My Second Death by Lydia Cooper

My Second Death is a strange book, and although I almost stopped reading on the first page, I held on until I was enthralled.

Book description:  "In Lydia Cooper’s wry and absorbing debut novel, we are introduced to Mickey Brandeis, a brilliant twenty-eight year old doctoral candidate in medieval literature who is part Lisbeth Salander and part Dexter."

Yes, the book is creepy, and Mickey is described as a sociopath and/or having antisocial personality disorder.  However, after getting over the first few pages and gradually entering Mickey's life and her attempts to behave normally, I found myself invested in Mickey's everyday difficulties and the the way she deals with the horrible murder someone has sent her to discover.

As more information comes to light about Mickey's childhood, I couldn't help but wonder if the various diagnoses that she received were correct.  Mickey is a seriously damaged individual, but was she born with these abnormal tendencies or were they reinforced in her childhood?

Here are links to the diagnoses, and while in some ways Mickey's personality fits, in other important ways, it doesn't.  The more I read, the more sympathetic I found her character.

Profile of a Sociopath  and Antisocial Personality Disorder

An ARC from Net Galley/Adams Media/Tyrus Books.

This one is definitely not for everyone, but it is definitely an intriguing glimpse into a disturbed personality trying to overcome her own deficiencies.

Psychological Thriller.  2013.  Print version 336 pages.  ISBN-10: 144056129X