RG Miller, $0.99, ISBN 978-1386248163
Horror, 2018
Madison Edwards and her young daughter Terri have been living in and out of homeless shelters all their lives. Things are looking up when a seemingly magnanimous stranger, Kimberly Cole, takes pity on them and invites them to move in with her.
It is amazing, but alas, this bizarrely lucky turn in life comes to an abrupt end when Kimberly is found dead.
Still, when Madison learns that Kimberly has an invitation to visit her reclusive, blind brother, the single mother has a plan. She will impersonate Kimberly and bring her daughter to visit this man, Timothy, and see what she can get out of him for herself and her daughter.
Alas, the whole thing is too good to be true. Kimberly had secrets, and so does Timothy, and now, Timothy is going to direct his vengeful ire on the woman he believes is his hated sister…
RG Miller’s I Am Kimberly Cole is an example of how sometimes the story is so engaging that the admittedly dire lack of polish in the narrative style becomes negligible.
A part of me cringes, for example, at how the author tends to repeat a character’s name over and over instead of using a proper pronoun here and there.
It’s just a small part, though, because a bigger part of me is entertained by the rather melodramatic yet suspenseful story. I also find myself rooting for Madison, as she just wants to overcome the mistakes of her past to give herself and her daughter a chance at a better life.
Sure, she could try to pull off a better stunt than this—being a Twitch thot, OnlyFans, et cetera—but the story is weirdly addictive and entertaining that I find myself not too concerned about some of the rather… odd… choices of the author.
Yes, this one won’t be high art or even halfway lofty entertainment, but I’ve had a lot of fun, so it’s still alright with me!
