Monday, March 7, 2011

The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady Review and GIVEAWAY

The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady


Seventy-seven-year-old Marylou Ahearn is going to kill Dr. Wilson Spriggs come hell or high water. In 1953, he gave her a radioactive cocktail without her consent as part of a secret government study that had horrible consequences. 

Marylou has been plotting her revenge for fifty years. When she accidentally discovers his whereabouts in Florida, her plans finally snap into action. She high tails it to hot and humid Tallahassee, moves in down the block from where a now senile Spriggs lives with his daughter’s family, and begins the tricky work of insinuating herself into their lives. But she has no idea what a nest of yellow jackets she is stum­bling into. 

Before the novel is through, someone will be kidnapped, an unlikely couple will get engaged, someone will nearly die from eating a pineapple upside-down cake laced with anti-freeze, and that’s not all . . . 
Told from the varied perspectives of an incredible cast of endearing oddball characters and written with the flair of a native Floridian, this dark comedy does not disappoint.


My take:  This is a quirky read.  By quirky I mean entertaining in a dark, somewhat disturbing way.  Marylou planned to murder Dr. Spriggs but instead decides to destroy his family which is on the brink of disaster, anyway.  Dr. Spriggs however, doesn't know what's going on most of the time.  Marylou carries out our darkest compulsions for getting even and possesses some creativity. 


Fifty years, a class action suit, a formal apology from Federal Government and the death of her eight year old child from cancer later, 77 year old Mary Ahearn is looking for a piece of her own back. She has searched for and found the obstetrician who gave her those lethal vitamins, Dr. Wilson Spriggs. Mary is determined to have her vengeance by killing Dr. Spriggs but she is not quite sure how to best to pull it off. She moves to Tallahassee to be near the doctor. She will ingratiate herself into his life somehow and is confident that a plan will present itself. 


Dr. Spriggs is living in Florida with his daughter who is ready to flee the family.  Although still married, her husband is disturbing, her children exhibit Asperger's Syndrome (one is currently building a bomb in the shed).  Dr. Spriggs remembers his childhood but can't recall what he ate for breakfast.


Mary quickly infiltrates the Spriggs home, but killing the Doctor is a little more difficult. It's not that Mary lacks the will to do the deed, not at all. The opportunity for murder is elusive and killing Dr. Sprigg without being able to make him understand why has it's frustrations. So Mary turns her clever attention to destroying his family and that becomes very easy. Mary finds and exploits the weaknesses of each family member. It can be somewhat uncomfortable as a reader to watch these events unfold not only because some of the consequences of Mary's manipulations are repugnant but because at the same time they can be funny. 


The author delves into grief, revenge, right and wrong.  She explores the darker side of human nature and uses a sweet, old lady who is really an angry and bitter woman grieving over the death of her 8 year old daughter 50 years later.  Is she justified in her revenge?   That is an interesting question.  I'll let you decide.


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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not good at revenge. I don't have the patience to craft something together; and usually, I react as soon as I've been wronged. My anger is usually enough to keep them from crossing me again. That is not to say I'm a rageaholic, but I get my point across well.

Vivien said...

I always feel the urge to take revenge after I get boiling angry. There are a lot of times that I want to get revenge on some of the uptight supervisors at my work. You know the type, same age as you but somehow got the better position, not because of actual work experience, and then take out their disrespect on you. I get so frustrated sometimes! But, I have yet to take any revenge. Want to, but haven't :)

Anonymous said...

There are several old boyfriends I've wanted seek revenge on in a dark and twisted way, but I did nothing :) *Thanks* for the giveaway!
theluckyladybug[at]gmail[dot]com

Carol N Wong said...

Yes, I did. I had a professor for an intership that really got my goat every single time we had class. I kept having nightmares of sending him some kind of anonymus hate letter!!! Of course I never did it!


CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

Jessica ( frellathon ) said...

I often feel that way my ex being one of the standouts and people who have hurt the ones I love. Course once the anger has waned a bit you come to realize people like that aren't even worth the time of day.

LAMusing said...

I don't have the stamina for it. Revenge takes a lot of long term steam to keep it going - my anger flares out pretty fast.
adrianecoros(at)gmail(dot)com

Norma said...

No, living well is really the best revenge. The anger hurts me more than it does them anyway.
bingomamanorma(at)gmail(dot)com

bitt said...

Yes as a kid I used to want to get revenge a lot but it got me into a lot of trouble! I really embarrassed a classmate by putting a bloody tampon in her cubbie. So mean!

Kim Lehnhoff said...

Oh, I've had revenge fantasies, but I've never acted on them. Imagine, a weekend family gathering, Ex-Lax brownies, and only one working toilet.

I'd have dropped off the brownies and gone home imagine the consequences.

Of course, I would never do anything like that, but I get some sort of sick pleasure out of imagining it.

Mona said...

Yes, I've had revenge fantasies. My target is a friend of my mom's that I can't stand. My dad, brother, and I feel that she mistreats and takes advantage of my mom and yet...

monagarg@yahoo.com

nicolesender said...

No, I don't believe in revenge; too much negative energy.
nicolesender(at)yahoo(dot)com

Nancye said...

I would LOVE to seek revenge on my husbands ex-boss who was HORRIBLE to my husband!! I'm not going to include the ways I'd like to torture him, just use your imagination........the worst way possible!

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net