Our Little Group
by Patricia Rivers
My survey of the 1993 crop of Eden Book Society reissues continues with Our Little Group by (the fictional) Patricia Rivers. Abby, Ken and Jessica have been friends since school, and they have carried that friendship into young adulthood while working together at the local branch of Tammy Girl. Their "little group" is shattered by Jessica's tragic death in a car accident. Except that she returns to work a week after her funeral as though nothing has happened. What's more, no one seems to find this strange except Abby and Ken, who soon begin to wonder whether Jessica was better off dead than in her current reincarnation. The revenant is a monster in disguise, but flashbacks reveal that the group's dynamics may have been abusive from the very beginning.
This is one of the strongest entries in the latest clutch
of Eden Book Society novellas. Unlike some of the other books in the series, Our
Little Group genuinely feels like a product of the 1990s, vividly evoking
the atmosphere of the period. It contains some disturbing scenes of violence
(hardly my favourite thing, though admittedly well written), while also
offering intriguing psychological insights into the workings of a friendship
group dominated by a toxic, controlling personality.
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