Heel goed geschreven, dat is zeldzaam voor een thriller._____________My review for the R.I.P. Challenge #5:In 1996 I borrowed Knollekop (Bucket Nut) by Liza Cody from the library, and loved it so much that when I came across it at the annual Centraal Boekhuis book fair the next year, I picked up a copy.This was unusual, because I tend to regard thrillers and mysteries as junk food: tasting good (hopefully) while it lasts, but containing nothing but empty calories and therefore leaving you ultimately unsatisfied.But then, the protagonist is an unusual character: a female wrestler with a night job as a security guard (with two vicious watchdogs), and supplementing her income by doing shady jobs for various figures, the most important of whom is a Chinese mobster.I loved Eva Wylie straightaway and I fell in love with her all over again this time around. The story is told from her point of view. In her own words she is big, ugly and mean, but we can tell that underneath her tough exterior she is more vulnerable than she'd have us believe.The actual plot, which involves Eva doing one job too many and getting caught in the crossfire between two rivalling gangs, isn't all that important. What I loved about the book is Eva's voice, her wry humour and outlook on life, the search for her sister, and the fascinating look into the world of show wrestling.At the time I also read the sequel Monkey Wrench, but found that one a little over the top. I see that there is a third book called Musclebound and a series featuring a female private detective, but the only title my library has nowadays is Monkey Wrench, and neither Waterstone's nor ABC stock her books. Liza Cody seems to have more or less dropped off the radar, which is a shame, in my opinion.
I laughed from start to finish. Wonderfully realized character. More rude English words than I know. Makes me wish my daughter were still married to her English husband, so I could ask him what they meant. He would know.A female wrestler, serious about being the best wrestler/performer she can be, goes from one crisis to another, thanks to a blend of craftiness and simplicity, cynicism and soft-heartedness. The juxtapositions ring true, and make Eva funny but not comical. I never felt I was laughing--or was expected to laugh AT HER. A quirky book. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy about a pair of junkyard dogs. Cody's PI, Anna Lee, makes a cameo appearance.This is the first Liza Cody book I've read. It won't be the last.
Do You like book Bucket Nut (1995)?
Part comedy, part tragedy, this book follows one Eva Wylie, a big ugly brute of a woman trying to make a name for herself as a baddie in professional wresting. She wrestles under the name of the London Lassassin, but her (anti-)fans call her Bucket Nut. She lives for their boos and their insults, but she's living a marginal life. After a childhood spent in foster homes and years living homeless, she's only now beginning to put her life together, with a job watching over a junkyard, petty theft, and running errands for a local gangster. Then everything goes to hell and Eva finds herself caught in a war between rival gangs. The real appeal here is Eva's voice, which comes across as loud and brutish even on the page. It's not often readers get a crime novel where the POV character is as clumsy and comically clueless as this one. Everything has to be explained to her, because she's always looking elsewhere when important clues pop up. There are two more in this series but I don't think I'll continue reading it. I enjoyed this one, and I liked the way it ended. I'm satisfied.
—Harry Connolly
