A review by aditurbo
The Ninth Step by Grant Jerkins
4.0
A suspense novel about the illusion of control in our lives and what happens when we wake up from this illusion. I love Jerkins' writing - it's minimalist and realistic, with no embellishments and no mercy for the reader. The characters are not likable, and their morality is dubious. As in real life, they operate according to their interest and make decisions based on what's good for them, regardless of what is considered "good" or "bad". It seems that they do not care about being considered "good" or "nice", which mirrors modern society, where people have dropped all pretense of trying to be or at least seem to be considerate, civil or kind to one another. There is no real friendship, no trust and no true love.
The characters find life unbearable, and have ways to drug themselves so as not to experience it in full - whether by alcohol, obsessive puzzle solving or greed. This also feels true to me, as a member of an older generation in which shame and guilt were still considered positive emotions that drive people to behave themselves, and who now has to adjust to an "every-man-for-himself" kind of atmosphere and to a post-modernist dismantling of the concepts of good and evil.
In short, this is a well-paced, suspenseful novel which is a fun read and leaves you with some food for thought as well.
The characters find life unbearable, and have ways to drug themselves so as not to experience it in full - whether by alcohol, obsessive puzzle solving or greed. This also feels true to me, as a member of an older generation in which shame and guilt were still considered positive emotions that drive people to behave themselves, and who now has to adjust to an "every-man-for-himself" kind of atmosphere and to a post-modernist dismantling of the concepts of good and evil.
In short, this is a well-paced, suspenseful novel which is a fun read and leaves you with some food for thought as well.