Customer Reviews

The Body of a Girl

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Memphis, Olivia Dale does the cop beat. Although quite young for such an assignment and is not even aware of the names of the cops she reports on, Olivia normally arrives after the police and medical examiners have completed their efforts. This time she happened to hear the report of murder over the scanner and was close enough to beat most of the homicide cops to the scene. For the first time she sees the brutalized corpse lying in the park before the tape prohibits voyeurs and reporters (some might say that is the same).

The victim is Allison Avery, who haunts Olivia, as she seems so similar to herself down to her painted toenails at least to the reporter. An obsessed Olivia needs to know the truth because the similarities between them bedevil her and she could have been the person lying in the park. Olivia begins her own investigation into the life of Allison by flirting with the victim's brother and former boyfriend. Olivia digs deeper into a life that increasingly strikes home.

Though in some respects, BODY OF A GIRL is an amateur sleuth tale, the story line centers more on Olivia's state of mind. Olivia is a complex character whose actions obfuscate the barrier between reporting a story and becoming the story. The support cast, including the victim, exists for readers to dig deep inside the mind of the protagonisst. Purists who enjoy an amateur sleuth examining a murder will probably be a bit disappointed by this tale, but readers who relish a psychological portrait of an investigator who stepped over the line will devour Leah Stewart's debut novel.

Body of a Girl is so wonderful I can only urge you to order it and read it as soon as possible. Allison Avery is the perfect 'girl.' Beloved by friends and family. Her murder opens up her life... a secret life that may have led to her brutal murder. Olivia Dale is a young reporter who covers the story for her Memphis newspaper. Olivia bears a resemblance to Allison and soon the murdered girl's family and friends open up to her, giving her insight into Allisons life. Olivia is drawn into this shadowy and dangerous world, fascinated by the wild side hidden inside her. Leah Stewart is a wonderful writer . I never thought anyone could hold a candle to Ruth Rendell, but here she is! This book is what a crime novel should be...literate, insightful and most importantly, great fun to read. I look forward to the next book!

I have to say there are not many books I just can't put down, but this was one of them. Leah Stewart has done a remarkable job of luring you in so easily you don't realize how engaged you are before it's too late. I'm not normally a mystery/thriller reader, but this was recommended by a friend, and I'm really glad I picked it up. The book is terrific -- hard to believe it's a first novel!

I really enjoyed this book. It was one of few I looked forward to while at work. Leah Stewart did a wonderful job of creating believable characters and a suspenseful plot, while also brilliantly conveying the atmosphere of it's setting - Memphis. This is my favorite book of it's kind since Mystic River, and I look forward to more from this author.

On a blazing hot summer morning the body of a girl is found in a Memphis park. She has been beaten, raped, run over by a car and left half-naked. This gruesome discovery sets in motion an intriguing plot. A female crime reporter becomes involved in the case of the murdered girl, and tries to keep the investigation on the front page as the police encounter dead-ends. As the reporter uncovers more and more about the murdered girl, she begins to relate and even aspire to the vistim's personality traits. The author enjoys placing her heroine in dangerous situations, crafting an intense storyline that applies to all women who do not feel safe alone in an urban environment.

This is a fascinating book, with an amazingly developed protaganist. Olivia Dale is a complex and intense character who will stop at nothing to get the story. A crime reporter in Memphis, Olivia comes upon the case of a dead young woman who looks like her, is her age, and for all intents and purposes, could just as easily have been her or any other young woman in the city. Wanting to get to the bottom of what happened, how, why and by whom, Olivia begins living as the victim might have. She tries to piece the puzzle together by recreating the victim's life and experiences. We watch this woman transform as a person and reporter, and learn a great deal about herself. What are human boundaries, and how far are we willing to extend them in different circumstances? A highly recommended, page turning, thriller.

Body of a Girl is dubbed as a cross-genre literary/ mystery novel. I personally hate labels and peoples' need to categorize everything into neat little categories. Screw that I say. Body of a girl is quite simply a well-written, novice newspaper-reporter-turned-sleuth novel. It is a story of a young journalist--motivated as much as she is naive--beginning her career (ironically paralleling the author's life, in some sense) and trying to remain true to who she is among a seedy, often cruel and corrupt world. And like the author's true life symbolically mirrors that of the main character, so does our main character spend much of the novel peering into the looking glass of the victim's life who eerily also mirrors her own; and, hence, we have a tridimensional dynamic in the deep, deep underlying machinations of this literary work which (for me) gave it real substance and made for an undeniably genuine and fulfilling read.

On a lighter note, I really enjoyed the precise prose, even pacing, well-developed characters, sweltering setting, and most importantly: the author's willingness to take risks. What makes this novel really shine is the author's willingness to give us a main character who takes chances and assumes risks that catch us completely off guard. I often found myself saying, "No way she is going to do that." And, sure enough, she did. This however, is also my main gripe. I think the author needs to continue taking risks! Body of a Girl looked to be the beginning of a special journey into a darker, rawer realm of confronting one's own desires, fears and deep internal thoughts: the dialogue we hear and let run rampant in our daydreams but do not dare share publicly. I felt a crack of this door opening and saw a splay of light fantastically beginning to shine through . . . I've waited and eagerly hoped to continue such a journey in the author's next novel; however, seeing as the next book is about relationships. . . (needless to say)I am very disapointed. On a positive note, I will read and buy the Myth of You and Me--and I am sure I will be able to enjoy it for what it is; or so I hope. But I probably will never stop wondering what could have been, where and what direction a second novel in a series could have gone: it certainly would have been somewhere unique and compelling, in a land not of categories--but a new land existing between the files, surely outside of the genre box. Maybe, maybe we will be so lucky with novel three.

Leah Stewart is a talented writer. I read this book after finishing her most recent novel, The Myth of You and Me (which I highly recommend). This story is dark and chilling. Olivia is a young reporter covering crimes in Memphis on a hot summer. When the body of girl is found, the case becomes eerily personal for Olivia and the lines between professional duty and personal struggles become blurred as she gets deeper into the murdered girl's story and life. The characters in this novel are deep and well developed, and the sultry atmosphere of a hot summer in Memphis is well rendered. I highly recommend this book.

A 25-year old fledging ace crime newpaper reporter seeks the answers to a night time street murder of a multi-faceted young lady with a surprising resemblance to the reporter herself. Our intrepid narrator meets about every type, from frustrated lovers, drugged out kid brothers, very good local police, and a lot more. And in this case, the police do a fine job in crime solving, a nice change from many novels of the genre. A fine atmospheric job you'll read thru to the end! My only quibble..Is it that easy to enter the apartment of a murder victim?

From the moment I started this book, I was hooked. Every page had me on the edge of my seat. Was there nothing the main character wouldn't do for her story? (You'll have to read it for yourself to find out if and where she draws her line in the sand.)

Stewart's writing style perfect for the tale. She does a great job of helping you understand the motivations of the lead character without giving away her next move. No easy task.

A great read. You won't be disappointed.