Review: The Murder Of Bindy Mackenzie

The Murder Of Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have to admit that I found the first half of this book very difficult to read. I've read one other book by Moriarty, The Year of Secret Assignments,. That book was unique and compelling, especially because of the wonderful way Moriarty was able to portray her characters so convincingly through the letters they wrote one another. I liked the way the story unfolded in that one; it was easy to see that something was wrong, but the reader doesn't learn what, precisely, for some time.



The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie works in many of the same ways. Instead of being an epistolary novel, it's Bindy's diary (which she types as transcripts of conversations around her). Bindy is a side character in that earlier book, one that rates only an occasional mention. Now she's the protagonist, and it's initially quite difficult to deal with her.



Bindy is not a nice person. All her life, she's been forcing herself to be number one in her class, and the stress has worn on her. Her father encourages her to think of herself as above her classmates, and she has no real friends. She doesn't know how to communicate with people her own age, partly because she doesn't consider herself a teenager. She is not like "them."



As the novel opens, Bindy is stressed about starting Year 11. She's eager, and she's also worried that she won't be able to maintain her status. She's also truly frustrated by the idea of a Friendship and Development course she's been enrolled in. Her classmates are a bunch of people that she doesn't like, and on the very first day, she learns that they don't really like her, either. She decides to call them the "Venomous Seven" and expose their true personalities. For her, this means identifying the animal that best represents their personality.



Like the previous book, it becomes evident pretty quickly that something is not right in Bindy's world. Her family situation seems odd. Her anger with her classmates seems unjustified and extreme. For a smart girl, she's falling behind on her assignments and her thoughts are becoming increasingly incoherent.



As Bindy's world falls apart, the novel gets better and better. Moriarty has a deep understanding of psychology and teenage behavior. Bindy, in all her not-very-nice glory, lives on the page. I cannot wait to read more books in this series and by this author.



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