What might happen if the Coen brothers were allowed to direct an episode of Desperate Housewives? Trevor Cole's Practical Jean is delightedly macabre literary approximation. Though the subject is murder, it's blackly hilarious without ever descending into depravity. If one can call a book about a woman who decides to kill all of her friends a joy, that's what Cole has accomplished.
Sculptor Jean Vale Horemarsh has just ended three months of caring for her (now deceased) cancer-ridden mother, witnessing everything from her mother's bitterness and brittle bones to bedpans. After arriving home to find that her dolt of a husband couldn't be bothered to clean out the moldy food in the fridge and has downed all of her favorite wine, Jean has a moment of clarity. She vows that her four dearest girlfriends will never have to suffer the indignity of getting old and diseased. Her plan? To kill them while they're still in their middle-aged prime.
Though Jean's theory is altruistically sound, her methods of implementation are utterly insane. You can't help but respect her commitment, even as the body count rises. Like Dr. Kevorkian with a shopping cart, Jean views her desire to end her friends' "suffering" as a noble act of friendship--one she comically denies to her cheating husband and his mistress, deeming them unworthy. Cole's killer novel will change your perceptions on death and friendship, entertaining you to the bitter end. --Natalie Papailiou, author of blog MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend