• click here to return to the homepage •
Home > Categories > Books > Fiction > The Other Typist review
A thrilling tale of the intoxicating and dark side of friendship. New York City, 1924: the height of Prohibition and the whole city swims in bathtub gin.
Rose Baker is an orphaned young woman working for her bread as a typist in a police precinct on the lower East Side. Every day Rose transcribes the confessions of the gangsters and murderers that pass through the precinct. While she may disapprove of the details, she prides herself on typing up the goriest of crimes without batting an eyelid.
But when the captivating Odalie begins work at the precinct Rose finds herself falling under the new typist's spell. As do her bosses, the buttoned up Lieutenant Detective and the fatherly Sergeant.
As the two girls' friendship blossoms and they flit between the sparkling underworld of speak-easies by night, and their work at the precinct by day, it is not long before Rose's fascination for her new colleague turns to obsession. But just who is the real Odalie, and how far will Rose go to find out?
Buster's Zoo
The Boy Who Wasn't There (Book of Gabrielle)
Animorphs - 3 - The Encounter
Big and Small
Embassy Row 1 - All Fall Down
Geronimo Stilton and the Kingdom of Fantasy 8 - The Phoenix of Destiny
Fuzzy Doodle
Kiwi Corkers: The Ugly Hatchling
Pepe and Tute
Ellie Copter
Elastic Island Adventures: Rarotonga
Pekapeka, Secret Forest Bat
The Terrible Trio 3: The Mystery of the Lost CapeProduct reviews...
Members are welcome to post a review. You will need to log in to post yours.
Review by: rosielee3 (Rosie)
Dated: 6th of May, 2013
They say never judge a book by it's cover, but you know what ... I must confess, I do! The book must have an enticing front page or usually I won't pick it up. Luckily this front page is fantastic. I love the typist font, the feminity against the rough background of scrunchy paper....its really a fantastic image.
Suzanne Rindell is a new author and this book is pretty good. It takes a bit to get though and lulls in some places, seemingly going no where at some parts. In saying that these moments do add to the bigger picture at the end.
I love historical fiction and this ticks all the boxes in the sense of setting. Rindell uses fabulous details with clothes, textures, smells and tastes .... its almost like you are with Rose as she ventures through the book. You get caught up in the mind sweeping friendship, I personally felt as though I wanted Odalie to like me, to be my friend so I could be pampered with all the magnificent items Rose gets to use.
At other times I felt there were too many characters and the story line became muddled and un realistic. The end really is what makes the book unique, but I'm not sure if I thought it was genius of it I actually hated it....maybe a love/hate relationship.
I would be interested to read another of Rindells books if she brings another out, I feel her writing could get better and would be interested to see the twists that another book of the same genre could take. Its very original and worth a read if you are after something a little bit different but staying with historical fiction.
Random listing from 'Books'...
Rosette is a child of two worlds: Gaela, steeped in magic, and an Earth choked with failing technology. The key to their survival is literally in her blood, a spell passed down through her family line to preserve the one they're sworn to protect.
Unaware of her lineage, Rosette runs scared when her family is murdered. She takes refuge with Nell, a shape-shifting high priestess of the ancient blood, who teaches her the arts of ... more...
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"I like to pick up hitchhikers. When they get in the car I say, "Put on your seat belt. I want to try something. I saw it once in a cartoon, but I think I can do it."
Steve Wright
