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A review by amothersmusings1
Last Woman Standing by Amy Gentry
3.0
Having not read “Good As Gone” by author Amy Gentry, yet being highly recommended, I was therefore highly excited and intrigued to be trying her latest novel “Last Woman Standing”.
Dana Diaz, (nicknamed Double D for her name and ‘appearance’) can’t get over the humiliation she suffered at the hands of a man she believed would help her career. After an open mic session as a stand up comic, she drowns her sorrows at a bar and ends up talking to Amanda, a stranger who also has a story to tell. During the evening as the friendship develops, Amanda proposes a plan....the women should take revenge on each other’s behalf. However, when the stalking and vengeance becomes a thrill, one act of revenge soon leads to another. But although it’s an addictive game, only one can survive. Who will be be the ‘last woman standing’?
I have to admit that I did struggle initially with the story. I did find it rather ‘American’ with the dialogue and I sadly didn’t quite ‘get’ the comedy act early on in the book and therefore it did drag somewhat. Admittedly though, the story does kick off towards the second half of the book and it was this that kept my attention, along with a tense and uneasy feeling of foreboding.
I’m not sure I took to the main character Dana, she was still quite evasive with her emotions, even after declaring her innermost secrets but I did think Amanda was very enigmatic and she was the one that intrigued me the most. Being narrated in the first person by Dana it was interesting to hear her thoughts before, during and after her comedy sets, just proving those on stage, do suffer from nerves, unresponsive audiences and having to deal with hecklers. I thought the author covered Dana’s time at the mic very well and due to the descriptive nature of the writing, I actually felt I was in the room with Dana listening to her act.
“Last Woman Standing” was a nice quick read, that once got going was very nicely paced and addictive. With a nod to the movie “Strangers on a Train” and the current #MeToo movement in its storyline, this was an exceedingly timely and topical novel that was written well and covered abuse and harassment by men in power sympathetically. Using a unique premise with a stand up comic as the main protagonist and women taking vengeance and retribution on their abusive men, this story was an empowering read and I can imagine that this stylish psychological thriller with go down very well with a female audience.
Amy Gentry is a smart and very intelligent writer that kept this reader guessing till the end and I would happily read more by her in the future.
3.5 stars
Dana Diaz, (nicknamed Double D for her name and ‘appearance’) can’t get over the humiliation she suffered at the hands of a man she believed would help her career. After an open mic session as a stand up comic, she drowns her sorrows at a bar and ends up talking to Amanda, a stranger who also has a story to tell. During the evening as the friendship develops, Amanda proposes a plan....the women should take revenge on each other’s behalf. However, when the stalking and vengeance becomes a thrill, one act of revenge soon leads to another. But although it’s an addictive game, only one can survive. Who will be be the ‘last woman standing’?
I have to admit that I did struggle initially with the story. I did find it rather ‘American’ with the dialogue and I sadly didn’t quite ‘get’ the comedy act early on in the book and therefore it did drag somewhat. Admittedly though, the story does kick off towards the second half of the book and it was this that kept my attention, along with a tense and uneasy feeling of foreboding.
I’m not sure I took to the main character Dana, she was still quite evasive with her emotions, even after declaring her innermost secrets but I did think Amanda was very enigmatic and she was the one that intrigued me the most. Being narrated in the first person by Dana it was interesting to hear her thoughts before, during and after her comedy sets, just proving those on stage, do suffer from nerves, unresponsive audiences and having to deal with hecklers. I thought the author covered Dana’s time at the mic very well and due to the descriptive nature of the writing, I actually felt I was in the room with Dana listening to her act.
“Last Woman Standing” was a nice quick read, that once got going was very nicely paced and addictive. With a nod to the movie “Strangers on a Train” and the current #MeToo movement in its storyline, this was an exceedingly timely and topical novel that was written well and covered abuse and harassment by men in power sympathetically. Using a unique premise with a stand up comic as the main protagonist and women taking vengeance and retribution on their abusive men, this story was an empowering read and I can imagine that this stylish psychological thriller with go down very well with a female audience.
Amy Gentry is a smart and very intelligent writer that kept this reader guessing till the end and I would happily read more by her in the future.
3.5 stars