A thriller lacking in thrill. A twist that isn't a twist. Too much supernatural to be realistic, too little supernatural to be magical realism/interesting in that regard. And a really sh**** kid you kinda don't blame anyone for trying to off.

I didn't read anything by Liz Jensen before, though I heard quite some stuff about her recently published The Rapture. Now that I have read this one, The Rapture is launched straight to the top of my wishlist.

Louis Drax is an accident-prone nine year old boy from Lyon. Strange things happen to him; he is obsessed with death, strange animals, poisons and raping. Mysteries are built around his young life. After having eight close-to-death experiences, one for each year of his life, the ninth changes the course of several lives. One day, onhis ninth birthday, he goes to a picnic with his parents. There a horrible accident happens. Louis falls off a cliff and survives, but is in a deep coma. His father disappears in the ravine too and the only witness is his mother, who seems to hide shocking secrets herself.
He is taken to a specialized clinic in Provence to be under surveillance of Dr Dannachet, one of the best neurologists in France. Soon, strange things start to happen. People in coma don't communicate, let alone write threatening letters to their mother and doctor. Or do they?

The Ninth Life of Louis Drax was a chilling reading experience. It was unsettling and disturbing. Its' written from the perspective of Louis and Dr Dannchet, and their voices mingle and succeed each other through the book. The voice of Louis is the frightening one. Following his thoughts was a pretty creepy experience. Imagine a child in coma having a friend wrapped in bloody bandages who leads him through the labyrinths of his mind on the subconscious level. It should have been obvious from the beginning who Gustave was, but it's another of the shocking moments that this book is full of. Louis sometimes seems to have a too ripe voice for a nine year old child, but as the story unveils, you realize it's not much of a surprise that Louis is thinking about these things.
Dr Dannachet is a character that grows through the story, and goes through a life-turning experience. Falling in love with Louis' mother was the last thing he needs-and the one thing he can't resist.He is torn inside and Liz did a great job describing the turmoil in his soul. Here is one paragraph that perfectly catches what he feels:

"A mixture of feelings-love, distaste, revulsion, pity-rose in my throat like vomit. There was an eternity to that moment, that see-sawing split-second when adoration clung and then lurched, spilling into chaos, rage, hate, anger; the desire to smash and embrace, love and destroy. Betrayal does that. Forces the clash of belief and disbelief. Shows you how worthless love is, when its object is indifferent, ruthless, no more than a machine for surviving." p 210


So, I don't want to give away spoilers, since every small detail I tell you may ruin your reading. But I'll just say that the thematic is being taken on a whole new level and the ending is everything but predictable. Liz has a beautiful writing voice and provides a narrative that will grip you from the first sentence. That's one I'd like to share. The only titled chapter is the first one. You have three chances to guess; it's titled WARNING:

"I'm not most kids. I'm Louis Drax. Stuff happens to me that shouldn't happen, like going on a picnic where you drown." p 1
Now, if that's not a killing first line...

Liz Jensen keeps shocking you on every single page without watering down the story. The only reason I'd rate the book 4/5 is that I believe there is plenty of space to flesh it out further. It hangs somewhere in between, and I'd love it to be at least a bit darker to fully capture the spirit of the incident.

The Ninth Life of Louis Drax is a fast-paced and extremely exciting thriller that will have you bound to the book from the very beginning. It takes you on a tour through the maze of your subconscious and raises lots of questions. I highly recommend it and I'm looking forward to read some more by Liz Jensen.

This was not at all satisfying to me. There were parts I wanted to like, parts where I thought it had potential, where a slow reveal was worth it. But I spent most of my reading time confused, annoyed, or bored. And by the end, I was completely dissatisfied and actually kind of angry at where we had finally been taken.

Another 3.5 rating (can we please have half stars?). I found the story interesting and compelling. Can't say I'm fully satisfied with the conclusion but I did enjoy it and liked that it was a bit different and didn't seem to follow the rules.

I really enjoyed this book. It was intriguing, it was weird, it was creepy, and it was enjoyable. I wanted to keep reading the book, and although I felt certain plot elements were predictable, I still found myself surprised by some plots points within the book; both by unexpected developments, and the lack of developments that I fully expected to transpire.

The suspense is a slow burn that slowly rises throughout the novel, keeping your interest and keeping you entertained. I realize those mean the same thing, I'm not eloquent, I write this without correcting anything and just say YAY! It was good. And someone can write better than me.

4/5: a captivating and thrilling story about the accident-prone boy Louis Drax and his twisted way of coping, which got me thinking: was he the victim or not? Not wanting to spoil anything, I’m just saying he might be as guilty/responsible as his mother for what is happening to him

The Ninth Life of Louis Drax tells the story of accident-prone 9-year-old Louis Drax, who is now in a coma. It's told alternately from his point of view, and the point of view of the doctor hoping to wake him up. The story begins shortly after Louis' most recent accident, which left him comatose and his father missing. The only awake and available person who knows what really happened is his mother. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that things are not as they seem - and not always explainable. It's part mystery, part drama, and part magical realism.

The quality of the writing in this book is quite good. The author has imparted a surreal, almost eerie feeling throughout. Moreover, she has convincingly captured the voices of both a disturbed nine-year-old, and a middle-aged French man. Writing in first-person POV when the character is a child is particularly hard to pull off well, but Jensen does it well.

Content-wise, the pace starts out pretty slow. It does pick up farther into the book, which is good. For the most part, the mystery/thriller aspect is handled well, walking the fine balance between giving us enough to pick up on but not making things super obvious (with one glaring exception to this in the matter of the notes). There are some nice surprises and turnabouts. There's a character who initially appears quite sinister and another who seems a bit off but harmless, but neither ends up being what you'd expect.

As for the magical realism bits... well, one side of them was well-done, but the other side I didn't really see much of a point to (other than a reveal that could've been done many other ways). That, plus some ill-advised romantic interludes put a touch of a sour note on the story, but overall it was still a good read.

This was the most recent pick for the book club I go to, and the consensus was that everyone found it interesting, in a positive way. It's a pretty quick read, too. If you're looking for some contemporary light thriller fare, this is a good bet.

I stumbled across this title in a "read them before they become movies" article, so thought it must be good. This story had so much promise, and was a "pretty" read, but it really wasn't what it could have been. It could have been a lot creepier/complex, and the final outcome (to some extent) was so predictable I could have finished the book halfway through and guessed what was going to happen. Meh.