Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Killing Adonis
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): Donellan, Joshua
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.jmdonellan.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY: Australian
http://www.nswwc.org.au/2015/10/book-review-killing-adonis-by-jm-donellan/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: nb2010013915
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/nb2010013915
HEADING: Donellan, J. M. (Joshua M.)
000 00450nz a2200145n 450
001 8300001
005 20100603050911.0
008 100602n| acannaabn |a aaa
010 __ |a nb2010013915
035 __ |a (Uk)007817344
040 __ |a Uk |b eng |c Uk
100 1_ |a Donellan, J. M. |q (Joshua M.)
400 1_ |a Donellan, Joshua
670 __ |a A beginner’s guide to dying in India, 2009: |b t.p. (J.M. Donellan)
670 __ |a Nat. Lib. Aust, CIP, 2 June 2010 |b (hdg.: Donellan, Joshua)
PERSONAL
Male.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, musician, slam poet, radio DJ, teacher. He has performed poetry at the Sydney Opera House, TEDx, Sydney Writers’ Festival, and other venues.
AWARDS:IP Picks best fiction award, 2009, for A Beginner’s Guide to Dying in India; selected among top ten writers, SOYA awards, 2013.
WRITINGS
Also author of play, We Are All Ghosts, performed at Anywhere Theatre Festival, Australia, 2014.
SIDELIGHTS
J.M. Donellan is an Australian writer, musician, poet and teacher. He has performed his poetry at the Sydney Opera House, TEDx, and Sydney Writers’ Festival, among other venues. His first novel, A Beginner’s Guide to Dying in India, was published in 2010, and his first novel to be published in the United States, Killing Adonis, was published in 2016.
A Beginner's Guide to Dying in India
A Beginner’s Guide to Dying in India, Donellan’s debut novel, features Australian protagonist Levi, who is having a rough time of it lately. His house has burned down, his girlfriend decides to break off their relationship and join a nunnery, and then he is fired from his job. Thus, when his older brother requests that Levi join him in India, Levi is eager for a change of scene. Levi has not seen this brother in years and upon his arrival in India, he is surprised to see that his brother is very ill. In fact, not long after Levi’s arrival, the brother dies, leaving his estate to Levi. Said estate is much more substantial than Levi thought it would be, but in order to claim it, he has to unravel his brother’s diary. This in turn leads Levi on a quest throughout India that takes him into adventures and danger, that introduces him to new friends and situations, and that ultimately tests Levi’s own sense of spirituality before he can truly inherit his brother’s estate.
Writing in the online Journonews, Lois Nicholls noted: “Some intriguing characters along the way–and the pursuit of a rather sinister character intent on sharing the spoils, adds enough suspense to keep the reader hooked.” Nicholls added: “This newly published Australian author certainly knows how to spin a yarn.”
Killing Adonis
Australian Freya Miller is at the center of Killing Adonis. Leaving behind the sadness of a recent tragedy, Freya takes a nursing job that leads her into a labyrinth of deceit and danger. Her job involves caring for Elijah, the comatose heir to the wealthy Vincetti family, the directors of the powerful Halcyon Corporation. Freya becomes more than a nurse, however, made curious when the family will not reveal how Elijah came to this comatose state. She also becomes suspicious when the directors of rival corporations begin dying in suspicious ways. Becoming friends with the family’s black sheep, Jack Vincetti, Freya finds him writing a new novel that seems to portray these murders. Things come to a head when the family throws a birthday party for Elijah, propped up in a wheelchair, and she also meets his fiancée, Rosaline, heir to Halcyon’s major rival corporation. Their marriage will thus merge these two companies, allowing them to control the pharmaceutical industry worldwide. Now working with Jack, Freya tries to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Reviewing Killing Adonis in Booklist, Sue O’Brien noted: “Freya and Jack expose the corruption around them, leading to more heartbreak for Freya in this dark mystery set in Australia.” A Kirkus Reviews critic also had praise, commenting: “This first mystery from Donellan … will remind many readers of Tom Robbins’ work: cleverly crafted and overflowing with idiosyncratic characters and mordant humor. A most unusual mystery, indeed.” Similarly, a Publishers Weekly writer observed: “Donellan has a gift for witty turns of phrase and dialogue that jumps off the page and makes you smile.”
Online reviewers also had praise for Killing Adonis. A contributor in the NSW Writer’s Center website noted: “I feel like Killing Adonis is the book that Agatha Christie and Tim Burton would have written together if they’d ever met, and for me it was the perfect blend of mystery and the mysterious. … Throw in a few mysteries to solve and a protagonist with a slight drinking problem, and you get one of the more imaginative novels I’ve had the pleasure of reading lately.” A Booklover Book Reviews website writer also commented: “Killing Adonis is bursting with snappy dialogue, symbolism and pop-culture and literary references–there is just so much going on.” An online Book’d Out reviewer likewise concluded: “For me, Killing Adonis was a surprising page turner. I was thoroughly entertained by the snappy writing, audacious characters, and gaudy plot. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend readers comfortable with something a little less mainstream give it a chance–no question.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, December 15, 2016, Sue O’Brien, review of Killing Adonis, p. 25.
Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2016, review of Killing Adonis.
Publishers Weekly, October 10, 2016, review of Killing Adonis, p. 59.
ONLINE
Bellingen Raader’s and Writer’s Festival, http://bellingenwritersfestival.com.au/ (May 23, 2017), “J. M. Donellan.”
Book’d Out, https://bookdout.wordpress.com/ (October 8, 2014), review of Killing Adonis.
Booklover Book Reviews, http://bookloverbookreviews.com/ (April 17, 2016), Joanne P., review of Killing Adonis.
J.M. Donellan Website, http://www.jmdonellan.com (May 23, 2017).
Journonews, http://journonews.com/ (January 9, 2010), Lois Nicholls, review of A Beginner’s Guide to Dying in India.
NSW Writer’s Center, http://www.nswwc.org.au/ (July 18, 2017), review of Killing Adonis.
Poisoned Pen Website, https://poisonedpenpress.com/ (May 23, 2017), “J. M. Donellan.”*
J.M. DONELLAN is a writer, musician, slam poet, radio DJ and teacher. He was almost devoured by a tiger in the jungles of Malaysia, nearly died of a lung collapse in the Nepalese Himalayas, fended off a pack of rabid dogs with a guitar in the mountains of India and was sexually harassed by a half-naked man whilst standing next to Oscar Wilde’s grave in Paris.
His debut novel A Beginner’s Guide to Dying in India was the winner of the 2009 IP Picks best fiction award. He scripted and voiced the internationally popular Pocket Hipster iPhone application, even though he doesn’t have an iPhone. Josh was a state finalist in the 2012 and 2014 Australian Poetry Slams and a national finalist in 2015. He was chosen as one of the top ten writers in the 2013 SOYA awards. His debut play, We Are All Ghosts, was performed as part of the Anywhere Theatre Festival in 2014. He also co-wrote the Theory of Everything, which completely sold out its entire season at the 2015 Brisbane Festival.
His children’s fantasy novel Zeb and the Great Ruckus was described by one child as ‘the best book ever, but it should have had Dr Who in it.’ His latest novel, Killing Adonis, is out now and has received rave reviews from numerous magazines and newspapers, which is terribly nice of them. Josh is one half of the spoken word/electronic band Poetry is Dead. His most recent release is the poetry collection Stendhal Syndrome.
J.M. Donellan is a writer, musician, poet, radio DJ and teacher. He was almost devoured by a tiger in the jungles of Malaysia, nearly died of a lung collapse in the Nepalese Himalayas, fended off a pack of rabid dogs with a guitar in the mountains of India and was sexually harassed by a half-naked man whilst standing next to Oscar Wilde’s grave in Paris. His other published works include A Beginner’s Guide to Dying in India, Zeb and the Great Ruckus and the poetry collection Stendhal Syndrome. He has performed at the Sydney Opera House, TEDx, Sydney Writers’ Festival, numerous bars, basements and not-quite-legal warehouse parties.
J.M. DONELLAN (Josh) is a writer, musician, slam poet, radio DJ and teacher. He believes the measure and cadence of language is important and has been known to replace a word because the rhythm is not quite right. Josh was almost devoured by a tiger in the jungles of Malaysia, nearly died of a lung collapse in the Nepalese Himalayas, fended off a pack of rabid dogs with a guitar in the mountains of India, and was sexually harassed by a half-naked man while standing next to Oscar Wilde’s grave in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
His debut novel, A Beginner’s Guide to Dying in India, won the 2009 IP Picks best fiction award. He scripted and voiced the Pocket Hipster iPhone application even though he doesn’t have an iPhone.
Josh was a state finalist in the 2012 and 2014 Australian Poetry Slams and a national finalist in 2015. He was chosen as one of the top ten writers in the 2013 Spirit of Youth Awards. His debut play was We Are All Ghosts and he also co-wrote The Theory of Everything, which sold out its entire season at the 2015 Brisbane Festival.
His children’s fantasy novel is Zeb and the Great Ruckus, and his latest novel, Killing Adonis, was released in October 2014.
QUOTE:
Freya and Jack expose the
corruption around them, leading to more heartbreak for Freya in this dark mystery set in Australia
Killing Adonis
Sue O'Brien
Booklist.
113.8 (Dec. 15, 2016): p25.
COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
Killing Adonis.
By J. M. Donellan.
Dec. 2016. 310p. Poisoned Pen, $26.95 (9781464207051); paper, $15.95 (9781464207075); e-book, $9.99 (9781464207082).
Hard-drinking nurse Freya Miller, still reeling from the death of a patient, accepts a lucrative position taking care of the comatose Elijah Vincetti, the beloved adult son of Harland and Evelyn Vincetti, owners of the Halcyon
Corporation. The highly paid position comes with light duties, room and board in a fabulous mansion, and the stipulation that Freya doesn't ask any questions. Surrounded by numerous locked rooms and family secrets, Freya soon
begins to delve into the many curious events happening around her--including the death of a household employee--with the help of the Vincettis' other son, Jack, a writer who never leaves home. Meanwhile, the heads of several corrupt
companies die in macabre manners, leaving the field open for Halcyon to take over the worldwide pharmaceutical industry, culminating with a merger with the company owned by Elijah's fiancee, Rosaline. Freya and Jack expose the
corruption around them, leading to more heartbreak for Freya in this dark mystery set in Australia. A good choice for James Hall fans.--Sue O'Brien
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
O'Brien, Sue. "Killing Adonis." Booklist, 15 Dec. 2016, p. 25. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA476563467&it=r&asid=e29c15fc5089bbd7f741bac2284af75b.
Accessed 29 May 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A476563467
---
QUOTE:
This first mystery from Donellan (A Beginner's Guide to Dying in India, 2009) will
remind many readers of Tom Robbins' work: cleverly crafted and overflowing with idiosyncratic characters and mordant humor. A most unusual mystery, indeed.
5/29/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1496084766238 2/4
Donellan, J.M.: KILLING ADONIS
Kirkus Reviews.
(Oct. 15, 2016):
COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Donellan, J.M. KILLING ADONIS Poisoned Pen (Adult Fiction) $26.95 1, 3 ISBN: 978-1-4642-0705-1
A nurse is hired to care for a comatose patient.Freya Miller has recently lost her favorite patient to a horrific automobile accident. Depressed, she puts off her lifelong plan to work as a Red Cross nurse in East Timor and applies for a
suspiciously well-paying job with the fabulously wealthy Vincetti family. Evelyn and Harlan Vincetti are the owners of a vast conglomerate that uses every means possible to increase profits no matter who or what gets hurt. Their
younger son, Elijah, is comatose after a mysterious accident. Aside from caring for him, Freya's job is to keep her mouth shut and her curiosity buried, something she finds especially difficult once she's given a key card that opens some
but not all of the hundreds of rooms in the Vincetti mansion. Compared to his older brother, Jack, an agoraphobic writer toiling with difficulty on his second book, Elijah has always been the family's golden boy, handsome, athletic, and
multitalented, and his fiancee, Rosaline, is determined to have the storybook wedding she's dreamed of despite Elijah's condition. The family may be dysfunctional, but Freya has her oddities, too. She always wears gloves or bracelets to
cover up a scar caused by a pineapple cutter, and she suffers from a rare condition that allows her to see sound as color. Freya makes friends with Maria, the housekeeper, and slowly develops a romantic relationship with the reclusive
Jack, who joins her in trying to uncover some of the secrets hidden behind the locked doors, many of which turn out to be horrifying and deadly. This first mystery from Donellan (A Beginner's Guide to Dying in India, 2009) will
remind many readers of Tom Robbins' work: cleverly crafted and overflowing with idiosyncratic characters and mordant humor. A most unusual mystery, indeed.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Donellan, J.M.: KILLING ADONIS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Oct. 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA466329274&it=r&asid=0740b931425d3c264137bd774f302798.
Accessed 29 May 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A466329274
---
5/29/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1496084766238 3/4
J.M. Donellan: KILLING ADONIS
Kirkus Reviews.
(Oct. 15, 2016):
COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
J.M. Donellan KILLING ADONIS Poisoned Pen (Adult Fiction) 26.95 ISBN: 978-1-4642-0705-1
A nurse is hired to care for a comatose patient.Freya Miller has recently lost her favorite patient to a horrific automobile accident. Depressed, she puts off her lifelong plan to work as a Red Cross nurse in East Timor and applies for a
suspiciously well-paying job with the fabulously wealthy Vincetti family. Evelyn and Harlan Vincetti are the owners of a vast conglomerate that uses every means possible to increase profits no matter who or what gets hurt. Their
younger son, Elijah, is comatose after a mysterious accident. Aside from caring for him, Freya’s job is to keep her mouth shut and her curiosity buried, something she finds especially difficult once she’s given a key
card that opens some but not all of the hundreds of rooms in the Vincetti mansion. Compared to his older brother, Jack, an agoraphobic writer toiling with difficulty on his second book, Elijah has always been the family’s
golden boy, handsome, athletic, and multitalented, and his fiancee, Rosaline, is determined to have the storybook wedding she’s dreamed of despite Elijah’s condition. The family may be dysfunctional, but Freya has
her oddities, too. She always wears gloves or bracelets to cover up a scar caused by a pineapple cutter, and she suffers from a rare condition that allows her to see sound as color. Freya makes friends with Maria, the housekeeper, and
slowly develops a romantic relationship with the reclusive Jack, who joins her in trying to uncover some of the secrets hidden behind the locked doors, many of which turn out to be horrifying and deadly. This first mystery from
Donellan (A Beginner’s Guide to Dying in India, 2009) will remind many readers of Tom Robbins’ work: cleverly crafted and overflowing with idiosyncratic characters and mordant humor. A most unusual mystery,
indeed.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"J.M. Donellan: KILLING ADONIS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Oct. 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA466551524&it=r&asid=3a8df524083be7894d1626c23fa10ce9.
Accessed 29 May 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A466551524
---
QOTE:
Donellan has a gift for witty turns of phrase and dialogue that jumps off the page and makes you smile.
5/29/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1496084766238 4/4
Killing Adonis
Publishers Weekly.
263.41 (Oct. 10, 2016): p59.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Killing Adonis
J.M. Donellan. Poisoned Pen, $26.95 (310p) ISBN 978-1-4642-0705-1; $15.95 trade paper ISBN 978-1-4642-0707-5
Australian author Donellan (A Beginner's Guide to Dying in India) makes his U.S. debut with this delicious romp, which includes a bit of social consciousness. In a Brisbane bar, with a Moscow Mule in hand, nurse Freya Miller, who
has always dreamed of becoming the Florence Nightingale of East Timor, is reconsidering her future. A friend shows her an ad for a private nurse that reads: "Light duties. Large pay. No questions asked or answered." In an alcoholic
haze, Freya sends off her resume and is shocked into sobriety when she's invited to come for an interview at the home of one of the world's most powerful families. So begins this racy, well-paced, action-packed, and funny tale of
twisted love, gruesome death, steadfast friendship, awesome greed, and familial madness--not to mention penguins in sweaters. Donellan has a gift for witty turns of phrase and dialogue that jumps off the page and makes you smile.
(Dec.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Killing Adonis." Publishers Weekly, 10 Oct. 2016, p. 59. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA466616157&it=r&asid=1c6f222551abac17e4f091254ffba17e. Accessed 29
May 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A466616157
QUOTE:
I feel like Killing Adonis is the book that Agatha Christie and Tim Burton would have written together if they’d ever met, and for me it was the perfect blend of mystery and the mysterious.
Throw in a few mysteries to solve and a protagonist with a slight drinking problem, and you get one of the more imaginative novels I’ve had the pleasure of reading lately.
Book Review: Killing Adonis by JM Donellan
All the best decisions are made after hitting the bottle, right? Well, okay, that may not always be the case, but when Freya Miller, after consuming a few drinks too many, comes across a strange job advertisement that piques her interest, her decision to respond to the advertisement will irreversibly change her life forever. The advertisement specifically states that ‘applicants with an excessively curious and inquisitive nature are distinctly not welcome’, and in attempting to deter the inquisitive, the advertisement does the exact opposite.
Killing Adonis, from Brisbane-based author J. M. Donellan, is an entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable read. Described by the author as a ‘tragicomic tale’, its mysterious plot and dark humour won me over almost immediately. I grew up in Brisbane and particularly enjoyed Donellan’s occasional references to iconic locations around the city—there’s something wondrous about pretending this suspenseful story actually happened in my hometown.
After responding to the advertisement, Freya is hired by the quirky and eccentric Vincetti family to care for their comatose son, Elijah. The explicit wording of the advertisement does not discourage Freya from digging into the secret world of the wealthy and powerful Evelyn and Harland Vincetti, whose corporate rivals have a peculiar proclivity towards being extravagantly executed.
Much of the satirical nature of Killing Adonis is linked to the Vincetti family, who are portrayed as uncompromising corporate monsters. Their beliefs and behaviours are Donellan’s way of highlighting the prevalence of corporate greed in modern society. It’s a satirical commentary and while Donellan sometimes handles these themes with the sort of subtlety one would use to drive a freight train, Killing Adonis never comes across as preachy. It’s sharp and funny in all the right ways, and exactly what a social critique should be.
Freya uncovers many secrets within the Vincetti mansion, but perhaps her greatest discovery is Elijah’s older brother, Jack, a sickly man who suffers from, among other ailments, chronic writer’s block. As the mysteries surrounding the Vincetti family continue to grow, Freya and Jack work together, unwillingly sometimes, to answer the increasing questions they have about the suspicious deaths of their rivals and about Elijah’s coma.
I feel like Killing Adonis is the book that Agatha Christie and Tim Burton would have written together if they’d ever met, and for me it was the perfect blend of mystery and the mysterious. The Vincetti’s are caricatures of people you’d never want to meet, but are increasingly dominant in a world geared towards helping the rich and powerful become richer and more powerful. Throw in a few mysteries to solve and a protagonist with a slight drinking problem, and you get one of the more imaginative novels I’ve had the pleasure of reading lately.
QUOTE:
Killing Adonis is bursting with snappy dialogue, symbolism and pop-culture and literary references – there is just so much going on.
Search this website …
SEARCH
You are here: Home / Aussie Author / Book Review – KILLING ADONIS by J M Donellan
Book Review – KILLING ADONIS by J M Donellan
April 17, 2016 by Joanne P Leave a Comment
Killing Adonis by J M Donellan
Recently published in the US by Poisoned Pen Press Mysteries.
Killing Adonis Synopsis :
LIGHT DUTIES, LARGE PAY
NO QUESTIONS ASKED … OR ANSWERED
After seeing a curious flyer, Freya takes a job caring for Elijah, the comatose son of the eccentric Vincetti family. She soon discovers that the Vincetti’s labyrinthine mansion hides a wealth of secrets, their corporate rivals have a nasty habit of being extravagantly executed, and Elijah is not the saint they portray him to be.
As well, Marilyn Monroe keeps showing up, unaware she’s very much deceased. And there’s something very strange about the story that Elijah’s brother Jack is writing …
Killing Adonis is a tragicomic tale about love, delusion, corporate greed and the hazards of using pineapple cutters while hallucinating.
(Pantera Press)
BOOK REVIEW
When a book is described as a ‘tragicomic tale about love, delusion, corporate greed’ and has some of the best faux leather cover art I’ve seen, it’s off to a pretty good start in the eyes of this reviewer.
But there were lots of other lovely surprises for me in J M Donellan’s Killing Adonis.
Firstly, and I really don’t know how this initially slipped by me, J M Donellan is a fellow Brisbanite and this very contemporary story is set in Brisbane. The references to well known bars and everyday locations around my city (in a non-cliche way) were a real treat.
Secondly, Killing Adonis is bursting with snappy dialogue, symbolism and pop-culture and literary references – there is just so much going on. So focus and plausibility is this novel’s key weakness from a literary standpoint, but on the flipside it was the overwhelming, madcap nature of the tale that I found so entertaining.
“So, how long do you give yourself before you try to break in?…. It’s like a modern-day Pandora’s box.”
“How come in myths it’s always women who cause all the woes of the world to come hurtling into existence? Eve, Pandora, Lilith, Helen of Troy? Can’t you men take any goddamn responsibility for all the world’s crap?”
“We’ve already had our periodic breakfast-foodsat-inappropriate-times argument, do we have to get into chauvinistic-attitudes-perpetuated-through-mythculture quarrel tonight as well?”
Killing Adonis is a fun read worth checking out, and J M Donellan an author now very much on my radar.
BOOK RATING: The Story 4 / 5 ; The Writing 3.5 / 5
QUOTE:
For me, Killing Adonis was a surprising page turner. I was thoroughly entertained by the snappy writing, audacious characters, and gaudy plot. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend readers comfortable with something a little less mainstream give it a chance – no question.
08
OCT
2014
2 Comments
by shelleyrae @ Book'd Out in Australian Reading, ★★★★, Contemporary, Fiction, Provided by Publisher/Author
Title: Killing Adonis
Author: J.M. Donellan
Published: Pantera Press October 2014
Read an Excerpt
Status: Read from October 04 to 06, 2014 — I own a copy {Courtesy the publisher}
My Thoughts:
‘WANTED: NURSE (a proper one, not a silly male one) PRETTY (but not too pretty CLEVER (but not too clever) APPLICANTS WITH AN EXCESSIVELY CURIOUS AND INQUISITIVE NATURE ARE DISTINCTLY NOT WELCOME. LIGHT DUTIES. LARGE PAY. (ALL CASH. NO QUESTIONS ASKED OR ANSWERED)’
After several hours of swilling booze with best friend Callum, Freya Miller drunkenly emails her CV in response to an unusual ad passed on to her by her friend, Jane. Just hours later she is summoned to the home of the powerful, wealthy and eccentric Vincetti family and promptly hired to care for their revered comatose son, Elijah. Though forcefully warned that curiosity about her employers, their business, or her patient, will not be tolerated, Freya can’t resist unearthing their secrets, but is wholly unprepared for what she finds.
Killing Adonis is Brisbane writer J.M. Donellan’s debut adult fiction novel. With larger than life characters (including a cameo from Marilyn Munroe), a strange mystery and a surreal plot that teeters between farce and satire, it is a quirky and darkly comic story about corporate greed, obscene privilege, and murder.
Freya is an entertaining character, quick witted and bold, with a prodigious capacity for booze, an irrational fear of pineapple cutters and the ability to see music as colours (a synesthete). She blithely ignores her employers warnings as she begins to poke around the mansion uncovering, amongst other things, two identical baby’s rooms, one entirely pink, and one entirely blue, a room filled with boxes of tiny woollen jumpers (which she later learns are for the penguin victims of an oil spill), three billiard rooms, and Jack.
Jack, Elijah’s older brother, suffers from mild Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle Bone Disease), agoraphobia and writer’s block. He becomes Freya’s unlikely, and sometimes unwilling, ally in the hunt for the truth about his brother’s coma and his parent’s machinations.
As Elijah lies silently, a sculptured Adonis surrounded by ‘beepers’, Freya and Jack begin to investigate the enigma of Elijah’s coma, the mystery of the ‘Danger Room’, the death of a beloved maid and a string of corporate rivals, all to expose Evelyn and Harland Vincetti’s diabolical secrets.
For me, Killing Adonis was a surprising page turner. I was thoroughly entertained by the snappy writing, audacious characters, and gaudy plot. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend readers comfortable with something a little less mainstream give it a chance – no question.
QUOTE:
Some intriguing characters along the way – and the pursuit of a rather sinister character intent on sharing the spoils, adds enough suspense to keep the reader hooked.
This newly published Australian author certainly knows how to spin a yarn.
JANUARY 9, 2010 BY LOIS NICHOLLS
A beginner’s guide to dying in India
Levi’s house burns down, his fiancé dumps him for the nunnery and he gets fired from his job – all in quick succession.
When his long lost brother requests that he join him in India post-haste, he does so without hesitation – he doesn’t have a lot going for him back home and the adventure sounds rather enticing.
It soon becomes clear that the trip is not to be a relaxing holiday. As it turns out, his brother is gravely ill – dying, in fact. He dies shortly after Levi’s arrival and bequeaths his somewhat surprisingly substantial estate to his younger brother – Levi. Claiming the money is not that simple, however, and Levi must unravel his brother’s diary and set off on a journey through India to ultimately lay his hands on the prize.
The journey and convoluted, cryptic trail leading to the ample contents of his will, is presumably to teach Levi invaluable life lessons his older brother learnt during his own life journey. Some intriguing characters along the way – and the pursuit of a rather sinister character intent on sharing the spoils, adds enough suspense to keep the reader hooked.
The book also gave a colourful and insightful glimpse of the vibrant pulse of India – a fascinating aside. This newly published Australian author certainly knows how to spin a yarn.
Watch this space…