Praise for The Vixen Amber Halloway
"LaHines’s fascinating narrator, Ophelia, is decidedly pathological. And here’s the surprise – she’s also sympathetic, humorous, intelligent -- a deeply damaged woman telling her tale to a prison psychiatrist in preparation for a hearing before a parole board, but it’s not a confession. ... The novel raises questions about diagnoses of mental disorders, possible treatment, and the appropriateness of incarceration."
"A heart-wrenching account of one soon-to-be-ex-wife's psychological breakdown... a compulsive read."
100 Best Psychological Thriller Books
"Discover The Vixen Amber Halloway, a captivating tale that explores themes of betrayal, obsession, and revenge. Join Ophelia, a Dante professor, as her world shatters when she uncovers her husband's affair. From there, Ophelia's journey takes a dark turn as she becomes consumed with tracking her husband and his new lover. As reality slips away, she moves next door to Amber, embarking on a twisted path of surveillance and vengeance. This gripping story delves into Ophelia's past trauma and her descent into madness, culminating in an explosive climax. With elements of suspense, dark comedy, and profound psychological insight, The Vixen Amber Halloway is a must-read exploration of women's rage and one woman's harrowing breakdown."
“Carol LaHines has invented here a compulsively readable and craftily constructed tale of murder and mayhem. Her wonderfully original unreliable narrator tells a story that will make you laugh and cry and perhaps remember Humbert Humbert in Lolita.”
—Sheila Kohler, author of award-winning novels including Cracks and Open Secrets
“With pinpoint accuracy, LaHines nabs the inner life of a raging, jerky-eating narrator traumatized by family history who recounts her Lolita-like obsession with allegro turns of brilliance. Ophelia’s selective memory, steady wit, and allusions to Dante slip off her tongue with delicious, underhanded humor. Ophelia will make you feel the chill of vengeance, because her fury—delivered in a voice perfectly crafted by LaHines—makes perfect sense.”
—Maureen Pilkington, author of This Side of Water: Stories
"Carol LaHines excels in a wry blend of humor and darkness...breathtaking in its descriptive psychological draw and surprising in some of its twists and turns of plot. LaHines creates a vivid story of a woman who embarks on a campaign that leads her further into darkness, taking readers by the hand in a dangerous invitation to join in the journey."
—Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
"The Vixen Amber Halloway is dark and compulsive reading. Following a woman's descent into madness after her husband leaves her for another woman, this compact and complex novel pulls you into the mind and delusions of a woman as she slowly devolves while you watch, helpless to stop it."
—Mary Webber O’Malley, bookseller at Skylark Bookshop
"The Vixen Amber Halloway" combines elements of suspense with thoughtful reflections on human emotion and morality. The protagonist, Ophelia, is a jilted wife who had also been abandoned by her mother decades earlier. The novel expertly considers the continuum of the past, present and future in life's journey. As much as we may try, LaHines observes, the three tenses cannot be compartmentalized and sealed off from each other. What happened in the past does affect our "here and now", which in turn affects our future.
LaHines brilliantly acquaints us with Ophelia in a way that elicits sympathy towards her. As her grip on reality and morality begins to slip, however, the reader is torn between that sympathy and the moral boundaries she is about to cross. The reader is compelled to ask: "Is Ophelia a good person or a bad person?" The answer, strikingly, is "Both."
—Neil D. Desmond, Author of "Angels of Stockholm: Short Stories"
"Perfectly engaging, provocative, darkly comedic at times, and criminal, I devoured this story. Of course, anyone who has ever been in love can relate to the pain and dangerous rage flowing through Ophelia’s veins. Funny to review this on Valentine’s Day, but we must examine love in all its forms, even marriages that end behind bars and under a psychiatrist’s care. If you are one of the betrayed, discarded, take heart- you can partake of one woman’s revenge from the safety of your bed, keeping it fictional. Yes, read it! LaHines is a hell of a writer!"
Lolly K. Dandeneau, Bookstalker blog
Please contact Laura Marie, at laura@lauramariepr.com, for an ARC or further information
Vixen is available on Net Galley