctively damaged in its own way, providing differing perspectives on events and leading the reader to decide on her own truth.
  This is an amazing book, intelligent, tender, bloody and brutal and unlike anything else I’ve read. Perhaps the closest comparison would be Mother, Mother, by Koren Zailckas. Not easily forgotten.
  
• 
  Rebecca Hall

  If one were to use one word to summarise Bell's latest novel, it would be 'shocking.' But not in a negative way.
  Her ability to show us the characters, situations and plot knows no bounds and is so cleverly written, one can see this being taken up for a movie - I kid you not. This would translate very well onto the big screen.
  This is a novel that has you turning the pages, yearning for more - yearning to understand the mindset of the characters...such is the clever prose Bell uses.
  Despite their despicableness, you feel empathy for them - and once again, Bell leads us to a crescendo conclusion, and just when you think you've understood and are nodding along, she delivers one final punch for us.
  Intelligent, dark yet not without humour, Bell has delivered highly to us. Thank you.
• 
  Samantha Verant

  Wow! Jessica Bell has done the impossible and has told a story with five different POVs, all with very unique voices, to create an exciting an engaging read. Admittedly, it took some time (around 75 pages) for me to get used to the format and to emotionally invest in these (severely) flawed characters, but once I wrapped my head around everything...I was blown away. And now I understand what Jessica wanted to (and did) accomplish. She brings us into the world of each of her characters and then....BAM! I'm still a bit breathless. Again...wow! No spoilers here. Read the book for yourself.
  
  Note: an advanced copy was supplied by the author in an exchange for an honest review.
  
  
• 
  Cherie

  The shiny blade of the knife is about to fall in Jessica Bell's White Lady. Told from several point of views, the story starts out as a snowball rolling down a mountain and becomes an avalanche of lies and betrayal. The characters are real and raw. Their flaws pull us in, make the characters relatable, and make us feel a tiny bit better about ourselves. The tension builds brilliantly until I felt like I was gasping for air. And that ending--wow! Bell's writing style is sometimes poetic, sometimes gritty, but very real. For an intense read, look no further than White Lady by Jessica Bell.
• 
  Sue Ann

  Unique and engrossing, I couldn't put White Lady down. I found reading all the characters different points of view to be fascinating. I couldn't put it down until the very end. And what an ending. I love Jessica Bell' s writing . Great Book.
• 
  Sydney Michelle

  There is so much good and crazy stuff in this book. I loved it. It reminded me of JK Rowling's Casual Vacancy in some ways. Sick, twisted and sad and I can't wait to see what happens next.
• 
  Shannon Lawrence

  Twisted, interesting premise. I enjoyed that there were such dark things happening with the characters, which made it different. I struggled through the first half, especially as the description makes it seem as if Sonia is the main character, but she's really not. The author made the use of many viewpoints work for the book, but several of the characters were hard to care for, even once they were obviously supposed to become more sympathetic. The ending is an explosion with an additional twist.
• 
  Dieter Moitzi

  When I started reading this book, I was a bit dazzled at first by the frequently changing voices. True enough, each new chapter brings up a new point of view - five all in all -, a technique that could end up in a huge mess. But not here. That's thanks to Jessica Bell, who shows an amazing strength and authenticity when creating her characters. Yes, some might think they're more than a bit weird, even flawed, but that makes what they have to say sound even truer. And yes, despite their flaws, they are more than loveable. Even the story, if told with less gusto and talent, could come off as highly unlikely. An overweight teenager girl, her self-deprecating divorced dad, a blood-thirsty maths teacher, her ever-swearing teenage son, a manipulative woman who has left husband and daughter for Botox injections and US-wealth, a drug baron of Turkish origins, a secretive Asian teenage girl are caught up in an improbable whirlwind where crime and sex are put into a blender, stirred, and served. On the rocks. Doesn't sound like a book you'd like to read? Think again! Because Jessica Bell pulls you through her story without hesitating a second, changing voices and scenes with a lightness that can only amaze you. Everything sounds true, genuine, from the thoughts and feelings to the descriptions, ie those pieces of reality the different narrators choose to actually see. For lack of time, I only read the first 80 pages in a first attempt and put the book down, knowing that I wouldn't be able to read the rest - all of it - in a single movement. But when I finally decided to take an afternoon off to read more, well, I single-handedly finished the remaining 200-and-some pages without ever stopping, being dragged from chapter to chapter, sentence to sentence, word to word, mesmerized. I am sure Jessica, as we all, lacks something. At least I hope. Because otherwise, it would be just too infair. Since, in the talent-department, she's holding a straight flush. Read it, enjoy it. You will.
• 
  Sherry Fundin

  White Lady by Jessica Bell is a psychological thriller that starts out slow. It seems as if the people are your normal, run of the mill people, just trying to get through life but, WHOA! I sure did not see that happening! The ending caught me off guard and left me speechless.
  
  We start out with all the issues teenagers have – bullying , weight gain, friends, desertion by a parent……
  
  The more I read, the tension rises. These people are seriously fucked up.
  
  Mia – I used to be hot, now I’m not. She used to be the school slut, but since her mother left she has become a chubette. She has self esteem issues and loathes what she has become.
  
  Nash is Mia’s dad and a teacher at her school.
  
  Celeste is the mother who deserted her and her father.
  
  Sonia is also a teacher at the school.
  
  Mick is her son. His father has deserted their family too. He is way out of control. I thought he needed a slap up side the head.
  
  Kimiko is an exotic beauty, a fellow student.
  
  Who the heck is this Ibraham that everyone’s talking about?
  
  I had a feeling about Sonia, but is anybody sane?
  
  All the characters come together and things that seemed like the usual life and death dramatics in a teen’s life, change to real danger.
  
  I went back and forth with this book. Twenty per cent through, I was ready to quit. I kept reading and by thirty percent it began to capture my attention . By sixty percent I’m hooked. And the ending...WHEW! That is why I try to finish every book I read. I cannot anticipate what secrets are hidden in the pages and I don't want to miss anything good. :lol:
  
  The book changed from the growing pains of teenagers to an adult psychological mystery. The characters are manipulated and the push and pull as they try to find their way takes them down a path that will have severe repercussions.
  
  I received a copy of this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
• 
  Hart Johnson

  Holy Crap, What a Ride!
  
  Jessica Bell's tagline about writing stories about families more F'd up than yours doesn't go amiss and this isn't for the faint of heart, but she does a fantastic job of giving real heart and motive to some really messed up people. Mia, age seventeen is stuffing herself with food to fill the void left when her shallow mother left she and her dad for the rich plastic surgeon. Her dad, Nash is a hell of a nice guy, but clueless about raising a teenaged daughter with issues. Sofia, his lady friend is pretending she doesn't have more baggage than the whole world combined—not-quite-ex of a mobster who is in recovery from a pretty twisted addiction, and her son Mick, who is the latest blackmail victim of his dear old da. The character struggles weave together, clash and collide and as you can imagine, there is a lot of collateral damage. The character development in particular is very strong—there were multiple characters written in first person, yet each was clear and distinct enough to keep the reader on track and it was a more unique mix of sorts of people than most stories have. It definitely includes the less flattering sides of everybody in the mix, so if you like your heroes shiny, you may want to move along, but if you like to see a bit of triumph in the wreckage, this may very well be for you.
• 
  Hooked On Books

  White Lady starts off slowly, letting us get to know the main characters. Mia & her father Nash, then Sonia & her son Mick. Nash & Sonia are teachers & are an item.
  In the background there is the story of Sonia’s ex-husband who is a dangerous drug lord, he was also Nash’s best friend.
  Sonia is desperately trying to be a “normal” mum to Mick & try to forget all the bad stuff she had to do for her husband. Nash is just trying to be a good father for Mia, after his wife left him.
  Mia has put on a lot of weight since her mum left & is desperately unhappy, so led on by a friend she starts taking drugs. Mick is just unhappy, but his father is bullying him into working for him.
  The story starts to pick up, when Mia & Mick become an item & certain details are revealed, leading to a most unexpected climax.
  I enjoyed this book much more once it started to pick up, as it seemed like it was just going to be a lot of teenage angst, but I was so wrong, it was a psychological thriller, with a clever twist at the end.
• 
  Becky Stephens

  Bell delivered a unique story told from multiple points of view. What I found so interesting was that each point of view was truly unique to the character and I got a real sense of who that character was deep down.
  
  I admit that I was nearly a quarter way through the book before I began to fell attached to the characters and wrap my head around the slang. It's not that it was slow, but that it took me a while to feel like I was truly getting to know the characters, and realizing how each of their lives were destined to coincide.
  
  But that's where Bell takes us on a wild ride! Because just when you think you know what's going on, she surprises you with a delightful twist.
  
  If you're up for a wild ride full of twists and turns, then you will truly enjoy Jessica Bell's White Lady!
  
  I received a complimentary copy of this book from Vine Leaves Press. I was not, however, obligated to provide a review, and did so without the publisher's knowledge.
• 
  Kate Millin

  A very strange book written from the viewpoint of a number of characters who have all been affected by the criminal Ibrahim. His best friend who has a daughter and an ex wife married to a plastic surgeon, his son and his own ex wife. It takes time to work out who is who, and there are a few red herrings and plot twists with people turning out differently to how they first appear. I don't like the amount of swearing - although it is in character. I found it really hard to get into the story in the first few chapters but I am glad I persevered as the storyline did develop quite well to an exciting denouement.
• 
  Carol Cooper

  It's a ripper of a story. In addition to drugs, there’s also violence, sex, and even rock and roll. If bad language offends you or you’re after a cosy mystery, steer well clear. This is an edgy tale.
  Even though I didn’t warm to the characters, I was hooked on the roller-coaster events in their lives, and I couldn’t leave the book alone till the end.
  My only small quibble is that I would liked more of a sense of place. It was meant to be Melbourne, but could have been Birmingham or almost anywhere else.
• 
  Kathryn McKendry

  White Lady is a thrilling read full of danger, drugs, and deceit. Jessica Bell does a great job writing from five different characters' POV and weaving together an intricate plot that leaves the reader stunned by the end.
  
  I have to say though that I'm not a reader of thrillers as they are too creepy for me, (This was actually the first one I'd ever read!), and that's why I gave it only 3 stars. If you like psychological thrillers, you will love it!
• 
  A.B.

  The plot of this book is why it gets three stars. Otherwise it probably would have sunk. The characters are difficult to swallow. The book starts with the melancholy self-dissection of a teenager and all her problems. It doesn’t get better.
• 
  April

  I loved this book a lot I enjoyed the plot, writting and characters. I would really recommened to friends.
• 
  Dawn

  Proper review to come!
• 
  Anna-marie

  Review on Ltmk Onbooks as part of Blog Tour
• 
  Kimberly

  slow moving for me. didn't care for the bits and pieces of info dropped here and there.
  
  saving grace was the twist at the VERY end.