Books with detestably unlikable female characters hold a special place in my heart. Dorothy Daniels is in prison and recounts her midlife crisis in which she murdered and ate a few of her exes. It is Eat, Pray, Love as narrated by Amy from Gone Girl with cannibalism.

This book does not blink at any of its details. Seeing that Dorothy is a food critic and thus the description of every meal are absolutely top notch, including the ones that would be frowned upon in polite company. The way Daniels unabashedly asserts her power and autonomy, using a variety of tools. No one is safe, until you remember that the narrator is in prison. Summers fantastically teases the answers, a hypnotic ebb and flow between posing questions and delivering responses.

The part that I found most fascinating was the interlude that explored Daniels’ childhood. Some of the choices her parents made definitely influenced her career. But the way that the strength of teen friendship and the unique ways women can harness power through sexuality and information-gathering. These themes continue throughout the story, book-ended with indulgence and violence.

Like a deadly car wreck, you simply cannot look away from the horrors, indulgences, and hungers found within. I read this in basically one sitting, glued to the twists and reveals chapter after chapter after chapter.