The Murders of Lillian Ross by Sirena Van Schaik – Review by Erin Clemence

The Murders of Lillian Ross by Sirena Van Schaik
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

*Trigger warning: This book contains graphic depictions of sexual and physical abuse, as well as prostitution and sex work*

Lillian Ross is in jail for the murders of two people, one of them being her father. When Allison is approached by Lillian herself to write her story from her perspective, Allison jumps at the chance. As Allison continues to visit Lillian in jail and compose her book, she starts to see things from Lilian’s perspective and starts to realize that Lillian may have been just another innocent victim.

The cover on this novel is utterly eye-catching, and I’m always up for reading a book about a serial killer (fictional or not), so I was intrigued by Sirena Van Schaik’s “The Murders of Lillian Ross”. The story is told from the perspective of Allison primarily, although we do get a front-row seat to Lillian’s perspective as well, when she takes over the narration for brief snippets. Both Allison and Lillian are very interesting characters, as they share a familiar background and family history (with which they bond over), yet they both have had very different outcomes.

Although I am grateful that Van Schaik included Lillian’s perspective, the physical and sexual abuse of Lillian by her father (and her future clients) is detailed quite extensively. Lillian is called a variety of demeaning and graphic words by others in her life, and she almost always refers to herself as a “stupid bitch”. It is obvious that this is done to help readers have sympathy for Lillian and develop a rapport with her, but it does not make for an easy read. The author could have reduced some of these details, as I felt the point was well made without the extraneous language, gore and abuse depictions.

As mentioned, this novel is not an easy read. There are no positive relationships in this novel, and nearly all of the men are depicted as cruel, aggressive and unkind. Although I can see how someone like Lillian would view the world that way, it would have been nice to have one or two positive and uplifting characters in the novel to break up the horror and evil (the one attempt with Allison’s love interest was not focused on enough to make a difference).

The ending of the novel is bittersweet and heartbreaking, but it provides a solid resolution. After bonding with Lillian, it was painful to see the novel end in this way, but it paints a realistic picture, and a happy ending would have not have been believable. “The Murders of Lillian Ross” is dark and gritty, but the characters are well developed. I would have liked better executed writing, and there were a few grammatical errors, but not enough to detract from the flow of the story.