Review: In Bloom by CJ Skuse

In Bloom is probably a Marmite book; you'll love it or hate it. I have an opened jar of Marmite in the cupboard and have been eagerly awaiting this sequel to Sweetpea so you can figure where I stand. The UK's self-described psychopath and serial killer, Rhiannon (Rhee) Lewis, is back and this time she has company with a conscience.

Click to view on
Amazon

The setting is still the West Country of England, close to Wales and is told in first person.

 The blurb on the cover describes it as Bridget Jones meets American Psycho but I don't think that is a good comparison. Rhiannon is much closer to Jeff Lindsay's Dexter Morgan. Here's one similarity: like Dexter, Rhiannon has an undeniable compulsion to kill and also like Dexter, she is selective who she kills, she only kills bad people (well, mostly). Rhiannon is very self-aware of what she is and matter-of-factly says, For me, killing is what makes life worth living. She just in control enough to channel her urge.

In Bloom opens exactly where Sweetpea ended, with a body in the bathtub and Rhiannon fearing that it's the police pounding at her door. To her relief, it is just an elderly neighbor leaving for the shops. Rhiannon is able to get rid of the body—AJ, the father of her child—and get her noisy neighbor out of the way. She moves in with her jailed fiance's (Craig) parents who think that they will be grandparents.

 Rhiannon found herself pregnant at the end of Sweetpea and with a title like In Bloom you can figure the focus of this story. Each chapter is headed with stage of her pregnancy giving the the week and day. She goes into great detail on the changes in her body which may make some readers squeamish. The twist here is that Rhee and the foetus talk to each other. The foetus tries to talk Rhee out of killing any more out of survival. And the foetus isn't above making her feel guilty about killing the father. Is there a psychic connection or does Rhiannon actually have a conscience manifesting in these conversations? This may seem like a lame story element but it is really well done and frequently very funny.

 Rhee continues to be sarcastic, foul mouthed, hyper sexed, and very funny. Her attempts to be part of a mommy group and another ladies society are hilarious. Besides her urge to kill again — she has several candidates picked out much the the distress of the foetus — Rhee is continuing to fit up her cheating fiance (currently awaiting trial) for her murders and is gaslighting the woman with whom he was cheating. This is a really nicely done and reveals Rhiannon's deviousness. The reader (me anyway) frequently doesn't see what she is up to with her plan.

All is not smooth sailing, however, as there is a detective who isn't as convinced by Rhiannon's act as everyone else.

The book ends with a good setup for a sequel and I can hardly wait. I don't think I've read another series since Dexter where you find yourself rooting for the serial killer, even one as rude, crude, funny, and profane as Rhiannon.

Sweetpea, the first book in the series, is available from Amazon.