Customer Reviews

Musclebound

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Eva Wylie's voice is still echoing iin my brain. What a strong character! Eva, the female wrestler known as the London Lassasin, has been barred from wrestling, but she hasn't been beaten. Living in an auto wrecking yard with her attack dogs, Eva is reunited with her sister Simone. A mysterious bag of money introduces us to such a group of well drawn villains that I shudder at the thought of meeting most of them on a street in daylight, let alone night. And then there's Keif, with the "voodoo hands". _Musclebound_ is a tightly woven story full of memorable characters, including a visit or two by Anna Lee, from Liza Cody's other popular series.

Liza Cody is responsible for a highly entertaining series of books featuring an extremely tough protagonist in eva Wylie. Unfortunately the series only runs to 3 books (at least so far) and Musclebound is the 3rd book. Eva Wylie is a tough woman who defiantly narrates her story. She doesn't tell us the story so much as she drops it in a sodden heap at our feet and then says, "Well what are ya waiting for, read it".

She is a raw, in-your-face professional wrestler who holds a night watchman job at a car-wreckers. At least, she was a professional wrestler, known as the London Lassassin until she was banned from the ring. Now she just works nights with her dogs, Ramses, Linnekar and Milo.

At the start of the book, Eva is down on her luck, out of work, often drunk and getting tossed out of pubs. But she's still the same tough character. She brooks no nonsense from anyone and will loudly tell you where to go if you cross her. Her put downs and sarcastic comebacks range from crude to blatantly abusive and are a feature of the story that I find hugely entertaining.

After getting kicked out of a pub late one night, she spots a car at a service station just begging to be "borrowed". She barely hesitates before jumping in and speeding off, only to be shocked when the owner of the car shoots out the passenger windows. She is even more shocked when she later discovers that sitting on the back seat of the car is a bag full of cash. Naturally Eva takes the cash, pleased with her unexpected change of fortune. But she finds out that having money can cause almost as many problems as having none.

Her easy life is suddenly disrupted by a procession of unwelcome visitors as can be imagined when coming into possession of that much many in dubious circumstances. There's Keif, a fellow wrestler who virtually adopts Eva and vows to train her back into shape, Fish Face, Droopy-drawers, The Enemy (Anna Lee, Cody's other protagonist) and God Greg, not to mention Wozzizname and the police. They sound like weird names, but only because Eva tends to christen people with her own nicknames and then refers to them only by their new nicknames, no matter how derogatory they may be.

Among the unwelcome guests who visit her home comes a visitor who is very definitely in the welcome category. Her sister, Simone appears one day much to Eva's joy. For the duration of the first two books, Eva has had a burning desire to find Simone but her mother continually refused to tell her where she was. Simone's introduction to the story is an interesting one because it enables us to finally see another side of Eva, one where she is desperate to please somebody else.

What makes this book so enjoyable is the total consistency of Eva's hate. She doesn't discriminate, if you tick her off she will give you an absolute gob full and that's where the fun begins. She also has an interesting philosophy on life one that is, shall we say, unconventional, and she updates us with it as we follow her story.

Just finished "Musclebound", having previously read "Monkey Wrench" (reviewed separately). I am even more confirmed liking this character and series.

Eva Wylie is an unusual character, to say the least, and I won't go into the plots as these are available in the other reviews. It's the character that appeals.

The novels are told in first-person narrative. You feel like an older, wiser counselor looking over Eva's shoulder, being inside her head. You see what's going on WELL before Eva does, like when she finds a bag full of money in this story but does not realize it's counterfeit 'til WAY after the reader does.

It's not about how smart Eva is, but how gutsy. She's been knocked down over and over but she gets back up every time. By the end of each novel Eva has grown a bit further by paradoxically staying herself AND learning some things new. Eva has friends and supporters both true (including THE ENEMY, her nickname for another character in the book) and false (but we're still figuring that out along with her).

It's a wild and crazy ride, each novel, and I can't wait to read the next!

I wish there were more Eva Wylie books. This heroine views life from her own desperate background, and her viewpoints are endearing. Her vocabulary is entertaining, with the London slang. It is the character that makes the book, even more than the story. Read all three Eva Wylie books: Bucket Nut, Monkey Wrench, and Musclebound.

Eva Wylie is one of the most unique, fascinating, and memorable characters created in mystery fiction to date! Cody does a terrific job of letting us see many sides to Wylie, and the effect is that Wylie "sticks with us" long after we have put the book down. Wylie is at once rock-hard tough, pitiable, and intelligent (in her own way), and Cody's translation of Wylie's thoughts are at once no-nonsense and brilliantly subtle. The Eva Wylie series is perhaps the best, funniest, and most unique series I have read in a long, long time! Well worth reading all three, and looking forward to many more.

I had previously devoured the other 2 Bucket Nut books, but only recently found Musclebound on the shelf at my library. Here is more of the irresistibly gritty and heart-wringing tough girl Eva Wylie, who was first introduced in Bucket Nut. Eva's down on her luck, banned from what she lives for - the wrestling ring - and drinking herself into the pit. Then things start to develop, with Eva right in the middle of it all.

I cannot understand why people keep calling the Eva books mysteries, and her a sleuth. Or moral. Hah!! Eva is your ultimate surly street survivor. She may be in the middle of a mystery, but she isn't trying to straighten anything out but her own life - and not necessarily by legal means. Stubborn, hard-headed, big and mean, Eva is her own worse enemy. But she is as tough and determined as they come, and she is going to take care of herself - and her crew of big and mean junkyard dogs - come what may.

Eva finally develops a dream - Musclebound, a gym of her own - and life hands her an advance toward her dream on a platter, then whisks it away. But the dream manages to live on. As all the Eva Wylie books are, this one is sad and funny, and gut-wrenching and just plain impossible to put down. And it also has another of Eva's absolutely smashing wrestling scenes in there, a dose of pure adrenaline-dripping fabulous reading! Not for the squeamish or faint of heart.

these three books are an excellent light read. The writer does an amazing job of creating what I believe is known as an "unreliable narrator", and the reader knows a lot that the narrator doesn't. A compelling and relatable protagonist, and a wonderful plot, I very much recommend all three of these books.