Synopsis:
By day, Maeve Fly works at the happiest place in the world as every child’s favorite ice princess.
By the neon night glow of the Sunset Strip, Maeve haunts the dive bars with a drink in one hand and a book in the other, imitating her misanthropic literary heroes.
But when Gideon Green – her best friend’s brother – moves to town, he awakens something dangerous within her, and the world she knows suddenly shifts beneath her feet.
Untethered, Maeve ditches her discontented act and tries on a new persona. A bolder, bloodier one, inspired by the pages of American Psycho. Step aside Patrick Bateman, it’s Maeve’s turn with the knife.
Awards/Nominations:
- Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Best First Novel (2023)
- Splatterpunk Award for Best Novel (2024)
- Indie Next Pick
- CALIBA Golden Poppy Award for Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror (2023)
My Thoughts:
Have you ever found yourself craving an American Psycho-esque tale, but felt yourself unable to handle that much uninterrupted Brett Easton Ellis? That’s legit, his books are great, but…he’s a lot. Like, if I wanted to witness a spoiled little man play out his most violent fantasies I’d *checks notes* …just continue to live in America in the year 2025…I hate it here.
Well, anyway, C.J. Leede has got you covered with Maeve Fly. This book is American Psycho minus all the occasionally nauseating misogyny/toxic masculinity (please don’t get me wrong – I overall really enjoy B.E.E.’s work, I just don’t always want to have to deal with men’s grossest thoughts and feelings, you know? Sometimes I just want to deal with women’s grossest thoughts and feelings!). Maeve is a gloriously disturbed character who becomes more and more unhinged as the story progresses. I honestly would have been overjoyed had Maeve Fly been a significantly longer book. She is such a delightful psychopath. She isn’t written as a “Female Patrick Bateman Type” – she is Patrick Bateman in the body of a young woman/Disney theme park princess. Maeve is an absolute treasure.
I love a good story about an unapologetic woman, and Maeve is as unapologetic as it gets. She is what she is, and you’d probably better just stay the hell out of her way. Or, if you’re into her whole shtick, go ahead and get up close. Either way, just know that whatever happens, happens. Is Maeve Fly a feminist fever dream? Not really. But it might be a feminist-adjacent night terror. I don’t know. This book is really great.
Rating:
There are some scenes that might make you squirm, but if you’re into splatterpunk/extreme horror you should definitely check out Maeve Fly. Especially if you’re tired of women in literature being relegated to prey or emotional support humans.
Maeve Fly
By: C.J. Leede
Tor Nightfire
Published: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9781250857859
Hardcover, Paperback, E-book, Audio
288 Pages
