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This intellectual thriller of a novel details what happens after Alexandra Southwood, devoted wife and mother, fails to return home from work one day. The narration trades between the hell Marc is going through as he comes to grips with his wife's disappearance and Alexandria's memories of her relationship with Marc, from their initial meeting to their marriage and raising their two daughters. Because the novel follows the trendy format of alternating points of view between Alexandra (who is apparently being held captive by some psychopath) and her husband, Marc, it would be tempting to call it yet another "Gone Girl," although that would not be fair at all to this book. True, there are numerous twists and slow reveals, some of which you can see coming from far away and others that will leave you gasping in surprise.

But whereas "Gone Girl" was a thriller from start to finish, "Exhibit Alexandria" has a serious subtext and addresses topics such as feminism and art, with a particular focus on the category of performance art. Alexandria was a serious art student before she met Marc, and a portion of the book is devoted to a rumination of her decision to turn her back on her career to devote time to her family. As one of Marc and Alex's mutual friends tries to explain later, voicing the hypothesis that Alex had been unhappy in her marriage before she was abducted, "It's still always the woman who changes her desires to meet the man's. It's still a world built for you and not us."

Given the main character's immersion in the art world, the novel itself also discusses at length the nature of performance art and the ethics of art: Is it ever okay to inflict pain on others as a work of art? The author describes some real-world artists and controversial works of art in this regard, a discussion I found fascinating and thought-provoking, although other readers expecting a more generic thriller may find it off-putting or of less interest.

Without offering spoilers, I will say that the conclusion of the book left me unsettled and unhappy, but unsettled in a good way, in that it was so thought-provoking I immediately went to my husband and told him all about it, because I wanted his take on how it turned out. (He didn't mind that I spoiled it for him. He's a good husband.) And it stayed with me all through the next day, leaving me with an uncomfortable ambivalence about how to feel toward the characters. In my mind, that's a good book.

Stags

"S.T.A.G.S." written by M.A.Bennett is a superb story that was such a different read to my normal books, yet still in keeping with the thriller genre.
I knew as soon as I started reading this that I was going to enjoy it and I wasn't proved wrong. With twists and turns right to the very end, readers will love this book - so easy to follow with brilliant characters (I could certainly see the attraction with Henry!) and a seriously captivating plot.
Greer MacDonald has won a scholarship at the very elite and prestigious St. Aidan the Great School in Northumberland. She doesn't make many friends at the school due to not being the wealthy and socially acceptable student all the others are. When Greer receives the much coveted annual invitation to join a group of 'Medievals' (unofficial prefects of the school) at Longcross Hall, she accepts the "huntin' shootin' fishin'" invitation in the hope she will make new friends and be socially accepted. However, things aren't as they seem in the invitation and things start to go disastrously wrong once the deadly weekend gets underway. We know from the start that a death has occurred - quite possibly a murder - and we are taken on a twisty turny journey that Greer relates in great detail, keeping the reader engrossed in a tale of medieval history, traditional blood sports and the power of long established well to do families.
Living myself beside the hauntingly beautiful counties of Northumberland and Cumberland, I could really relate to the areas the school and Hall were located, the descriptions were truly spot on! I also particularly enjoyed the little references Greer made relating to movies incorporating film scenes where that situation was occurring, and the fact it was written in the first person means we get to hear Greer's doubts and feelings first hand.
"S.T.A.G.S." could easily be made into a movie, there's a huge audience of all ages that would enjoy this story and I highly recommend the book - I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would happily read it again.
5 stars