Susan McBride (1)

Reading The Cougar Club was a sad and joyful and even a bit scary experience. The women in The Cougar Club were not anything like how cougars are usually portrayed. Three friends are reunited just as their worlds threaten to crumble. The book shows the importance of having real friends you can count on to be there for you in good times and bad.

Getting older as a woman can be terrifying. The toll aging takes on women in their business and romantic lives is the main focus of The Cougar Club. show more It's dealt with beautifully here with a lighthearted humor that makes the book comforting and reassuring.

None of the women were out to randomly score with young guys in the predator-like way the name cougar suggests. Women feel bad about themselves when men abandon them for newer, shinier models both personally and professionally and that was the message here. The younger men were mostly in the background. The Cougar Club is a humorous and hopeful novel about truly finding yourself after 40. show less

A young girl is found at the base of an old water tower deemed a suicide and Detective Jo Larsen is put on the case. What brought this girl to this place and caused her to end young life; abuse, neglect, bullying, loneliness, and/or depression. Upon further investigation through interviews with family and friends, Jo and her partner Hank try to put the pieces together and find that something horrible happened to Kelly causing her to take the fatal plunge.

In this well-written book by author show more Susan McBride, she draws you into a story about a girl that was failed by those that were supposed to look out for her and take care of her. It brings to light a factor that many young people face today concerning bullying, loneliness, and trying to fit in. Through the character of Jo, you see the story unfold as she investigates and discovers the parallels between her own childhood and that of the young girl she is investigating. show less

Here I am again, in this uncomfortable position of not liking a book many people have loved. The feeling is a bit like walking into a formal event wearing a bikini - and I don't even wear a bikini on the beach anymore, much less to a formal party. So I'll apologize for my inappropriate attire, but I can't apologize for my opinion.

This book is not horrible, not at all. The author clearly knows how to write. The plot is intriguing.

But...

The characters have no flare, nothing unique or show more surprising. They feel flat and one-dimensional. We get to know Jo, the lead character, gradually as the story unfolds. She has some secrets and a darkness to her that should have captured my interest, but she never truly comes alive. The "bad guys/girls" are clearly unlikable from the start. They have no redeeming factors, nothing that makes you want to like them even a little bit. This is all too black and white, good and bad, without any of the tension that accompanies complex characters.

The book is written mostly from Jo's perspective, but we get to know Jenny, the murder victim, through snippets of her journal along the way. Oddly, this dead character is the only one that really comes alive on the pages. The journal entries are exceptionally well written.

Pacing is quite slow. We spend a lot of time in Jo's head, which should have helped us get to know her, but most of this introspection is spent rehashing the exact same thought process and case details. The repetition slows everything down without adding depth. The book is quite long, but through much of it there isn't a lot happening.

Then we get to the 'whodunit' at the end. I figured out who did it early on, so that wasn't a surprise. Even the why is pretty obvious before the midway point. There is a bit of a twist, but it doesn't make much sense. The ending seems tossed together, with no plausible explanation allowing me to make the leap and believe the twist.

In the end, I'm left with a story that should have been compelling but instead is largely forgettable. Of course, this is only my opinion. Lots of early reviewers have loved this story, so, if the plot appeals to you, go ahead and give it a try. show less

Disappointing read, especially for me because the author is from my hometown of St. Louis and the novel is set in the nearby Washington, Missouri area. McBride is trying for a magical realism vibe, which is all well and good, but she neglects to flesh out her characters and includes too many different POVs for a short 300 page novel. As a result, Gretchen, Abby and most of all the mysterious man who appears after a storm lack any depth or nuance. The man who might or might not be Gretchen's show more long-last friend Sam comes off worst of all, speaking with New Age-y wisdom but nothing resembling a real human being. show less