Maestra

Killer. I approached L.S. Hilton’s debut novel, Maestra, with high expectations. I heard that she was introducing a strong female protagonist, and that the writing was superb. We meet the narrator of the novel, Judith Rashleigh, when she is working for a prominent art auction house. She wants to leave behind her working class background and use her university education to move ahead. Before long, we discover that Judith loves sex, which Hilton describes in great detail. While I stopped reading Fifty Shades because of poor writing, Hilton does write well in this novel, but I found the vulgarity of meaningless sex shallow and unnecessary. That wasn’t why I hated this novel. Judith is a killer and a sociopath, but Hilton never develops her character with any depth. She kills, she has sex, she schemes and plots. I found that lack of character development to be a missed opportunity. There’s an Oxford don reading this novel by graduate Hilton, and shaking his or her head. Readers who are satisfied with plot, violence, and could care less about mindless sex and weak character development are those most likely to enjoy reading this novel. Rating: One-star (I hate it) Click here to purchase Maestra from amazon.com.