Chuck Palahniuk has done it again.

The author of books such as "Fight Club", "Choke" and "Invisible Monsters" takes his readers down another unbelievable trail of character throes and woes, but this time the high testosterone levels are hard to come by.

Palahniuk's new narrator is not a man dealing with identity issues, but a woman trapped on an island with two types of people - islanders and summer tourists, where she is made to swallow green-algae pills and paint her life away. OK, so it's slightly more complicated than that, but Palahniuk's writing takes you on a deranged ride of greed and manipulation, all the way to the last page.

"Diary" is about Misty Marie Kleinman, a poor, white-trash woman who drops out of art school, marries a wealthy islander, Peter Wilmot, and is on her way to becoming a famous artist.

Years later, however, after her husband ends up in the hospital after an attempted suicide, Misty's life takes a turn.

Having to take a path in life she did not anticipate, Misty must now slave away as a hotel waitress trying to make ends meet as the family money dwindles, hospital bills mount and her husband refuses to wake up.

Her mother-in-law suggests she keep a coma diary every day Peter is in the hospital. The diary entries fill the pages with rage and confusion at her husband's suicide attempt, leaving her little time to "make it" as a painter.

Crazy costume jewelry, terrifying hallucinations and people coming back from the dead are just some of Misty's problems as she unknowingly takes part in bizarre island traditions.

She also must deal with her bedridden husband's odd, former professional behavior. As a contractor working on the houses of tourists, Peter left behind hidden rooms with scribed messages that she discovers.

The messages are, at first, thought to be a husband complaining about his chubby wife, and her working in a hotel cleaning up after people. But one tourist, Angel Delaporte, whose kitchen has gone missing behind drywall, discovers a deeper meaning to Peter's messages after he studies the graphology behind his penmanship. "This handwriting is so compelling. The way he writes the letter F in 'set foot' ... the top line is so long it overhangs the rest of the word. That means he's actually a very loving, protective man," Angel says to Misty.

Peter's messages, along with two other island women's, are meant to end an island tradition that has been followed for generations, one that depends on the survival of the island residents.

Palahniuk takes his readers through an amazingly eerie and demented world of islander life.

Dark, funny and incredibly twisted, Palahniuk's latest novel will keep you on your toes.