Psychological Thrillers discussion
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MARCH 2021..BOTM.....MICE..by Gordon Reece
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stephanie, MOD
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Feb 28, 2021 08:28PM
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Shelley and her mom have been menaced long enough. Excused from high school where a trio of bullies nearly killed her, and still reeling from her parents' humiliating divorce, Shelley has retreated with her mother to the quiet of Honeysuckle Cottage in the countryside. Thinking their troubles are over, they revel in their cozy, secure life of gardening and books, hot chocolate and Brahms by the fire. But on the eve of Shelley's sixteenth birthday, an unwelcome guest disturbs their peace and something inside Shelley snaps. What happens next will shatter all their certainties-about their safety, their moral convictions, the limits of what they are willing to accept, and what they're capable of.
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File charges.
Definitely file charges. Most Bullies that I have met - when confronted- turn into the cowards they actually are!! I’ve stood up to a few - and I got the same reaction- they backed completely off.
Stephanie, I agree with your assessment that Mice has an interesting start. I also agree this book can be set in any country. So I do not feel out of place while reading Mice.
I'm about 20% in and loving it. The metaphor of the mice people is extremely apt and really adds color to the story. A couple of times I wanted to scream, "Do something, Shelley! Do something, mom!" but then the Gordon reminded me that they were mice.
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Hello there everyone!! I want to read his book with y’all but is it too late to start reading if I read a little bit each day starting today? Cause I wanna buy this for my phone to read when I have nothing to do. Having no job is like that :( but I wanted to know if there is a way I can catch up to you guys!! Let me know please ASAP :) I wanna get reading already!! 🥰
The mum is definitely a mouse. However, I really love the way the author describes the happy times Shelley and her mum have in the country house. Of course, that's all about to be shattered...
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April, go ahead and start, its okay to NOT start on time..we are here for reading enjoyment...PLease make sure that you take your time reading this book, because it is UNREAL how these kids are, and what Shelley went thru, especially her Mum...
stephanie wrote: "Yes, Buy I think that as a Mum, she needed to step up when her daughter was getting a beat down at school. I am sorry Richard, but I think she, ( as a mother ) should have done more,,,don;t you thi..."I totally agree with you. She should have done more! Just saying, despite her flaws, I'm enjoying her sweet side that she shows her daughter when they're safe and alone. I've got my fingers crossed that her "mama bear" side will show up later in the book!
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April, Stephanie leaves the book thread open for a year. So you will have time to read Mice and discuss after this month. I did the same thing with Red Ink.
Shelley's mom reminds me of the Shelly Devall character in the original The Shinning movie. I'm 25% complete with this book.
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What a statement to end a book.....
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Went Too Far!
Shelly has been bullied by girls who used to be her best friends. Her mother, Elizabeth, was bullied by her husband until he left her for a younger woman, she is now bullied by her employers. They leave London and retreat to Honeysuckle Cottage in the country. Elizabeth stills commutes to the same office everyday. These woman are MICE! Timid, nervous and put everyone before themselves.
They love their life in the country until the eve of Shelly's sixteenth birthday. Something horrifying will change their lives forever. Maybe they are not mice after all.
My Thoughts
I find myself really on the fence about this book. It addresses the very common problem these days of bullying. For the first half of the book I was right there turning pages, feeling the right emotions for what these women were going through.
Then the book took a very dark and even more horrifying turn that what these women had endured. I found it hard to keep going but I finished the book, hoping beyond home this dark theme would I don't know, magically go away. It didn't. I also found the whole premise very unbelievable. I know the author is trying to dramatize the extreme extent bullying can go to, but no, a mother and daughter couldn't turn into the women they created. If they do I hope and pray they are few and far between.
It is a well written book and the part of the bullied Shelly and how she kept the incidents to herself until they escalated to a point where she was so physically hurt the paramedics had to be called was very well portrayed. Her actions and her thoughts.
I understand this is a psychological thriller, but to me it's a thriller that goes off the rails. Maybe young adults will not have the reaction I had as a mother. I found myself very troubled by the second half of the book and had to wait to write this review and really collect my thoughts. Yes, there was suspense, yes, the were varied psychological aspects at play. The author just went a little too far for me. Because I liked the first half and have warned you about the second half I will give it 3 stars.
I’m a third of the way through Mice. Wow, this book makes the reading think a lot about how people are mistreated. I’m fortunate my kids never had major bullying problems.
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I finished reading this months book selection, Mice. Wow, what a great book! In my review I mentioned this was one of the best books I have ever read where the author superbly used simile to describe events in the book. I was visually connected with this book as the story played out. My thoughts of the two main characters in the book, the mother and daughter mice characters, changed from the beginning of the book to the end of the book. They both seemed to emerge from their Mice persona by conclusion of this book. When I first started reading Mice, I too like Stephanie was concerned I would not be able to relate to this book due to the setting in England. But other than a few English words and phrases in the book, this story could be set anywhere in the USA. I still have no idea what a boot on a car is in my vernacular. I assume the author means a boot on a car is the trunk.
The interesting part of this book is I was thinking of scenarios along with the mother/daughter characters as they tried to find solutions to their problems, especially disposing of the evidence and how to deal with the second bad guy.
This is a Psychology/Thriller group and this group has discussed a lot of Thriller books. But I feel Mice is one of the best Psychological books we are discussed in a long time. My only remaining question is how did you find such in interesting book, Stephanie?
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The mother.....Allison Janney
The daughter.......Elliott Page
The first killer: Johnny Depp
The second killer: Peter Dinklage
Just finished it! Very good read with plenty of surprises. My Goodreads review link is below. Peter Dinklage is perfect for the second killer!!!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...
April wrote: "Hello there everyone!! I want to read his book with y’all but is it too late to start reading if I read a little bit each day starting today? Cause I wanna buy this for my phone to read when I have..."Hi, April. I just started the book last Sunday (the 23rd) so I'll be lagging behind with you.
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