The At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor

A Novel of Sin & Retribution

Fiction - Literary
142 Pages
Reviewed on 10/31/2024
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Author Biography

Acclaimed composer Gary Lloyd Noland (who goes by the pen name Dolly Gray Landon) was born in Seattle in 1957 and grew up in Berkeley. As an adolescent, Noland lived for a time in Salzburg (Mozart’s birthplace) and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (home of Richard Strauss), where he absorbed a host of musical influences. Having studied with a long roster of acclaimed composers and musicians, he earn his undergraduate degree in Music from UC Berkeley in 1979 and his graduate degrees in Music Composition from Harvard in 1989. His critically acclaimed, award-winning 77-hour long Gesamtkunstwerk, JAGDLIED: A CHAMBER NOVEL FOR NARRATOR, MUSICIANS, PANTOMIMIST, DANCERS & CULINARY ARTISTS, was listed as the Number One Book of 2018 by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews.

The underlying factors motivating this novel run deep and dark. The author does not feel himself qualified to possess a coherent purchase upon the whys and wherefores behind its inception but can only hazard a tentative guess: inertia from composing music, literary revenge, or perhaps blind greed.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Carol Thompson for Readers' Favorite

The At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor by Dolly Gray Landon is an audaciously satirical novel that delves into the bizarre intersections of morality, justice, and the modern consumerist experience. At its core is Justyce Dreadmiller, a grocery store owner whose obsessive quest to bring a young kleptomaniac, Yvette Cartier, to justice unfolds with dark humor and biting social critique. Yvette’s incessant shoplifting drives Dreadmiller to extreme lengths, leading him to navigate a labyrinth of moral ambiguities and absurd scenarios. The plot’s absurdity is matched by the author’s audacious use of language, filled with intricate wordplay and elaborate descriptions that evoke a sense of the grotesque and the theatrical.

Dolly Gray Landon’s narrative style is anything but conventional. The prose is dense, often resembling a literary roller coaster with its rapid shifts in tone and digressions into philosophical musings. The novel explores deeper themes, such as the blurred line between justice and vengeance, the consequences of unchecked power, and society's ethical contradictions. The exaggerated characterizations and surreal situations are sometimes reminiscent of a black comedy, where every character becomes a caricature of excess and eccentricity. Yet, for all its quirks, the book offers a sharp critique of contemporary culture, specifically, how greed, consumerism, and moral decay intertwine. The At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor is not for the faint-hearted; it requires a reader willing to embrace the bizarre and the provocative, making it a unique and memorable read. If you're looking for a story that breaks away from traditional narratives and plunges into the depths of satire with boldness and flair, this book will not disappoint.

Jamie Michele

The At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor by Dolly Gray Landon introduces us to Justyce Dreadmiller, owner of Mildred's Market, who is frustrated by the repeated thefts of luxury items by Yvette Cartier, totaling around $90,000 in losses. Despite her wealthy adoptive great-uncle's support, Yvette has adopted a lifestyle of academic fraud and theft. Meanwhile, Justyce's son, Eiden, begins dating Yvette to gather information about her deceptive actions. As Yvette finds comfort in her relationship with Eiden, she remains unaware of the impending consequences of her fraudulent activities, which put her scholarship and future at risk. When Justyce sees an opportunity to publicly confront Yvette at a fundraising event for the market, it becomes clear that more may be exposed than just her criminality, thanks to the market’s new, extremely bizarre conveyor system.

Dolly Gray Landon's The At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor is an intelligently written and deliciously outlandish novel with crisp wit and imagination. Landon does well in working keen insight into human behavior and balancing it against a plot thick with power plays and manipulation, flipping the switch on what would otherwise be the apex of privilege. I suppose the closest I can come to connecting Landon's writing to another more well-known author would be to say that the style is akin to Anne Rice's The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty. Not everyone will love it, but readers who enjoy the spectacle of exhibitionism will adore Landon's book. I thought it was sharp and the character portrayals, and motives, were strong. A word of warning though: do not sit in the front row, unless you want to be squirted on. Recommended.

K.C. Finn

The At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor: A Novel of Sin & Retribution by Dolly Gray Landon is a psychological thriller that delves into the consequences of greed and moral decay. The Dreadmillers, an all-American family and beloved pillars of their affluent community, find their peaceful lives disrupted when Yvette Cartier, a spoiled, wealthy young woman, pilfers from their grocery boutique. After enduring her thefts for two years, Justyce Dreadmiller reaches his breaking point. What follows is a tale of retribution, as Yvette’s sense of entitlement clashes with the Dreadmillers' sense of justice, leading to inevitable, explosive consequences.

Author Dolly Gray Landon offers readers a novel packed with vivid and stylish prose, inviting us into the richly detailed world of Pimpleton Heights with atmosphere and tone at the forefront of every moment. There’s plenty of biting satire and dark humor that enhances the story's psychological depth and the thrilling descent into retribution as the class war begins to rage between strong, well-defined characters who leap off the pages. The contrast between the Dreadmiller family’s hard-earned success and Yvette Cartier’s hollow privilege is distinct and heightened, offering a thought-provoking exploration of the American dream and the concept of entitlement. Landon masterfully creates a slow, simmering tension, leading to a sense of impending doom as Justyce’s patience erodes and Yvette’s reckoning approaches, keeping readers on edge whilst also allowing the intellectual themes of the work to sink in. Overall, I would certainly recommend The At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor as a must-read for fans of cerebral, satirical dramas packed with nuance and brilliant character work.

Frank Mutuma

In The At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor by Dolly Gray Landon, despite coming from poverty, Mr. Dreadmiller successfully built a great business. He is respected by the community and knows many influential people. An issue has come to the attention of Mr. Dreadmiller. Someone has been stealing from his business, and, over the years, the cost has accumulated to a significant amount. A lot of evidence against the thief is available, and he decides to involve his friend, who is an administrator at the university where the young thief attends school. But Yvette Cartier has powerful guardians who are not afraid to use their influence. Mr. Dreadmiller has a son who gets involved in the drama. How will things turn out when Aiden meets the beautiful Yvette Cartier?

With a unique plot line and subtle humor, there was never a dull moment in The At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor by Dolly Gray Landon. Once you start reading it, there is no putting this book down. I was glued to my couch from the first chapter to the last. I loved the themes explored, such as the extremes of passions that left me yearning for more. This thought-provoking work also gets one thinking about various societal issues and how they affect people’s behavior. Dolly also used suspense effectively, which made me look forward to subsequent events. The characters are well-developed, and the reader will also appreciate the excellent narration, which adds to the overall beauty of this amazing work. This was a great read, and I look forward to reading something else by this talented author.

Mimie Odigwe

Justyce Dreadmiller is more than willing to forgive the entitled kleptomaniac pilfering from his grocery store. He might have continued to look the other way if the perfumes, oils, and beauty products she’d been stealing hadn’t cost him up to $90,000 in losses. As a result, he can’t afford to purchase the high-tech conveyor machine he wants for his store. This grocer digs into her life and discovers her sordid deeds. Her name is Ms. Yvette Cartier; she lives with her adoptive parents, splurges on a trust fund set up by a war-profiteering oil tycoon great-uncle, and is a cheating student, using ghostwriters to compose her academic papers. Mr Dreadmiller involves his family and connections within and outside Pimpleton in the humiliation and punishment of the thieving young lady who sees the world as her oyster in The At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor by Dolly Gray Landon.

With an anti-heroine whose hubris - pride and insatiable desires - lead to her downfall, this farce is outlandish, darkly humorous, and not for the faint-hearted or squeamish. Dolly Gray Landon writes for a niche audience: those interested in a comical rendition of greed and the all-American dream with tolerance or liking for explicit eroticism featuring BDSM, public humiliation, degradation, and exhibitionism. The author’s writing style is tailored for readers who appreciate satirical prose filled with quirky humor and rich wordplay. Although I found it initially difficult to get into the flow, The At-Your-Beck Felicity Conveyor: A Novel of Sin & Retribution quickly became compelling binge-reading, and unlike anything I have read before.