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Fickle
Perfect for fans of Caroline Kepnes’s You and the thrillers of S.J. Watson, Peter Manus has written a twisting noir mystery that Booklist calls, “An incredibly daring novel and a complete success.”
The distance between what you see and what you believe can be the distance between life and death.
On a winter night in Boston, a man falls to his death in front of a subway train. The sole witness, a shaken young woman, explains to the police how the man shoved her aside as he made his way to the tracks. But when her blog turns up on the dead man's computer, the cops begin to look for other connections. Was the man a cyber-stalker, charmed to the point of desperation by the irreverent musings of a noir-obsessed blogger? Or are the connections between subway jumper and innocent bystander more complicated?
This dark and intricate tale of obsession and deception is told in the form of a blog written by an elusive narrator known only by her online name, "l.g. fickel." Deep into the night, every night, fickel blogs about "Mr. Suicide" and the ensuing police investigation with an eerie prescience. She is joined in her blog chats by a loyal group of obsessives, all of whom share with fickel a passion for the dark art of noir. Is fickel's tale that of an innocent woman frantically trying to figure out how her blogging has enmeshed her in a murder spree, or is she a manipulator, playing the part of sexy, hip, young thing as she grinds out her revenge on those she feels have betrayed her?
The distance between what you see and what you believe can be the distance between life and death.
On a winter night in Boston, a man falls to his death in front of a subway train. The sole witness, a shaken young woman, explains to the police how the man shoved her aside as he made his way to the tracks. But when her blog turns up on the dead man's computer, the cops begin to look for other connections. Was the man a cyber-stalker, charmed to the point of desperation by the irreverent musings of a noir-obsessed blogger? Or are the connections between subway jumper and innocent bystander more complicated?
This dark and intricate tale of obsession and deception is told in the form of a blog written by an elusive narrator known only by her online name, "l.g. fickel." Deep into the night, every night, fickel blogs about "Mr. Suicide" and the ensuing police investigation with an eerie prescience. She is joined in her blog chats by a loyal group of obsessives, all of whom share with fickel a passion for the dark art of noir. Is fickel's tale that of an innocent woman frantically trying to figure out how her blogging has enmeshed her in a murder spree, or is she a manipulator, playing the part of sexy, hip, young thing as she grinds out her revenge on those she feels have betrayed her?
375 pages, Paperback
First published September 2, 2008
5 people are currently reading
361 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
November 9, 2016
Now I came to Fickle almost accidentally – the cover caught my eye during a random flyby on Netgalley and then the premise seemed intriguing. Still I nearly carried on past it but in the end impulse got me. Boy was that a stroke of luck because I LOVED this one. Cool, quirky, different and utterly compelling I engaged with every moment of it.
Clever novel. Clever. See Fickle is told via a blog. Well 2 blogs if you want to be exact but thats for you to discover. Basically you are reading a sequence of blog posts and the ensuing discussions. The main blog in question is a blog all about the wonder of Noir. One night our blogger tells the tale of her brush with death, the unfortunate unlucky coincidence of being present at a suicide. She reaches out to her small band of regulars and they all weigh in, showing concern and offering support. There it begins…
Things start to happen. Coincidences pile up. Every post that follows adds more layers to the tale but is our blogger an innocent bystander who has now been caught up in the vortex of things beyond her control or is she making the whole thing up to create her own style of noir or is she lying or WHAT THE HECK. And blimey as things unfold you will get more and more into it, you’ll wish to heck you could comment yourself, you’ll think you’ve got it then you won’t have it and its the twistiest tale I’ve read in ages. Also if you like Noir this whole thing is Noir tastic in both style and substance.
The writing is incredibly smart, it does read like a blog but also like episodic tv and each instalment leads you further down the rabbit hole. It won’t be for everyone I get that, but for me it was brilliantly executed, the nuances are nuanced to a high degree, in a lot of ways it is interpretative reading, you’ll take your own idea’s from it especially in relation to the ending.
Really really excellent in my opinion. Doing something a little different, pushing the boundaries somewhat within the crime and suspense genre, this is what I love about reading. Those little gems you discover randomly and fall for absolutely. This one I’m just going to say BOOM. Give me more from this author.
Highly Recommended.
Clever novel. Clever. See Fickle is told via a blog. Well 2 blogs if you want to be exact but thats for you to discover. Basically you are reading a sequence of blog posts and the ensuing discussions. The main blog in question is a blog all about the wonder of Noir. One night our blogger tells the tale of her brush with death, the unfortunate unlucky coincidence of being present at a suicide. She reaches out to her small band of regulars and they all weigh in, showing concern and offering support. There it begins…
Things start to happen. Coincidences pile up. Every post that follows adds more layers to the tale but is our blogger an innocent bystander who has now been caught up in the vortex of things beyond her control or is she making the whole thing up to create her own style of noir or is she lying or WHAT THE HECK. And blimey as things unfold you will get more and more into it, you’ll wish to heck you could comment yourself, you’ll think you’ve got it then you won’t have it and its the twistiest tale I’ve read in ages. Also if you like Noir this whole thing is Noir tastic in both style and substance.
The writing is incredibly smart, it does read like a blog but also like episodic tv and each instalment leads you further down the rabbit hole. It won’t be for everyone I get that, but for me it was brilliantly executed, the nuances are nuanced to a high degree, in a lot of ways it is interpretative reading, you’ll take your own idea’s from it especially in relation to the ending.
Really really excellent in my opinion. Doing something a little different, pushing the boundaries somewhat within the crime and suspense genre, this is what I love about reading. Those little gems you discover randomly and fall for absolutely. This one I’m just going to say BOOM. Give me more from this author.
Highly Recommended.
February 5, 2017
Read my full review here! https://bookbumzuky.wordpress.com/201...
AVAILABLE NOW!
Like most other reviewers, I’m digging the way this was laid out. It’s set up as if we’re reading a blog, we get the post and then we get the comments too. It’s fun and informal. My only issue with the blogging aspect of this is that the characters type like idiots and occasionally use abbreviations I don’t understand.
There are a number of characters in this novel when you include all the blog family. Our main characters are Fickel, Mysterious Hottie and Burly Bear and I didn’t particularly like any of them...
AVAILABLE NOW!
Like most other reviewers, I’m digging the way this was laid out. It’s set up as if we’re reading a blog, we get the post and then we get the comments too. It’s fun and informal. My only issue with the blogging aspect of this is that the characters type like idiots and occasionally use abbreviations I don’t understand.
There are a number of characters in this novel when you include all the blog family. Our main characters are Fickel, Mysterious Hottie and Burly Bear and I didn’t particularly like any of them...
October 22, 2016
Review to come.
Read
November 29, 2016Unfortunately I could not finish this one. The book is written in blog form. It's monotonous and repetitive with people talking over each other on any number of subjects.
No review forthcoming.
No review forthcoming.
January 5, 2017
I know they say you should never judge a book by its cover but I'll be honest- I do. Quite frequently, in fact. This book was no exception in that sense. Although the cover wasn't extremely exciting, there was something about the title, "Fickle, " and the fact that this is one of my favorite genres - mystery, that intrigued me enough to check out the synopsis and decide to read this book. I've never before read anything by Peter Manus, in fact I believe this is actually his debut novel but I was certainly impressed by him and will look forward to, hopefully, reading his future publications. This was a book unlike anything I've ever read before and it was so creative and so unique in the way he created the format of the story, set up as different blog posts and comments with characters consisting of the blogging community. How very cool! Being an avid blogger myself, and a huge fan and followers of other blogs, I could easily relate to, and appreciate, this format and I have a lot of respect for Peter Manus because he was able to create such a compelling and very complex novel, within the limits of blog posts- very impressive and nicely done.
This story is about a woman who is known in the blogging community as "fickle" who witnesses what appears to be a suicide at a Boston subway and there is suspicion around her connection, if any, with the deceased and weather or not she is in anyway responsible for the untimely death. I don't want to give much more away then that but I will say this is a very complex novel with a lot of layers and depth. I really enjoyed this book and I wasn't sure that I was going to, considering the format, but again, it was wonderfully executed and I give it a four out of five star rating and highly recommend it.
I received an ARC of Fickle from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased, review.
This story is about a woman who is known in the blogging community as "fickle" who witnesses what appears to be a suicide at a Boston subway and there is suspicion around her connection, if any, with the deceased and weather or not she is in anyway responsible for the untimely death. I don't want to give much more away then that but I will say this is a very complex novel with a lot of layers and depth. I really enjoyed this book and I wasn't sure that I was going to, considering the format, but again, it was wonderfully executed and I give it a four out of five star rating and highly recommend it.
I received an ARC of Fickle from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased, review.
February 20, 2017
2.5 Stars
Got ARC from Net Galley.
I think I'd compare this book to how many people who aren't me react when there's an accident. People look to see what's going on and I don't do that so continuing to read this book was my version of that. I wasn't too crazy about the format of this book. It was a reminder why I won't read Illuminae because that format is even more screwy than this one.
Now that I think about it I have read a book that had blog posts in it but that wasn't the entire book. Since everything is done in blog posts and comments it is hard to get a feel for anyone because they are all hiding behind a computer screen. Is it sad that I'm kind of jealous of all the commenting that goes on in this book? I just have to remind myself that most people don't leave comments and that all of my posts are perfect. Supposedly that's why people don't leave comments at least that's what I came across when I was doing a little research. See why I need a sarcasm font.
Anyhoo I would have preferred it if the story had an actual story with blog posts and comments sprinkled throughout instead of the whole book being posts and comments. It is hard to know what's going on because anyone or everyone could be lying about what's going on. I honestly don't know why I finished reading this book because there were times when I cringed at the spelling. I get that it was done to be realistic but it just makes me said that people can't spell and hello when did people start spelling dude dewd? Anyone else cringing or is it just me? The ending just made me question what I read.
http://www.ficgal.com/book-club/fickle
Got ARC from Net Galley.
I think I'd compare this book to how many people who aren't me react when there's an accident. People look to see what's going on and I don't do that so continuing to read this book was my version of that. I wasn't too crazy about the format of this book. It was a reminder why I won't read Illuminae because that format is even more screwy than this one.
Now that I think about it I have read a book that had blog posts in it but that wasn't the entire book. Since everything is done in blog posts and comments it is hard to get a feel for anyone because they are all hiding behind a computer screen. Is it sad that I'm kind of jealous of all the commenting that goes on in this book? I just have to remind myself that most people don't leave comments and that all of my posts are perfect. Supposedly that's why people don't leave comments at least that's what I came across when I was doing a little research. See why I need a sarcasm font.
Anyhoo I would have preferred it if the story had an actual story with blog posts and comments sprinkled throughout instead of the whole book being posts and comments. It is hard to know what's going on because anyone or everyone could be lying about what's going on. I honestly don't know why I finished reading this book because there were times when I cringed at the spelling. I get that it was done to be realistic but it just makes me said that people can't spell and hello when did people start spelling dude dewd? Anyone else cringing or is it just me? The ending just made me question what I read.
http://www.ficgal.com/book-club/fickle
December 21, 2016
I had seen Fickle on my fellow blogger Liz Barnsley’s blog Liz Loves Books, and I figured I may as well give it a go as it came highly recommended. While Fickle was an original concept as regards format and content, I found myself unable to fully succumb to its charms.
The characterisation is odd, with more than a few unreliable narrators and very unique voices thrown in but as I went on, they stated to grate on me just a little. In saying that though, I really liked reading their comments after each blog post. The real story is definitely nestled in the comments sections.
Essentially a whodunnit, the way it’s told is what makes this book stand out. I’ve never read a book like it in that sense so it definitely sticks with you. It is very dark and searching at times, but there are some brief moments of levity dotted through the book. Unsuitable for the subject matter maybe, but the lighter tone is welcome at times because sometimes there is a flood of information thrown at the reader.
Ultimately, Fickle is a really interesting concept. Told in blog post format, its highly original. I don’t know what I was expecting when I started reading, but I was sucked into the narrative fairly quickly. While I found it a bit drawn out in parts, it was still a good read. Unreliable narration is what makes this book, and it leaves the reader with a lot of questions at the (very) end!
Recommended!
The characterisation is odd, with more than a few unreliable narrators and very unique voices thrown in but as I went on, they stated to grate on me just a little. In saying that though, I really liked reading their comments after each blog post. The real story is definitely nestled in the comments sections.
Essentially a whodunnit, the way it’s told is what makes this book stand out. I’ve never read a book like it in that sense so it definitely sticks with you. It is very dark and searching at times, but there are some brief moments of levity dotted through the book. Unsuitable for the subject matter maybe, but the lighter tone is welcome at times because sometimes there is a flood of information thrown at the reader.
Ultimately, Fickle is a really interesting concept. Told in blog post format, its highly original. I don’t know what I was expecting when I started reading, but I was sucked into the narrative fairly quickly. While I found it a bit drawn out in parts, it was still a good read. Unreliable narration is what makes this book, and it leaves the reader with a lot of questions at the (very) end!
Recommended!
August 30, 2008
Abandoned about halfway through. The gimmick was that this is a "novel of suspense" that takes the form of blog posts. Two things:
1. Blog posts are not immediate enough to keep suspense building (and who writes ten-page blog posts, anyway?), and comments are not a good substitute for an actual conversation
2. Readers should care about the character in distress in a suspense novel, and the main one here is kind of creepy. (The secondary blogger is _really_ creepy.)
Plus, with the blog format, you're never sure how much of what the blogger writes is true (for the character) and how much she just makes up. I realize this is likely the author's point, but the potential fiction-within-fiction doesn't really work here.
1. Blog posts are not immediate enough to keep suspense building (and who writes ten-page blog posts, anyway?), and comments are not a good substitute for an actual conversation
2. Readers should care about the character in distress in a suspense novel, and the main one here is kind of creepy. (The secondary blogger is _really_ creepy.)
Plus, with the blog format, you're never sure how much of what the blogger writes is true (for the character) and how much she just makes up. I realize this is likely the author's point, but the potential fiction-within-fiction doesn't really work here.
July 31, 2024
A story told through blogs that is impossible to put down. A modern day pulp fiction told by a twenty something blogger who is at once hip and damaged but somehow she connects and you can't stop reading. Fantastic story, novel plot. Relevant and engaging in the best sense of noir.
September 4, 2017
Fickle is a novel about a man’s death that is seen as suicidal at first, but later on ruled as a murder case. It is written as a blog format – the entire book is! I found that it is interesting and very original of the author telling the story.
Fickle focuses on the mysteries of a man’s death, which is told in a series of blog entries between the protagonist and her group of noir fans. Hence, one will find numerous internet abbreviations throughout the book, such as “POV, “AFK,” “Sup wichu mon?, etc. If one isn't familiar with these internet slangs, it may slow one down in enjoying the story.
The author has great potential of writing mysterious, suspenseful fiction or black novel.
Fickle focuses on the mysteries of a man’s death, which is told in a series of blog entries between the protagonist and her group of noir fans. Hence, one will find numerous internet abbreviations throughout the book, such as “POV, “AFK,” “Sup wichu mon?, etc. If one isn't familiar with these internet slangs, it may slow one down in enjoying the story.
The author has great potential of writing mysterious, suspenseful fiction or black novel.
April 25, 2018
i have one emotion - and that's stunned. it was so unique and at the start i was interested but by the end - i was HOOKED. the end got so thrilling and addictive i couldn't put it down [sorry those who wanted my attention!] and the ending... wow. honestly i really enjoyed this, a true thriller.
November 15, 2017
Weird. Original. Longer than it needed to be. A cool concept that could have been executed better, although since I'm not a noir connoisseur bits may have sailed over my head.
February 9, 2023
Really enjoyed it, but was confused by the ending. May have to re-read the last 2 chapters.
February 5, 2017
Reading this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
The Author is either INSANE or A GENIUS !! I think I'm going with Brilliantly INSANE Genius!!!!
I thought I'd have a harder time reading and following this book after reading other reviews. Not sure I've ever read a booked that was made up entirely blog form or not, I've never even read a blog... weird right??
With how many different voices you are reading at a time you would think it would get confusing or hard to follow at some point, But honestly I had absolutely no trouble at all following who was talking and what was going on at any given point in the book! It was professionally mapped out along the way for easy reading. Thank you for that Peter Manus!!
I don't see how anyone could ever get bored reading this book, there are so many things going on at once, there are so many different characters, one of them surely will catch your interest and make you want to keep reading!! The only problem i had with this book was because of the format my brain could not comprehend it as fast as I'd like to have read it! But with every twist and turn there is to follow it's probably better to take time reading and get every little piece of information correct!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the commentators on this blog, I love the speculation, I love the crazy things that go through their minds, the way they bicker back and forth with each other, bouncing ideas off one another's theories and how easily they present themselves with no shame, no embarrassment, it's like they have been friends for years, but yet none of them even know each other! I love the way they took everything fickel wrote and devoured it, took it apart, analyzed every word every line! Kept me on the edge of my seat, and woke up my brain, made me get in the game so to speak! I could have done without the last blog post (by fickel, not the story piece at the end).. I loved where the speculation was going, i would have loved to just let it end with that and that way the reader could figure out the way they want the story to end themselves. Her coming back and saying she felt betrayed and all that was just not needed imo. But i could see how a book without a proper ending would have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, so understandable!
Honestly after reading everything and coming to the end figuring it all out, I would love to go back and read it again, Read hitman's comments in a whole new light! I loved the brutal honesty he inserted into the conversations!
Overall this book was brilliant!!!! I will be looking for more Peter Manus in the future!
The Author is either INSANE or A GENIUS !! I think I'm going with Brilliantly INSANE Genius!!!!
I thought I'd have a harder time reading and following this book after reading other reviews. Not sure I've ever read a booked that was made up entirely blog form or not, I've never even read a blog... weird right??
With how many different voices you are reading at a time you would think it would get confusing or hard to follow at some point, But honestly I had absolutely no trouble at all following who was talking and what was going on at any given point in the book! It was professionally mapped out along the way for easy reading. Thank you for that Peter Manus!!
I don't see how anyone could ever get bored reading this book, there are so many things going on at once, there are so many different characters, one of them surely will catch your interest and make you want to keep reading!! The only problem i had with this book was because of the format my brain could not comprehend it as fast as I'd like to have read it! But with every twist and turn there is to follow it's probably better to take time reading and get every little piece of information correct!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the commentators on this blog, I love the speculation, I love the crazy things that go through their minds, the way they bicker back and forth with each other, bouncing ideas off one another's theories and how easily they present themselves with no shame, no embarrassment, it's like they have been friends for years, but yet none of them even know each other! I love the way they took everything fickel wrote and devoured it, took it apart, analyzed every word every line! Kept me on the edge of my seat, and woke up my brain, made me get in the game so to speak! I could have done without the last blog post (by fickel, not the story piece at the end).. I loved where the speculation was going, i would have loved to just let it end with that and that way the reader could figure out the way they want the story to end themselves. Her coming back and saying she felt betrayed and all that was just not needed imo. But i could see how a book without a proper ending would have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, so understandable!
Honestly after reading everything and coming to the end figuring it all out, I would love to go back and read it again, Read hitman's comments in a whole new light! I loved the brutal honesty he inserted into the conversations!
Overall this book was brilliant!!!! I will be looking for more Peter Manus in the future!
February 21, 2017
Well this was different to any kind of book I've read before in the way that it was told via a blog, 2 different ones actually. It had a very interesting storyline too.
I struggled in the beginning with the writing style but soon caught on and after that you get used to it, I thought it was a bit of a slow burner but in all a good read. A good who dunnit mystery, I don't want to say too much and spoil it for the others who read the book....I didn't quite know whether half the time the blogger was adding bits to make her blog more interesting or it did actually happen that way (if that's makes sense) but this all added to the enjoyment of the book....
I didn't like the ending as I still had questions left over unanswered but it left me certainly wanting more lol
Great read!
I struggled in the beginning with the writing style but soon caught on and after that you get used to it, I thought it was a bit of a slow burner but in all a good read. A good who dunnit mystery, I don't want to say too much and spoil it for the others who read the book....I didn't quite know whether half the time the blogger was adding bits to make her blog more interesting or it did actually happen that way (if that's makes sense) but this all added to the enjoyment of the book....
I didn't like the ending as I still had questions left over unanswered but it left me certainly wanting more lol
Great read!
February 11, 2017
Excellent premise...tiny bit long, but enjoyable
November 19, 2016
Awesome! I have never seen this format before - where the story is told via 2 separate forums (think tapatalk). There is so much color, insight, character development, twists and humor to play around with, knowing that online personas are often markedly different from real-life personas. This made for really good suspense and thrill. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am very impressed by the author and his approach to telling us this story.
Highly recommended!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
Highly recommended!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
February 4, 2017
The title of this book is extremely fitting because every character in this book is Fickle!
A tale (or series of tales, really) told exclusively through blog posts and comments proves to be a thought provoking read...
This is one of those books where a lot of things are left unfinished at the end. I found that to be a bit of a let down since there were so many plot twists and I just wanted to know what the heck was REALLY happening.
Great read, nonetheless!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy!
Author Q & A at www.findingfenix.com !
A tale (or series of tales, really) told exclusively through blog posts and comments proves to be a thought provoking read...
This is one of those books where a lot of things are left unfinished at the end. I found that to be a bit of a let down since there were so many plot twists and I just wanted to know what the heck was REALLY happening.
Great read, nonetheless!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy!
Author Q & A at www.findingfenix.com !
September 23, 2015
This book is written entirely in blogs. One is the blog of a women who witnessed a suicide -- a man jumping beneath the tracks of train. The other is of a (psychotic, homicidal) man who was on the train who was a witness to what he believes was murder by this woman. This book is different. It is interesting to see clues revealed through the bloggers' efforts to decipher what happened.
April 9, 2011
Clever formatting by Manus, writing a book as an entire collection of blog threads. It is difficult to maintain momentum on a couple of occasions, but author is clearly gifted. The story does a convincing job of defining the voice of each character through their blog posting styles. This is a neat little thriller that kept me interested.
March 27, 2014
The blog style format made this thriller/mystery very intriguing. Blogs are such a personal perception of events that accepting their truths is part of why this format works so well with this mystery. I'm not normally into thrillers, but I picked this one up cheap at the library as I like internet related fiction. It was not easy to put down!
June 14, 2010
Parts of it dragged on but it made for an interesting who-dunnit. I definitely enjoyed the writing more than I typically do for the Journal entry formatted books.
February 26, 2013
While the premise was interesting, the blog post style is very tedious. I struggled through this book.
December 30, 2016
See upcoming review at CriminalElement.com
January 2, 2017
Crazy addictive story told through livejournal postings and comments threads.
February 4, 2017
A great pitch and a fascinating idea but I could not get my head to accept the narrative style (a series of blog discussions) so I did not finish it.
Read
April 25, 2017Couldn't get into this one despite the format (which I love) because of the writing. Not as out of touch as some authors are with SNS and internet culture, but still noticeable, distracting, and off-putting.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews