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Rubdown, Leigh Redhead
- 19-07-2010
Published by Allen & Unwin, 2005
Score: 2.5/5
Review by Cherry Prior
Truth be told, I bought the book 'cause I thought it would have good sex and that I might learn a bit about writing erotic scenes. The author, so the blurb on the back cover says, has been a masseuse, waitress, stripper and apprentice chef - so she certainly has good credentials in the real world for this kind of writing - and her central character Simone Kirsch is a private investigator "who has given up stripping and is trying to be straight. But she can never be straight for long". It was on the "specials" counter at Angus & Robertson and so I picked it up because it sounded like a good candidate for just the sort of research I am trying to do.
Rubdown makes no pretence of being an intellectual read - you could polish it off in a night if you were so inclined - but for me neither did it provide the hot and steamy inspiration I was looking for (perhaps it was too real, and I'm more receptive to fantasy). Nor was I gripped by the storyline. However, Kirsch is a tough, gritty, modern woman who doesn't mind going for and getting what she wants. She is at different times shallow, resourceful, hilarious, opportunistic, crass, judgemental, caring and smart. Which makes her both likeable and very human, as all we modern women are. In terms of character, she is a fun study.
To me, this is the sort of book that you take on a winter weekend away and read the whole thing in one sitting, in the bath, never thinking about it again once you've turned the last page. Which is, in its own way, the perfect kind of read, isn't it?
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Dear Cherry, maybe rather than getting inspiration from other writers you should do a little experimenting yourself and then write from the heart of your own experiences. It could be a very interesting read for parents and siblings. Go Cherry!