Data Scientist Laura is brilliant at her work, but not what you would call a mixer. She prefers the company of books and her cat Atticus, She most certainly does not approve of social media.
But when her best friend Emily becomes the victim of cyber-bullying, she takes it upon herself to see if she can track down the guilty parties using her skills.
Corporate financier Suki, is leading a deal to acquire the start-up company run by Laura and her business partner Justin. Battling against sexism and the "old boy's network" she is struggling to have her brilliance recognised.
Event planner Claire has to take on arranging the conference for Laura's company, after her colleague, Laura's friend Emily, fails to return to work. She is hoping for a promotion, but is also struggling against sexism in the workplace.
The lives of these three women are about to entwine in a fight against the insidious discrimination that is trying to "keep them in their place". How far will they go in their quest for revenge?
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Oh, this is fabulous! Stay Mad, Sweetheart covers a whole smorgasbord of issues - sexual politics in and out of the workplace, power struggles, sexism, consent and the minefield of social media - and combines this with a cracking story of the pursuit of justice, or is it revenge? Much of what you read in these pages will resonate with your own experiences if you are female, but there is plenty to take away from this is you are male too.
The brilliant, but introverted, Laura is horrified to learn about the extent of the online trolling Emily was subjected to and cannot believe that there is no way to seek legal redress for what has happened to her friend. She is equally upset to learn about the blatant sexism shown to her two new friends, Suki and Claire, who we also see equally powerless, but she does not realise she is also a victim of male treachery too.
I absolutely loved the way this story unfolds, as these three women find that they do have power after all, and the ending had me punching the air with glee! These are all strong, clever women, who deserve the recognition they have been denied. But it is not my intention to give any spoilers away here - this is one of those books that you just have to read for yourself. Believe the hype..this is fabulous!
So no spoliers from me, but I can talk about the way this book cleverly tackles the range of subjects mentioned above. There are some issues brought to the fore here that we will all recognise as bad news (well us decent people anyway!) - for example, the way women can be belittled in the workplace and treated to casual sexism and abuse as a matter of course, and the relentless torrent of vile abuse that can be unleashed on social media - but Heleen Kist also covers issues that have massive grey areas about which many of us will have very different opinions.
I think this book will lead to much debate about the issue of consent, which is definitely the most topical given the recent #MeToo movement. I thought that Heleen Kist handled this with a very deft touch. There are some fine lines drawn here and although we can see that some of these characters leap across the barrier of what is right, other behaviours are not so clear-cut.
Similarly, she lets us see that there can be a fine line between justice and revenge. If your behaviour in the pursuit of justice is tantamount to the same as that of the person you are getting back at, does that make you just as bad as they are? This is an interesting question.
Having said all this, we are certainly made aware of the characters that do deserve to be brought down in this story (both male and female) and the way their demise is managed is glorious.
So what is Stay Mad, Sweetheart about? Is it a contemporary examination of the workplace, the dating scene, the abuse of social media? Or is it a highly charged and intelligent thriller? Well, it is all of these things and a fast-paced, exciting read too. It will leave you with a lot to think about (and many water-cooler issues to discuss), but it will also keep you entertained along the way....and it has a winning title! It actually reminded me a little of Michael Crichton's Disclosure, in the way the sexual and business story lines were entwined (the excellent book that is, not the movie...don't get me started!).
I absolutely loved it and think you will too.
Thank you so much to Red Dog Press and Heleen Kist for providing me with a copy of Stay Mad, Sweetheart in return for an honest review, and for the chance to take part in this Blog Tour.
From the book cover:
THERE'S A FINE LINE BETWEEN INNOCENCE AND GUILT. AN EVEN FINER LINE BETWEEN JUSTICE AND REVENGE.
Data scientist Laura prefers the company of her books to the real world – let alone that cesspit online. But when her best friend Emily becomes the victim of horrific cyberbullying, she makes it her all-engulfing mission to track down the worst culprits.
Petite corporate financier Suki is about to outshine the stupid boys at her firm: she's leading the acquisition of Edinburgh's most exciting start-up. If only she could get its brilliant, but distracted, co-founder Laura to engage.
Event planner Claire is left to salvage the start-up's annual conference after her colleague Emily fails to return to work. She's determined to get a promotion out of it, but her boss isn't playing ball.
As the women's paths intertwine, the insidious discrimination they each face comes to light. Emboldened by Emily's tragic experience, they join forces to plot the downfall of all those who've wronged them.
But with emotions running high, will the punishments fit the crimes?
Stay Mad, Sweetheart is available now from your favourite book retailer, or follow the links here:
About the author:
Heleen Kist has been fondled, patronised and ordered to smile by random men. So she wrote ‘Stay Mad, Sweetheart’, a feminist tale of revenge. Whilst her professional knowledge of technology start-ups fed the novel’s setting, its theme of harassment and workplace discrimination required no research: it is familiar to all women.
Heleen was chosen as an up and coming new author at Bloody Scotland 2018. Her first novel, ‘In Servitude’ won the silver medal for Best European Fiction at the Independent Publishers Book Awards in the USA and was shortlisted for The Selfies awarded at London Book Fair.
A Dutch strategy consultant living in Glasgow and married to a Scotsman, she’s raising their son to be a good man and their daughter to kick ass.
See more about Heleen Kist here: Heleen Kist Author
See more about Red Dog Press here: Red Dog Press
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