A review by jessdekkerreads
Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

I buddy read this one with Noelle and we both really enjoyed it. 

 

A modern day/contemporary retelling of the Persephone and Demeter myth. — Cory is young, lost after graduation with no plan in sight, just that she knows she doesn’t want to return home from summer camp (as a camp counselor) to her mother, who has high expectations for her. Instead, Cory takes an offer from an older man, a CEO of a large pharmaceutical company, to come to his remote, private island to care for his children. Cory’s mother knows something is amiss, and desperately begins to search for her daughter. 

 

A page turner of sorts; a story of feeling lost, addiction, desire, and complicated mother/daughter dynamics. I found Lyon’s use of comparing genetically modified things in the modern world, to immortality described in the Greek myth, to be really interesting. I also really enjoyed the alternating POVs, it made the story feel more compelling and propulsive. 

 

I loved how sensory it felt, I could feel the sticky heat, taste the bitterness. This is very much a book that should be read in the summer. Full of lush and vivid prose, I was in awe of Lyon’s writing style. 

 

 

I’ll be keeping this one on my shelf, and looking forward to more of Lyon’s work in the future.