Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

Simon Pulse, January 4, 2011
read for A-Z Reading Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

Kit and Fancy Cordelle are sisters of the best kind: best friends, best confidantes, and best accomplices. The daughters of the infamous Bonesaw Killer, Kit and Fancy are used to feeling like outsiders, and that’s just the way they like it. But in Portero, where the weird and wild run rampant, the Cordelle sisters are hardly the oddest or most dangerous creatures around.
It’s no surprise when Kit and Fancy start to give in to their deepest desire—the desire to kill. What starts as a fascination with slicing open and stitching up quickly spirals into a gratifying murder spree. Of course, the sisters aren’t killing just anyone, only the people who truly deserve it. But the girls have learned from the mistakes of their father, and know that a shred of evidence could get them caught. So when Fancy stumbles upon a mysterious and invisible doorway to another world, she opens a door to endless possibilities….

I have to say that I was given plenty of advance warning about this novel. I heard that it was graphic, I heard that it was twisted, I heard that other readers couldn't finish it. After hearing all that, there was no question in my mind--I HAD to read this book! After all, my favorite non-YA genre has to be horror; I make it a point to buy, in hardcover, every new Stephen King book published, I took a class in college on the history of horror, reading everything from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to The Exorcist, Edgar Allen Poe to H.P. Lovecraft. So it's safe to say that I'm easily turned off by blood, guts, and dismemberment. Indeed, I thought I would be able to finish Slice of Cherry and add it to my list of favorite horror stories.

Alas, that's not exactly what happened. First of all, I was reading Slice of Cherry on my nook, and I find it takes me longer to read eBooks rather than paper. Most people say the opposite is true for them, but for me, I tend to read slower on my nook. So fro the get-go I knew it was going to take me longer to get through this book than I would have liked.

Secondly, I found myself confused at several points in the story. While I was aware this was a horror novel, I hadn't realized the paranormal element would factor so heavily in the story line. In addition, I didn't feel that there was enough backstory to explain the paranormal elements. (Disclaimer: I have not yet read Reeves' first novel, Bleeding Violet) Everything I've read about Slice of Cherry indicated that it was a stand-alone novel that just happened to have the same setting as Bleeding Violet. While this is true, I suspect that some things that I didn't understand in this book would have made sense had I read Bleeding Violet first.

I did appreciate the horror aspects of the story. The idea of two girls having "Bonesaw Killer" blood is quite intriguing, and I love the way the girls managed to rationalize their murders. I also liked how each of the girls had a chance to second-guess their "project." When Fancy started waffling on the task, I thought Kit was going to be the more malicious of the two, and then suddenly Kit was the one with misgivings.

Of the two sisters, I liked Kit more. Fancy seemed needy and possessive to the point of weirdness when it came to Kit. I get it, you're sisters, you're best friends, but really? You can't possibly understand why Kit would want to spend time with a boy? Seriously, Fancy, cut those ties, or your last memory of Kit will be her running away from you.

I would love to read a prequel of how Fancy and Kit's father, aka the "Bonesaw Killer," came to be a serial killer, or revisiting the girls in the future (now that I know what to expect!).

purchased eBook.

Enjoy your reading!
Christi