Book review: She's a Killer by Kirsten McDougall

She's A Killer by Kirsten McDougall

She's a Killer – Kirsten McDougall (Victoria University Press, $30)

Reviewed by Louise Ward, Wardini Books

The world is in trouble. Climate change is shoving the rich from suffering countries into the haven of New Zealand where conditions are dire for the poor, but not so dire for the rich. These people are dubbed weathugees. So far, so art imitates life.

Enter Alice. She's brainy to the point of near genius (just one point off), but life, childhood and her own sociopathic tendencies have conspired to make her languish. After great ambition came a minor setback and Alice, all brains and not much social nicety, never recovered.

She could have been a high flying psychologist but she has been stuck in university admin for over a decade and finds nothing of value in life, its people and the world.

The catalyst for a thumping good story is Pablo, a weathugee thrown into Alice's way. He's handsome, rich enough to take her to the fancy restaurants that have armed bouncers on the door, his conversation diverting.

Pablo has a daughter, 15-year-old Erika, an actual full point genius. These characters are chucked into the narrative mixing pot along with Alice's mother with whom she only communicates by Morse code, cheery colleague Bryan, best friend Amy, and, most enlighteningly, Simp, Alice's imaginary childhood friend who has suddenly reappeared after many years' absence.

It's a riveting crew, the best of bunches who love, hate and feel ambivalent toward one another enough to create a bizarre and dryly comical story.

The plot is heavily into Alice's psyche — she bluffs that she doesn't care but is acutely aware of lost chances and past hurts. Simp reappears as a window into her soul, an alter ego able to articulate what Alice knows but doesn't want to admit.

As the story unfurls, Alice stumbles into purpose, fighting it all the way. So much happens that any further discussion of the plot would spoil it but … what is Erika up to?

This is a clever novel that would not long ago have been a near future, apocalyptic piece. As we creep towards 2022 we need this kind of strange to make our world feel normal.