If the rest of Animal by Lisa Taddeo is as gripping as this small sample it will quite a read.
The book starts,literally,with a bang as Joan is having dinner with her married lover when her boss, also married and also her lover, enters the restaurant and shoots himself in front of her. After the police have gone,and while assuring the reader that she's not a sociopath, Joan calmly walks home and makes herself a Taco. Joan's interrupted dinner date convinces her that it's time to leave New York and head for California, where the rich and beautiful Alice lives . All we know about Alice from this teaser is that Joan has kept her name on a piece of paper for the previous 2 years and we leave her as she arrives at her less than salubrious new home ,complete with her parent's ashes.
The writing is sparse and punchy,there were parts that read just like Raymond Chandler, and I doubt there are many laughs along the way as Joan's tale progresses.
Joan describes herself as depraved and this book won't be for everyone,it's gritty and raw with a cynical slant on human nature.
I can only comment on what I've read but the first couple of chapters are certainly gripping.

The extract is from a novel aptly named ‘animal’. Each character was immediately defined by what they thought they could get from another. A very dog eat dog introduction.
When tragedy strikes the narrative isn’t punctuated by emotion but rather a cool assessment of what has been lost and how to regain it. This is a motivated woman. She knows exactly what she has been taking and the author expertly sets you up wanting to know why. What is the source of her rage, and who will she weaponise her sex against next?

This is a gripping and mysterious introduction to the novel that will leave you wanting more.

"I'll [tell the story] this way so that you may withhold your sympathy. Or maybe you won't have any sympathy at all. That's fine by me."

A thoroughly engrossing story, told in a vivid and unrepentant way. The author has harnessed their keen insight of the human mind to create three-dimensional characters that come alive off the page. It is a book that you just won't want to put down!

"If someone ask me to describe myself in a single word, DEPRAVED is the one I would use"...

I alrady found „Three women“ a highly recomme dable read, yet „Animal“ seems to quite different. What I liked waht the lively narrator, Taddeo seems to have found a unique voice for thenwomanntelling her story. Definitely a strong beginning whic made me curious about the rest of the novel.

This is such a taut, propulsive opening to a novel. After reading and adoring Three Women, I had high expectations for Taddeo's debut novel and this teaser is everything I thought it would be.

The narrator is playful and sharp but I feel like a quiet devastation is just underneath the surface. It seems like Taddeo has similar themes at play as in Three Women, but is also perhaps taking a leaf out of Lauren Groff's book and giving us a glimpse into female rage.

Please sir, I want some more!