Suspense Archives - Matt gets LIT-erary

The Other Black Girl

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc on 2021-06
Genres: Fiction, African American & Black, Suspense, Thrillers, Women
Pages: 357

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris is a workplace thriller that centers on challenges Black women face in the office. The story’s protagonist works in a major publishing house as an assistant editor, the same job Zakiya had before quitting to write this novel. Thus, the novel offers commentary on the publishing industry. I had the pleasure of seeing Zakiya speak about her bestselling novel at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT, one town over from where she grew up. While I enjoyed the majority of The Other Black Girl, I feel like Zakiya tried combining too many genres in one novel, resulting in a confusing ending.

Nella is the only Black assistant editor at Wagner Publishing. She is thrilled when a new Black female employee is hired. Nella hopes this new employee, Hazel, will be a much-needed friend that she can confide in at the predominantly white office. However, after Hazel takes some questionable actions, Nella becomes unsure whether Hazel is an ally or a rival. When Nella finds a sinister note telling her to leave her job at Wagner, she questions whether Hazel might be responsible. The story transitions into a thriller with multiple twists and secrets, originating back decades at Wagner. I wish that Zakiya had simplified the conspiracy elements, as they were confusing and not well explained. She either needed more pages or an additional book to explore these ideas. Though I will say I loved the mechanism of the major twist!

The novel does an excellent job of featuring examples of microaggressions that Black employees face in a white dominated office. Additionally, there is commentary on the publishing industry. The wealthy, white heads of publishing are gate keepers that determine what books and types of characters will be sold to consumers. This book helped me learn how much power editors have with altering author’s manuscripts and deciding which books will become mainstream. Not only are more writers of color needed, but we need editors of color too!

Zakiya’s event at Southern Connecticut State University was a fantastic event. In a cute moment her father, who is a journalism professor at the university, introduced her to the audience. Zakiya did a reading from the novel and then answered questions from the moderator and audience about the story and the writing process. In one interesting moment Zakiya mentioned how typically Black writers feel pressure or are encouraged to only write two types of Black characters. Either flawless characters that other Black readers will be proud of or Black characters that endure horrible hardships. Zakiya hopes that there will be more space in the future for loveable yet flawed Black characters. She cited Raven Leilani’s fantastic Luster as a recent novel with a complex, likeable Black female protagonist. One sweet moment was when Zakiya mentioned her first Black teacher who taught what has become one of her favorite books, Kindred by Octavia Butler (which has been sitting in my TBR for far too long).

The Other Black Girl, while not perfectly plotted, is an important read with great characters. This book will spark many important conversations about BIPOC experiences in the workplace and the flaws in the publishing system. I am looking forward to the Hulu adaptation being produced by Zakiya and Rashida Jones!

The Changeling

The Changeling by Victor LaValle
Published by Random House Publishing Group on 2018
Genres: African American & Black, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Supernatural, Suspense
Pages: 431

The Changeling, especially the first half, is literary tension at its best. Victor Lavalle’s novel is part urban fantasy, part contemporary fairy tale with a splash of horror. He manages to weave in themes of parenthood while featuring the city of New York. I LOVED the first half of this book. I was at the edge of my seat and glued to the words on the page, despite being on a warm sunny beach while on my honeymoon. Unfortunately, Lavalle did not stick the landing. The second half of the book was meh, it wasn’t bad, but compared to the perfection of the beginning I was disappointed.

Because the joy of this novel is its suspense, I am going to give a limited description of the plot. The protagonist, Apollo Kagwa, is an avid reader (we would be great friends). Apollo’s father left him and his mother when Apollo was young. He sometimes has creepy dreams of his dad. Apollo eventually starts a book dealing business. He meets Emma, a librarian and they eventually get married. Emma and Apollo have a baby, named Brian, after Apollo’s father. Emma and Apollo are determined to be perfect parents, but Emma begins to act out of character leading to her committing a shocking act. This event leads Apollo on a magical journey.

I loved Lavalle’s prose. He is an excellent storyteller, and his writing is a pleasure to read. I love when a protagonist has a book related occupation. Reading about Apollo’s reading interests and how they flourished into a career of procuring and selling used books was great. The tension that builds in the first half of the story is off the charts. Based off the limited plot summary I read on the book’s back cover, I knew Emma was going to do something shocking. The slow burn leading up to those events ratchets up the tension. And the description of the scene when IT happens is very intense and scary. I also really appreciated Lavalle’s inclusion of themes of post partem depression, black fatherhood and experiences living as a black man in NYC into the story.

Explaining my critiques of the second half of the novel, without spoiling the plot, will be a challenge. The second half of the book features most of the magic and supernatural elements in the novel. Lavalle had too many great ideas. I believe editing the story down and using just a few of these elements would have created a tighter story. For me the plot at the end of the novel became muddled and character motivations did not make sense. I also found interest in the novel declining towards the end of the novel. This was a shame after start of the book when I was losing sleep because I was so captivated by the story.

Despite the weak ending, The Changeling is worth the read. Lavalle is a talented writer and storyteller. I found themes of parenthood especially relevant because my husband and I recently adopted a puppy. The scene of THE incident has become one of the most tense and memorable scenes I’ve ever read.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
on October 13, 1993
Genres: Classics, Fiction, Psychological, Suspense, Thrillers
Pages: 176

I was on the hunt for a classic horror novel to add to my 2021 spooky reading lineup. I couldn’t think of a better choice than Oscar Wilde’s homoerotic “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. Oscar Wilde is a historical figure of interest for me. He was bold enough to live openly as a gay man in the 19^th century, resulting in imprisonment. After references to Dorian Gray in contemporary media, such as Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, I wanted to read the original work. I knew the general premise of the novel, a young attractive man never ages, while a supernatural painting of him does. I was not expecting the story to become a critique on the purpose of art.

When the story begins, readers are introduced to Dorian Gray, a young attractive man, and two older gentlemen Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotton. Basil and Lord Henry are obsessed with Dorian because of his youth and beauty. Dorian is the muse for Basil’s paintings and is the subject of his best work. Upon seeing Basil’s painting of him Dorian becomes aware that he will one day age and lose his beauty. He makes a fateful wish, saying “If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that—I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!” (Wilde 19). This ends up being the classic scenario of be careful what you wish for. Dorian never ages, but the painting, which he hides away from others does. Under Lord Henry’s influence Dorian becomes obsessed with living a beautiful, happy life at any cost. With each immoral act he commits the portrait of Dorian grows hideous, while real Dorian remains unchanged.

A Picture of Dorian Gray is very gay (ha! A rhyme). Basil and Lord Henry’s competition for the attention of the young, attractive Dorian feels way more than friendship. Dorian originally wrote a more homoerotic version of the story that was “toned” down before publication. I’d love to read the bits deemed too gay that had to be deleted. Wilde makes his support for the movement of aestheticism clear in the preface. He believes art should have no morals. Art is meant to stand alone as an aesthetically pleasing work. This contrasts the Victorian style where stories were crafted to teach readers moral lessons (Charles Dickens was an example of this). I think both philosophies place too many limitations on what art is. However, I believe this novel ironically contradicts Wilde’s aesthetic philosophy because the story ends with a moral message. Dorian’s pursuit of an aesthetic life corrupts him and lead to tragedy at the novel’s conclusion. Wilde fails to write this story without including a moral.

A Picture of Dorian Gray was a challenging book to read. The language from Wilde’s time is difficult to understand, resulting in a slower reading pace. Also, there were sections in the book that referenced many people and events that were not familiar to me. Chapter XI is an entire section made up of these references. The chapter reads as a long list of aesthetic objects Dorian acquires to surround himself with beautiful things. Reading this chapter was a struggle for me and I found myself skimming most of it.

I am impressed with The Picture of Dorian Gray. I enjoyed reading a novel from the 19^th century with so many gay references. While the language was challenging to read the experience made it well worth the effort. Wilde’s philosophy of aestheticism was interesting and led me to reflect on my own artistic philosophy. I recommend picking up Dorian Gray for a short, spooky read. And don’t feel guilty skimming through the sluggish parts!

I wanted to end with a fascinating quote from Oscar Wilde that I am still processing. “Basil Hallward is what I think I am; Lord Henry what the world thinks of me; Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.”

Billy Summers

Billy Summers by Stephen King
Published by Simon and Schuster on August 3, 2021
Genres: Action & Adventure, Crime, Fiction, Suspense, Thrillers
Pages: 528

Only Stephen King can get me to read a novel about an Iraqi war veteran turned hitman on a quest for revenge. King’s latest release, Billy Summers, is a thriller without supernatural elements. Billy Summers’ only rule, as a hitman, is he only accepts targets that are “bad guys”. He hopes his latest high-paying assignment will be his last. Billy poses as a writer in an office building across from a courthouse, waiting for an opportunity to take out a murderer as he is escorted up the courthouse steps to stand trial. He uses the downtime waiting for the day of the assassination to write a memoir, ironically becoming the writer he is disguised as.

The first half of this book was excellent. I love when authors make their protagonists writers, it is one of my favorite literary tropes. Billy suspects the individuals managing the hit are spying on his laptop, so he purposely writes his memoir in a dumbed-down voice, to hide his intelligence. Convincingly writing in different versions of one character’s voice is impressive and displays why King is a master storyteller. There are many parallels between Billy Summers and King’s outstanding Misery. Both novels feature male protagonists writing stories that are featured within the novels. Additionally, both Billy and Paul Sheldon are isolated indoors for the majority of their stories. I suspect Billy’s periods of isolation were inspired by King quarantining during the COVID-19 pandemic. King does drop in references to another work in the Stephen King Universe, fans of The Shining will be pleased.

About halfway through Billy Summers there is a major plot shift that drives the action for the remainder of the book. I found the plot in the second half to be less compelling and began looking forward to finishing the novel so I could move on to my next one, which is never a good sign. There is a horrendous instance of brown face in the book, that made me wince. Billy uses many disguises in the novel, one of them is a Mexican gardener (Billy is not Mexican) and involves layers of spray tan. After his first coat of tan Billy is described as “a white man with a desert tan”. After a second coat Billy is still not convinced and says: “This might have been a bad idea” (p. 395). Yes, Stephen King this was a horrible idea to include in the story. The disguise is wholly inappropriate! How did your editors approve this? Please do better! The frequent digs at Trump that I have come to appreciate in King’s latest works are present, but do not make up for this unnecessary, and highly problematic plot point.

I would only recommend this book to Constant Readers (King’s name for his die-hard fans). If you are a Stephen King completionist like myself, I’m sure you will be picking this up no matter what reviews say. For everyone else, there are plenty of better options in King’s massive bibliography to choose from.

Trigger Warnings: Rape, Pedophilia, War Violence