I never knew that much about Grace Jones other than she was crazy, or so I thought. Like many artists who are completely over the top, the person that they are when there is no audience and no applause, is completely different. Grace’s antics on stage are crazy, but she, she is not. I came away from reading her book with a new found respect. Respect because she did things on her own terms and was always smart enough to know how Hollywood could use a person up and leave them by the way side. This woman has seen a lot. She takes us through her strict upbringing in Jamaica through her modeling days in Paris, and her parting days in New York. As I was reading, I was thinking to myself: this woman is lucky to be alive. There was nothing that she didn’t try, no road she didn’t explore.  There are a lot of models, singers and reality stars that owe her a great debt and she has no problem with making that known in her book. She was brave in how she marketed herself because nobody else looked like her, nobody else sounded like her, and she created something completely brand new.  Yes there was drugs, sex, disco, AIDS, and she lived through it all.  Very fascinating indeed.

 

After I finished reading all about Grace, the next day I picked up “Try Not to Breathe” and I finished it today, so needless to say, it was a page turner.  This is the first novel by author Holly Seddon. Some reviews compared it to “Gone Girl” which I haven’t read.  This is a mystery/psychological thriller. The story is told through multiple perspectives, and in both present day and the past. The protagonist is deeply flawed journalist by the name of Alex. She is a functioning alcoholic which has cost her, her career, and her marriage amongst other things. A chance meeting leads her to a cold case about a young girl named Amy who was attacked 15 years earlier and has been left in a vegetative state ever since…. or has she? (Cue the dramatic music) Working on this case changes her life as well as Amy’s.  If a good who done it is your thing, I think you’ll like this book.

 

What have you been reading? Please share!