Characters who transform themselves: Siren, by Tara Moss

Few writers have the patience to keep developing a character over more than one book – too often they become static. Miss Marple was a weed-pulling tweed-wearing genius in each of her twelve novels. Jack Reacher will be a homeless, womanising vigilante for the rest of his days. The worst offender is James Bond, who is so averse to new concepts that he orders the same drink in every bar.

“I’ll have a grenadine and lemonade. …What?”

While there is something comforting about the routines of these characters, it’s always fascinating to meet a protagonist like Makedde Vanderwall. She was introduced in Fetish as a good-naturedly naive fashion model, but by the beginning of Siren, her fifth adventure, she has become a hardened and pitiless private investigator. This metamorphosis is perfectly paced, always giving the reader time to catch up but never letting the character stagnate. The series now reads like a superhero origin story, but with an intriguing twist – you’re not quite sure what Makedde is becoming.

Siren opens with a gruesome murder on the other side of the world, but quickly shifts focus to Mak Vanderwall and her seemingly unrelated missing person case. Has her quarry run away from home, or was he taken? And will she be able to track him down before an old nemesis finds her and gives her a “Columbian Neck-Tie” – a tongue pulled out through a slit throat?

I have no idea if Tara Moss made that up. I sure hope so.

I wish I could get on the cover of my own books. If only my character were a dopey-looking guy with too much hair product.

While Siren can be enjoyed superficially as a crime thriller, those who dig deeper won’t be disappointed. The story, like most worth telling, is about love – mostly its dark, twisted side. The colourful cast includes a lusting coffin-maker, a regretful millionaire, and a jealous contortionist. The desperate loneliness of life as a hit man is simultaneously moving and chilling.

Moss shows no mercy to her creations, maiming characters when you expect salvation, killing them when you expect a maiming. The cruelty of each villain is exceeded only by the grotesquery of his demise, inciting pity for even the most vile psychopath as the story accelerates towards an ending that would creep out John Fowles.

I can’t wait to see what Mak will do next.

Full disclosure: I’m a sucker for anything with a magician in it. But hey, who isn’t?