kirstyes

About the Book

A roar of rage, a pacy page-turner, I loved it with all my broken heart. Read it. You’ll love it’ Marian Keyes

‘I loved this wild mystery about a group of midlife women who have just about had enough. I couldn’t put it down’ Erin Kelly

‘A feminist thriller for our times’ Nina Pottell, Prima

‘An addictive, fast-paced crime novel like nothing you’ve ever read before’ Red magazine

* * *

Nessa: The Seeker
Jo: The Protector
Harriett: The Punisher

With newfound powers the time has come to take matters into their own hands…

After Nessa is widowed and her daughters leave for college, she’s left alone in her house near the ocean. In the quiet hours, she hears voices belonging to the dead – who will only speak to her.

On the cusp of fifty Harriett’s marriage and career imploded, and she hasn’t left her house in months. But her life is far from over – in fact, she’s undergone a stunning metamorphosis.

Jo spent thirty years at war with her body. The rage that arrived with menopause felt like the last straw – until she discovers she’s able to channel it.

Guided by voices only Nessa can hear, the trio discover the abandoned body of a teenage girl. The police have written off the victim. But the women have not. Their own investigations lead them to more bodies and a world of wealth where the rules don’t apply – and the realisation that laws are designed to protect villains, not the vulnerable.

So it’s up to these three women to avenge the innocent, and punish the guilty…

The time has come to embrace The Change.

* * *

‘Fast paced and original. I couldn’t stop reading’ Sarah Morgan

‘A revenge fantasy and feminist fist-pump – and a balm for trying times’ Grazia

‘Part crime thriller, part extended howl of pure rage, The Change takes a scalpel to the cancer of misogyny that infects every cell of western culture, with biting wit and a burning, righteous anger that never lets up. Powerful and original’

Tammy Cohen

About the Author

Kirsten Miller is an outstanding feminist author in the YA and children’s space, who spent twenty-five years as a strategist in the advertising industry.The Change is her first adult novel. 

What I Thought

This was pitched as a menopause thriller and our three main protagonists are ladies of a certain age. And boy do they change from meek and mild to badassery, although there isn’t really that much discussion of the actual menopause aspect it is very much an exploration of how women at that age claim their power and place in a society that deems them replaceable and invisible.

This quote from near the end of the book sums up its tone of rage. But I enjoyed how from our three main characters it came from that place of protection. Of making sure future generations don’t suffer the same way.

“Our lives are designed to have three parts. The first is education. The second, creation. And in part three, we put our experience to use to protect those who are weaker. This third stage, which you have entered, can be one of incredible power.”

“Can be?”

“There have always been those who want to deny women power. And there are also women who refuse to accept it. Some, who’ve mastered the games men play, choose to betray their own kind. These women are our most dangerous enemies. But many women are simply too frightened to see things as they really are – or to accept that the world men have made must be destroyed.”

This is a really pacy thriller with hard hitting content so please do check the content warnings (sexual assault, rape, paedophilia, kidnapping, revenge, gore, misogyny).

I’ve seen some reviewers say that the book is too angry and man hating but I’d say that considering what the men in this book get up to the character’s anger is pretty justified. There are some male characters who are presented in a more positive light too although their place in upholding discrimination is rightly pointed out. This is righteous anger against the system of patriarchy and capitalism, not all men!!!

The relationship between the three main female characters was joyful and it’s good to see what happens when women lift each other up. Their power in this case is very real and there’s a hefty dose of magical realism and witchy energy included. I think there are some similarities between this and When Women Were Dragons which I’ve also just started reading so I’ll be interested to compare the themes and how they are handled.

The reader is ahead of the characters in terms of the mystery element and this adds a layer of tension, and also frustration at times. It might have been slightly stronger to have the characters finding out some of those aspects rather than getting other character POVs to tell us what was going on.

All in all this was a pretty fun read that reminds me of The First Wives Club x Practical Magic x Carrie.

If you enjoy a ragey feminist slant to your writing where the bad guys get their comeuppance then I think you’d enjoy this. The Change is coming!

Thanks to HQ Stories for the copy for the purposes of an honest review. Check out what everyone else thought too.