'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.'
Maeve Fly is a story about a young woman with dark impulses who's kept her murderous and sadistic instincts in check finally letting go, resulting in a bloody rampage that will leave a bloody mark on LA's history.
Maeve is a deeply disturbed and twisted young woman who lives with her ageing Hollywood starlet grandmother, Tallulah, in her home in Los Angeles. By day Maeve works at 'the happiest place on earth' as an actress playing the hugely popular 'ice princess' for children to get to meet (we all know who this is, but the book never says it outright). By night, however, she prowls the bars and hidden strip clubs of the city, drinking alone in a dark corner whilst reading. She also has a dark side, one she embraces by reading books about the darker parts of human nature, and watching nature documentaries filled with killing whilst cat-fishing racists and masturbating. She ties murder and the destruction of people's lives to her own pleasure in a dark cycle.
Things are going well for Maeve, she's recently ruined the life of a woman online, her best friend (who plays the Ice Princess' sister) continues on her journey to becoming a movie star but hanging with Maeve whenever she can, and she's managing to keep the job that she loves. However, her carefully constructed life begins to unravel. Her best friends brother comes to town, and shows an interest in Maeve. Her grandmothers nurse tells her that her sick, comatose grandmother's time has come to an end. And her job is under threat. All of this sends Maeve over the edge, and she begins a bloody campaign to kill anyone who might threaten her life, in the most brutal and sadistic way possible.
Maeve Fly is a slow narrative that focuses on its lead character, with the first third of the book simply spending time getting to know her. We follow her daily life, learn about her past, and go through the odd routine that she's built for herself. A lover of the dark and spooky, as well as all things old Hollywood, Maeve wanders through LA as a quiet observer, basking in the glory of the city. The second third of the book sees this life slowly change, as she begins to entertain the idea of allowing someone else into her life, and we watch as she and her new lover slowly try to find a balance.
The final third of the book, however, is where the interesting stuff happens, and Maeve lets her inner killer out onto the world. By this point in the story it's clear that Maeve is not a normal person. She's been harbouring something truly dark and twisted inside of her, and C.J. Leede takes great pleasure in showing us what that is as Maeve commits brutal and disturbing crimes.
The book is incredibly graphic when it comes to these moments. Maeve tortures people, performing gross and disturbing acts, such as peeling someone's face off in small strips whilst they're still alive, or cutting a man's penis off piece by piece. There's also a lot of sexual violence too, with one of her victims suffering an awful fate involving acid, a pipe, and a bunch of mice. If you're not into torture and disgusting horror then these moments might prove to be a bit too much for you, as the book doesn't shy away from revelling in these moments as they bring Maeve great pleasure.
The narrative, at times, can also have a similar effect on the reader, as we're very much led through things by Maeve, who's somewhat loose grip on reality makes for a story that sometimes bounces around wildly. She's not a reliable narrator, and is the only one that we have for this story, leading to a narrative that feels as unstable as she is, taking us on a dark journey where half of what we're reading may not even be real.
Maeve Fly is an unusual book, a deep character study of a woman who's more monster than human being. Thanks to the slow pace, some may check out before the real meat of the story actually happens, but for those who do stick through it you'll find something incredibly dark and disturbing waiting for you.
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