Irgendwie wurde ich nicht richtig warm mit dem Buch. Zu viel abstraktes Psychogequatsche. ( )

Madigan Mine by Kirstyn McDermott is the author's first novel but I have previously reviewed her second (unrelated) novel, Perfections. I think the blurb (on the actual cover, rather than what Goodreads thinks the blurb is) of this one sums it up quite nicely:

When Alex Bishop meets Madigan Sargood again after twelve years apart, everything changes. His childhood sweetheart is beautiful and impulsive, but there is something wrong with her. Something dangerous. Then she commits suicide.

Now Alex can't get Madigan out if his head. Is it all in his mind, or is she communicating with him?

To save himself and those he loves, Alex must uncover the sinister reason why Madigan took her own life — and why she won't lie still in her grave.

The cover reads, "Obsession never dies..." and the story of Madigan Mine is definitely about obsession. Before I started reading I thought it would be Alex's obsession at the forefront of the novel. There is some of that, but the novel is really about Madigan. Although she is dead at the start — the story opens with her funeral — we get to know her almost as well as Alex, through flashbacks and through Alex's descriptions. Alex quickly falls into a relationship with her after she waltzes back into his life. At first he's happy to be reunited with her after she moved away while they were at school. Their relationship progresses quickly, building on their shared history in a way that makes perfect sense.

Inevitably, things change. Alex finds himself drifting away from Madigan as she surrounds herself with models and hangers-on, gets lost in her art and Alex starts to wonder how well he really knows her. But that's all back story. In the present, Alex is dealing with Madigan's suicide and events surrounding it. And, despite not having seen or spoken with her for weeks before her death, he suddenly finds he can't get her out of his mind. The mental interjections in Madigan's voice are written in grey, which is the first time I remember seeing that in a book, and was a particularly clever way of handing it. There is more symbolism in the slightly washed-out words than there would have been in italics.

The first half or so of the book is fairly contemporary — as in, not speculative fiction — although some horror elements do come into play. (There was one scene in particular that had a fairly high ick factor for me and quite definitively sealed Madigan Mine as horror, in my mind.) In the second half, however, more speculative elements come prpominently to the forefront. Although it starts off like a contemporary novel, I don't expect people who don't like speculative fiction to enjoy it.

Madigan Mine is eerie, haunting (and haunted) and intense. Alex's journey is not an easy one for him nor for the people around him. Right up until the end I wasn't sure if he was going to survive the book. McDermott's début is an excellent start to what I hope will be a long career. I enjoyed Madigan Mine a lot (even the cringe-worthy bits) and I look forward to reading whatever she writes next (probably starting with her Twelve Planet collection, Contains Small Parts, as soon as the ebook is available). I highly recommend Madigan Mine to fans of horror and to fantasy fans who don't mind dark themes — aside from that one scene I mentioned, I didn't feel it rated all that highly on the nightmare-o-meter.

4.5 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog. ( )

I don't read a lot of Fantasy - Dark or not, but luckily I've been steered in the right direction when I have picked up one of these books - and MADIGAN MINE is no exception. What was even more startling is that this is a first book, yet it's very assured, cleverly paced and quite engaging.

This book is the story of Alex Bishop who meets up with his childhood friend Madigan Sargood after many years apart. A very intense love affair follows, with tensions over friendships, time spent together and time spent apart. Their affair eventually ends, but the attraction continues. Forever.

There's something very believable about the attraction that Alex has for Madigan. Despite the warnings of friends, despite the way that she takes over his life, but seems oddly to hold back a little from him, Alex cannot and does not want to let go. He is bewitched, besotted and utterly in love. On the one hand Madigan, in some ways as committed to their relationship, is also somewhat absent, often more interested in her increasing band of odd friends and her desire for control of everything and everybody.

All of the characters in this book are extremely engaging. Alex is definitely a victim, but he's not pathetic, or a figure of contempt. His love and support of Madigan is beautifully written. Madigan quickly reveals some complicated sides to her own personality - a victim in her own right, a catalyst, a threat, a lover and an object of worship, a controller who is controlled by events in her own life. It's actually quite a juxtaposition of typical gender expectations that works really well. And there's a good supporting cast from the discomforted flatmate to the acolytes that surround Madison, all of whom lead or spotlight the main characters and their actions.

I came away from MADIGAN MINE really pleased I'd taken the time to pick it up. Whilst Dark Fantasy at it's core, there is enough in this book to engage fans of thrillers as well. Whilst the action and outcomes rely heavily on paranormal aspects - there is also a wonderful sense of foreboding and threat, combined with excellent pace and an overall thriller styling that really really works well. Combine all of those elements with a rather touching, and somewhat sinister love story, and this was definitely a one-sitting book. ( )