Mindless (Short Story) - Louise Cole

Synopsis:

‘My parents chose who they wanted to be and I knew it would end badly. What I didn’t see is I’d be the one to pay the price.’

Everything changes the day Stella is hit by a car outside her London council flat. It’s not an accident. It’s a warning. Her dumb, drug-dealing father and her soppy mother don’t have the sense between them to keep Stella and her little brother safe. Her father Joe has stolen from local mob boss Horse - and then his scheme to repay Horse goes south, and lands Joe in prison. Where he starts to talk.
Horse is coming for them. If anyone is going to protect her family, it will have to be Stella herself. But how far will she go? And who must she become in order to survive?

Tense, gritty and beautifully written, Mindless is the story of a clever girl trapped in a stupid, violent world. It will appeal to young adults and adults alike. Told by Stella itself, the story alternates between the thriller narrative and her later conversations with her psychiatrist.

Review:

Firstly I'd like to thank Louise for providing me a copy of Mindless for a honest review, I hope she likes what I have to say.

So we follow Stella who's clearly an intelligent young woman, she tells us her story and its a tense one at that. Her life isn't perfect but it is what it is and things change one day when Stella gets hit by a car right outside of her council flat in London and I have to admit I flinched at this scene, I physically recoiled which was a clear sign I was really into the book. Stella ends up in the hospital and goes on to recover from the incident and she becomes aware soon after that it wasn't an accident, instead it was a warning for her Father.

Stella clearly has more sense than both of her parents put together and her brother isn't like Stella, she quickly puts together the proof in her mind and a plan to execute, going on to confront her dad and he reassures her he's going to fix it all, but things goes south when the scheme he made to fix it all goes south and puts him behind bars where he can't keep his mouth shut and Stella remains aware throughout, figuring it out that if they can't do a good job of getting to Joe whilst behind bars, they'll hurt him through the people outside of prison whom he loves but Stella is already ready for this as her mind is the only one functioning.

The last part of the middle and the ending of the book blew me away, it was intense action and utterly jaw dropping. Stella is clearly a very strong and determined character well built and portrayed. Although only a short story I utterly loved it, I'd easily fall in love with Stella all over again if she ever resurfaced in any more work of Louise'. A short story indeed, immersive more so, action packed and wonderful I have to give it a 5/5 which it truly deserves. Louise has a great writing style which I fell in love with in The Devil's Poetry when I read it not so long back.