A Dangerous Woman

That, however, is part of what makes her story a fascinating read. I resisted the urge to toss this book aside in favor of the Ramsey Campbell paperback sitting on my nightstand, and by the hundredth page I was still annoyed by Martha - but I had to know what would become of her. From the opening paragraph, we know that shes going to kill someone . . . but who? and why? and will she lose her painful sense of honesty?

Morris does a fine job of getting the reader inside Marthas head, (much in the same way that Mr. Campbell does), though very unobtrusively. It was only toward the end of the book that I found myself, while still disliking Martha, at least understanding her. I even felt a passing moment of triumph when she held to her grating sense of truth in the final pages.

This is not one of those books I would keep on my shelf for future re-readings - I honestly couldnt bear Martha for another 300 pages - but it makes me wish I hadnt sold Ms. Morris VANISHED to the used book-store without ever reading it.

Martha, although living in a rented room and town and boasting a full-time job at the nearby dry cleaners, is unable to forge natural adult relationships with the people surrounding her. She moves between hating co-workers and attaching at the hip to those she loves. Eventually, her difficulties lead to the loss of her job and a move back to her aunts home. Its certain that Martha will soon lose all control of her reactions to those around her.

At times, I felt so uncomfortable reading about Martha. She made me angry and sad all at the same time. But Morris, through Martha, reinforced that people need to stop being superficial and start taking the time to look beyond a persons surface to see the real person inside.