Stacking in Rivertown

by Barbara Bell

Young, beautiful, and happily married, Beth is finally learning to relax and enjoy her success as a bestselling novelist. She has at last achieved the well-adjusted life she always it almost seems too good to be true. And it is.
Beneath her thin veneer of normalcy lies a terrifying history of sadism, sexual torture, tragic violence - and a single long-buried secret that could destroy her. Beth is scarred by childhood as a sixteen-year-old runaway, she was picked up by Ben, an upmarket pimp whose girls are virtually slaves and who specializes in expensive sadomasochistic "plays" for wealthy clients.
In one of those plays, Beth was stabbed and her best friend (and lover), a fellow young prostitute, was savagely murdered in front of her eyes. Now, recaptured by Ben, she struggles to remember what happened and who did it.
As Beth flees for her life, fighting to get her revenge and somehow learning to love without pain.

Genres: Fiction

Hardcover

First published July 5, 2000

Reviews

[Gal Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

איך כותבים משהו בכלל על הספר הזה? הוא תמצית מרירה, אפלה, שטופה בכאב. לפעמים בזמן שקראתי הרגשתי איך המילים מענות אותי, מנסות לתת לי טעימה קטנה מהסבל ששזור בעלילה הטרגית וההרסנית הזאת. זה ספר מצוין ומעניין, קשה מאוד לקריאה, אבל גם סוחף בחולי שלו שמכרסם בקוראים כמו סם.

[Danny Marks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure where to begin. This novel did not go the way I thought it would. I was expecting a standard BDSM novel like the dozen I've already read and, for the most part, discarded in annoyance. Stacking in Rivertown was written in a stream of consciousness. Normally I hate this style as it's almost always poorly done. Barbara Bell has changed my opinion, at least as far as she is concerned. There must have been a frightening amount of work put in to keep all the threads lined up and in sync with one another. Beth's dilemma sucks you in and puts you in her foggy, terrifying world where there is no true shelter and the monsters are always behind you, waiting for you to turn your back. There were times I was shocked, alarmed, and so angry I wanted to find someone, anyone who could hold Ben's place so I could re-invent the word 'Unspeakable'. The book's not perfect. The characters could use more description. At least once I heard a name and could not recall who that person was. While the climax of the book is thrilling and terrifying, the aftermath felt drawn out. This wasn't bad, per se, but I felt like the author was trying to bring out more emotional struggles after Beth had already faced the culmination of her trials. I'm not saying it had to end with rainbows and sunshine, but we didn't need more of the same. A side note is that this book seems to be aimed at the BDSM world, but it really doesn't read like one. The scenes which occur are very brief and serve more for emotional impact than for sensual stimulation. That's perfectly fine, but I hate to think of poor reviews by readers expecting something else.

[Nicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, that was definitely something different and unexpected! I think I will have a hard time describing this one.
I picked this up at a little free library. I had not heard of the book, and I knew nothing going into it. The cover on mine is different to the one shown here. If mine looked like this, I probably would have assumed it was erotic fiction similar to Fifty Shades of Grey and not bothered with it.
What it’s actually about is woman named Beth who ran away from home as a teenager and was taken in by a pimp and went on to be held captive and to suffer horrific abuse. Slowly we find out exactly what happened to Beth and though she has gotten away and married at the beginning of the book, it soon becomes apparent that the past is not done with her and again she is under threat by the pimp.
It’s extremely hard to explain this. The abuse Beth suffered goes right back to her childhood and her mind is really skewed to the point she actually cares for some of her abusers. The abuse is detailed and brutal.
The blurb indicates it’s an erotic thriller. Kind of yes, but mainly no. We know who’s after Beth already, though the extent of it takes a while to unfold. Erotic, again not really. Mostly devastating and hard to read. Some of it is consented, but it’s through deprivation of everything and being head f€¥¥¥d. I just felt bad for her.
Through it all was Beth’s strength and courage. And there is a romance in there too (not a negative one).

[Sam Rosenthal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. Scary, funny, beautiful, harrowing. I love Barb's writing.

[William Hertling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written thriller. Scary, difficult to read at times.

[Sadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harrowing, tough subject - well written. Much better than I thought it was going to be - unusual story.

[Misha P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the description of this book fool you. It's not a BDSM erotica like many people here seem to think. To me it was a queer romance tragedy novel, following a woman as she struggles to run from her past as it chases her. The book is very poetic in the way it was written, and it jumps back and forth a bit in time as the main character thinks back to her past in a stream of consciousness style that I really enjoyed. You piece together the MC's backstory as she does too. It's beautiful, and like I mentioned, tragic, but ultimately, it's bittersweet, as the main character goes through a lot to finally free herself of her past in the end.

[r o a c h · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is exactly what i mean when i say i want a queer erotic crime book. still trying to process my feelings because the last twenty percent of this book had my head reeling.