Tara Moss - Fetish

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd

ISBN: 978-0843956337

My rating:  2/5

Tall, blonde and beautiful – It’s no surprise that Canadian Makedde Vanderwall is a model. What is surprising is her street-smart ways and her own recognition that modeling is only a stopgap career, a lucrative means to fund her tuition for a degree in forensic psychology.
But more surprising – and disturbing – is that while on assignment in Sydney, Australia, Makedde finds herself in the middle of a grisly, sensational hunt for the “Stiletto Murderer” – a serial killer who brutally murdered Makedde’s best friend – and may see Makedde as his next fashion victim. Who is this murderous monster with the penchant for sexy shoes?
The world of fashion takes on sinister tones – a photographer who get off on snapping photos of dead bodies; beautiful women with rich but mysterious sugar daddies; and bottom feeders who cruise the murky ocean of high fashion and low morals. And now, seemingly deserted by the one cop who can save her, Makedde is a girl on the edge of unimaginable terror, in a place where perfect beauty is transformed into darkest death… (TaraMoss.com)


My thoughts

Okay - first mistake was listening to the audio version, which is narrated by Tara Moss. Without wanting to be over-criticising, it was irritating to listen to. Everyone sounded the same, which was confusing, there was hardly any difference in the accents either.

Second clue - my friend, who likes these kind of books, couldn't really remember the story. Bad sign.

Makedde Vanderwall (love the name!) is a psychology student who works as a model to pay for her tuition. Soon after she arrives in Sydney, she finds her very good friend Catherine dead at the beach. Murdered by the so-called "Stiletto Killer".

Bottom line, it was an okay story. The plot was interesting, but the story had more downs than ups. Too much information about the modeling scene, too many condescending remarks. The relationship between her and the lead investigator Andy Flynn was iffy and somewhat confusing how they went from not liking each other to being in bed together. Lastly, I couldn't really figure out, how the killer's interest had moved onto Makedde.

Not my kinda read - sorry!