Topping from Below

Update 3/10/12 I've been reading about [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades #1)|E.L. James|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1300842729s/10818853.jpg|15732562] and while I have yet to read that book - probably won't -- it would seem to be very similar to this one. I'm wondering if perhaps James is a pseudonym for Reese.

I stumbled across Reese truly by accident. Amazon.com has some very nice features, and one of them is links to books that their computer program calculates you might be interested in based on previous purchases and queries. Reese's name popped up under mysteries, so I poked around in the readers' comments and reviews and was intrigued enough to purchase a copy for myself. One writer even show more suggested Reese might be a pseudonym for Anne Tyler. (I don't think so.)

It's a riveting book, and I have donated it to the library. But, beware. This is not a book for the fainthearted, nor for those whose libidinous impulses scare them into suppression of the distasteful, nor those who are uncomfortable with erotic and graphic sex. Now that I've created a stampede on the circulation desk, a few words about the plot.

This is a book about power and love and the depths to which we will go to achieve them. Nora is convinced that her sister Franny has been killed by M. (rarely is he referred to by his full name, Michael). Franny's body was discovered bound and marked with cuts, and Nora and the police discover that Franny's diary reveals her obsession with M., who wields a sadomasochistic domination over Franny.

The police, while suspicious, are unable to find evidence linking him to Franny's murder, so Nora decides to ingratiate herself with M. in order to collect evidence that will convict him. She begins to discover, however, that she likes M.'s weird sexual practices. M., who Nora quickly realizes knew more about Franny than she herself had, teases her with pieces of information about Franny and the accidental death of their brother Billy, which haunted the sisters.

Franny, unbeknownst to anyone, would hitch rides to the ocean, and then step out into the cold water seeking ever larger waves. "This is a game she started playing several months ago: to see how far she'll push herself; to see if the ocean can scare everything out of her, every memory, good and bad. She wants a wave so big and scary that she'll be sucked into a black hole of fear, remembering nothing. But each time she comes out here it seems harder and harder to reach that black hole, each time she has to push herself further."

Nora becomes more entwined with M., much to the consternation of Ian, her boyfriend, and Joe Harris, a police detective she has befriended. To her horror, she learns that M. has befriended Ian and that Ian has revealed to M. that he had had a brief liaison with Franny. Nora's suspicions begin to focus on Ian as the killer, and after she finds a roll of duct tape and some pornographic pictures of Franny and Ian hidden in Ian's closet, she turns him into the police and considers moving in with M. Her perception of reality unravels after M. gives her a video of Franny that reveals a detail Nora had missed and that turns everything upside down once again.

Note that if erotica or explicitness scares you, don't read this book. show less

This is a misrepresentation of safe, sane and consensual BDSM.

At first I really enjoyed the female POV, and found the mystery intriguing. I chalked up the judgmental tone to her inexperience with the BDSM lifestyle. However, as the story progressed and the play became more and more extreme even crossing the line into bestiality and child porn, it became clear that the BDSM lifestyle was purposefully being misrepresent as corrupted and evil.

Then the toward the end when it's revealed that he did in fact kill her sister I felt like throwing the book out a window. It was a very obvious ploy on the part of the author show his involvement in the BDSM lifestyle as indicated his villainous nature. Not only that to drawing these parallels show more between BDSM and despicable abuse like bestiality and the exploitation of children is as harmful as it is completely inaccurate.

It is even more disturbing that the tone of the ALL the content is written in an erotic tone, even the obvious abuse. I strongly suspect it was done purposefully to make the reader identify with the protagonist's own confusion about where to draw the line, unfortunately it ends up coming off as eroticizing the despicably abuse. Not to mention it gives the very inaccurate impression that any "normal" person can being turned into a twisted abuser by participating in BDSM play. ugh!

It's hard enough being a sexual minority. BDSM doesn't need authors and books exploiting common misconceptions to characterize everyone involved in the community as abusers and/or murders.

I would actually go as far to say this is thinly veiled anit-BDSM propaganda. A cautionary tale meant to scary sexual adventurous women away from exploring their sexuality for fear of being raped, murdered or turned into a "perverted freak."


Note: I edited/updated this review after receiving an messaging requesting I give more details and plainer language around why this misrepresents BDSM. This was one of the first reviews I posted to GoodReads and I own that it was very short, vague and passive in it's tone. I hope this makes it clear why I gave this book a 1star review, but also why I enjoyed the first parts of the story. If you have questions feel free to leave a comment or seem me a message. show less

I will admit this right now:

I am way too much of a prude to read erotic fiction.

In fact, I rarely read it. Although, I will interact with it in other mediums. I am fond of the movie Chloe. However, with the heightened craze of books like the Shades of Grey trilogy, which I cannot get passed Chapter 7 in Book one, it is that horrible, I decided to give Reese's Topping From Below a try after seeing it in my local bookstore.

Topping from Below is well written. The voices of the characters are very distinctive: Franny, the young naive desperate girl whose tragic end jumpstarts the story. Nora, Franny's older sister and protagonist, is self assured, arrogant, and confident. Although, in the beginning she thinks she can resist the charms but show more ultimately falls under the dizzying and captivating spell of M also known as Michael, a Music theory professor who is a sadomaschism aficionado and suspected murderer.

Had it been just a psychological thriller with battle of the wills between M and Nora, I might have even bought this book or wait for it to become a movie of the week on Lifetime. But the rough sex, torture, and beastiality scenes were too much to take. Especially the latter. I got what the Reese was going for. It was supposed to be degrading and immoral. It was meant to break Nora's, and Franny's before her, will but I have my limits. show less

I will admit this right now:

I am way too much of a prude to read erotic fiction.

In fact, I rarely read it. Although, I will interact with it in other mediums. I am fond of the movie Chloe. However, with the heightened craze of books like the Shades of Grey trilogy, which I cannot get passed Chapter 7 in Book one, it is that horrible, I decided to give Reese's Topping From Below a try after seeing it in my local bookstore.

Topping from Below is well written. The voices of the characters are very distinctive: Franny, the young naive desperate girl whose tragic end jumpstarts the story. Nora, Franny's older sister and protagonist, is self assured, arrogant, and confident. Although, in the beginning she thinks she can resist the charms but show more ultimately falls under the dizzying and captivating spell of M also known as Michael, a Music theory professor who is a sadomaschism aficionado and suspected murderer.

Had it been just a psychological thriller with battle of the wills between M and Nora, I might have even bought this book or wait for it to become a movie of the week on Lifetime. But the rough sex, torture, and beastiality scenes were too much to take. Especially the latter. I got what the Reese was going for. It was supposed to be degrading and immoral. It was meant to break Nora's, and Franny's before her, will but I have my limits. show less

How I never found this until now is a mystery. Published waaaay before 50 Shades, this is a murder mystery with BDSM trappings. Excellently written, hot sex scenes, and a few plot twists too.

Loved it.

I'm not one for smut, but I had heard so much about this, I had to read it. Approach this CAUTIOUSLY! It has rape, bestiality, and hefty amounts of BDSM.
The underlying story is very good, though: a tantalizing, psychological thriller.

WOW! I read this book and it is definitely erotic. I'm not going to lie some of the things in this book are disgusting.The only thing that kept me reading was the story line. It is about a girl who tries to find out how her sister really died. She finds a guy that knew her and ends up in a sick twisted relationship. If you dare to read this you will be suprised by who the real killer was. But again this book contains very explicit details.