The Lady Upstairs

At one point while reading Halley Suttons debut, the deliciously noir thriller, The Lady Upstairs, I yelled Damn, Halley, how much can you put my girl (Jo) through? How is she gonna get out of this ****?!

Thats it. Thats the review.

That I was so rankled by The Lady Upstairs is testament to Suttons writing, always suspenseful, always luring me in. Jo is not a reliable narrator and this element is key. This plot device made me fall in love with her. Shes alluring and vulnerable, genius and more importantly, she thinks she knows more than she does – what I found most refreshing. She miscalculates and fails. A lot.

… and pays for it dearly.

On top of that, Jo is all woman.

I had to get this out. Quickly. Because Jo is what makes this book RUN.

As the back cover states, Jos job is blackmailing horrible men. In The Lady Upstairs, she finds herself in over her head with blood on her hands. And as Id also written in a twitter post, The only way out? Pull off one final con.

But the plot is secondary to the compelling character that is Jo.

Sutton surrounds Jo with a compelling cast including Lou, Jo’s savior and mentor, and Robert Jackal, pun very Much intended, her sometime co-conspirator, lover, and unreliable co-worker.

Sutton provides an extra treat at the end, including a discussion guide and “A Conversation with Halley Sutton” that discusses her inspiration for the novel and its themes, sexuality, Jo as femme fatale, and other social implications.

I had to wait a day however to read those tidbits. I needed to sit with the lady for at least a day.

… so I could catch my breath.

A story about sex blackmail that is really dumb…I didn’t care about any of the characters…sorry I bought it!

The back cover calls this a “deliciously dark thriller” and they are not kidding! This is so intense, you won’t be able to put it down. But I had to put it down, I was so worried about what would happen the main character at various points. So she’s fictional, does that mean I can’t worry about her? Whether you are hard-boiled or highly sensitive (like poor old me), do yourself a favor and get a copy of this book right away, you will be so glad you did! Can’t wait for more from this author. Highly recommended!

First, a disclaimer: Stories described as “noir” usually leave me wondering why everyone in them has to be such a jerk all the time. I don’t mind morally ambiguous characters, but I generally prefer it when there’s some way I can root for them anyway. I didn’t actually *like* Jo or Lou, but I did find both of them compelling. My enjoyment of the book–and I did enjoy it quite a bit–mostly came from Sutton’s razor-sharp prose, which had me going back every few pages to re-read passages so I could admire how perfectly constructed they were. She has the exact right word every time. Bottom line: if you usually *do* like noir, you’ll love this, and even if you don’t, there’s a lot here to appreciate.

Smart and scorching feminist noir set against a seedy L.A. backdrop, The Lady Upstairs features unforgettable and unapologetic women you won’t soon forget. I stayed up late into the night finishing this one! COULD. NOT. PUT. IT. DOWN. So good.

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