Who would've guessed that a novel about an elderly victim of unethical medical experiments who sets out to kill the now doddering doctor who administered the radioactive cocktails fifty years ago would be funny. But it is! Humorous, quirky, and offbeat all describe the unusual, but like able characters that inhabit the Revenge of the Radioactive Lady, by Elizabeth Stuckey-French.

Stuckey-French's characters are sympathetically drawn. They're quirky, but never so quirky that they feel unreal. The writing is quite lively and truly original. Don't let the title fool you: This is no sci-fi tale. It's a comic family drama with warm characters who aren't so flawed they might not be redeemed.

The 77 year old Marylou Ahearn is determined to kill Dr. Wilson Spriggs to avenge his involvement in the medical experiment that cost her her only child Helen. When Marylou finally tracks Dr Spriggs down, she moves to his neighborhood and takes on a new identity and introduces herself to the family. Not that the family wants anything to do with this nosy old biddy....

She then discovers that Dr. Spriggs has major memory loss - and doesn't seem to recall much of anything. So, instead of murder, Marylou plans to disrupt his life through his family. She finds a way to meet his grandchildren. Then she falls for young Suzi - a sporty, outgoing and slightly tormented young girl. As Marylou gets to know Suzi and her sister Ava, and their brother Otis, she finds a closeness and friendship she hadn't expected. And her carefully laid plans go awry. This family needs help, not more mistakes. And Marylou may just be the one who can help them all.

The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady has been compared to the movie Little Miss Sunshine because of the quirky, unusual characters and unexpected situations. Elizabeth Stuckey-French's novel is entertaining, engrossing and hard to forget. It kept me coming back the whole of my confinement because of illness, nearly desperate to find out more. And hoping, against everything that's gone wrong in this family, maybe they all can set things right again...?

Very recommended. ( )

Much more entertaining than you might expect, given the subject matter. Lots of likable characters. Really, I felt sympathetic toward all the main characters. Really 3 1/2 stars (I didn't care for the ending), but I'm bumping it up a half star because of the frequent mentions of the undergrad alma mater. ( )

The premise of "The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady" is an 80 year old woman obsessed with exacting revenge on the doctor who gave her radioactive cocktails at a free clinic she attended while pregnant in the 1950's. She had a daughter who died at age 8. She finds the doctor living in Tallahassee with his daughter and her family, who each have their own issues to deal with. Wilson, the doctor, is in the early stages of dementia and doesn't seems to remember Marylou or the situation.

This book had potential but didn't really live up to it. It had it's moments but as a whole didn't really work. The ending was very abrupt and unbelievable. There were also several loose ends that were left untied at the end. The issues the family members were dealing with were very serious but were either dealt with unsatisfactorily ( to me) or left hanging. I think the book would have been better if she had narrowed the focus of the book and not tried to deal with so many issues. ( )

This is a dark comedy about some very unusual and fascinating characters set in Tallahassee, Florida.

The father, Vic is on the verge of starting an affair. He also dearly wants to experience a hurricane. His wife Caroline is experiencing hot flashes, is out of control, totally overwhelmed by the fact that she has two children with Asperger's. The boy of the pair is really into learning and experimentally with radioactivity. The daughter, of the two, Ava, doesn't think that she has Asperger's but her universe is made of Elvis Presley. Suzi, the normal child is totally into soccer and feels that she doesn't ever get enough attention compared to the twins. The children's grandfather lives with the family and has beginning Alzheimer's. He doesn't know it until later but there is a lady. Mary Lou Ahern after him, seeking revenge over an experiment done many years ago. She has been given a radioactive cocktail many years ago. This caused a lot of pain in her life and she is full of anger.

So this book is both dramatically sad and strangely funny at the same time. The chapters have alternating voices so you get the viewpoints of all. Even though it has some elements of truth like the experiments conducted in Nashville, Tennessee in the past. The story is twisty and complex at the same time. I didn't know if I would like this book at first. I picked it for the title and the cover but now I am very glad that I read it. Also I would like to learn more about those experiments using radioactive materials in the past. ( )

This is yet another time when I wish goodreads would give us the ability to give something a 1/2 star designation. My review would be for 3 1/2 stars instead of 4. This is a book that I absolutely adored when I began reading it, but with 100 pages too many it began to slog along around the 200 page mark. I've given it 4 just because I did love it when I started reading it and the overall story is a good one. There have been so many books recently that seem to need a good editor to trim them down and speed up the story. ( )