I honestly never thought about what happened to Rusty and Barbara after the conclusion of Presumed Innocent, but Innocent tells the story of a marriage strained by mental illness, the results on a young boy, now a young legal professional, the impact on a career. When Barbara is found dead, Rusty's actions after he finds her that morning in bed are suspect, and he's accused of murder -- again. Turow delivers another spell-binding legal suspense thriller. The truth unravels slowly and is fully explained by the end. I enjoyed seeing the growth in Nat (the son) and Rusty over the course of the novel. I think that the characters are a bit stronger and more developed than in many legal thrillers, and that made it even more enjoyable for me. I revisited the ...
Category Archives: Fiction
This Fine Life
This Fine Life, a novel by Eva Marie Everson, opens in the summer of 1959 with young socialite Mariette Puttnam returning home upon graduation from boarding school. Mariette is torn between her mother’s desire that she take her rightful place among the privileged society in which they move in order (and thus find a husband) and her father’s wish that she go to college to prepare to take over the family business. Neither option appeals to Mariette and when she meets a handsome mail clerk she feels as if she has found the answer, never mind that her falling in love with someone of so little means doesn’t exactly fit her parents’ expectations. Mariette marries the young clerk, Thayne, and the novel explores her struggle to understand his faith and his call to be a minister as well as her struggle to ...
Never Say Never
I enjoy a book series, because it allows me a chance to really get to know the characters beyond the limits of a single book. Especially when the characters are as endearing as the citizens of Daily. Never Say Never is the third book in Lisa Wingate's series about the small Texas town. I reviewed the first, Talk of the Town, here. I reviewed the second (and equally delightful) installment, Word Gets Around, here. Although they're a series, each book stands alone well. In Never Say Never, Wingate lets one of my favorite characters, Donetta (who reminds me a litte of Truvy in Steel Magnolias), take turns narrating with Kai Miller. Kai is a drifter who crosses Donetta's path as they flee from a hurricane. When Kai lands in Daily and meets Donetta's handsome nephew, Kemp, sparks fly.
Struts & Frets
Oh, to be a teenager again. As I read Jon Skovron's debut young adult novel, I was reminded of the intensity of life during one's adolescence-- from peer relationships and school responsibilities to the burning need to "find yourself." Struts & Frets embodies these ideas within a framework constructed of music, which is at the center of the story in several ways. Sammy's life consists of school, hanging out with friends, and most importantly, cultivating his band. When he's not irritated with the lead singer's domineering manner, or trying to get all the members to play the same song at the same time, or struggling to get everyone to show up at a practice, he can't help but believe that they could someday experience success on the indie scene. Sammy lives and breathes music, and even ...
Thicker than Blood
C. J. Darlington's debut novel Thicker than Blood burst onto the Christian fiction scene, earning the 2008 Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest. After reading it, I completely understand why. This was a book I couldn't put down. The main character, Christy Williams, has a checkered past that's kept her from going home to see the sister she left behind ago after their parents died. May hasn't seen Christy in 15 years, and doesn't even know if her sister is still alive. The sisters couldn't be more different. May has a close-knit set of friends and Jesus. Christy is an alcholic with an abusive boyfriend and buried secrets that are eating her alive. A stolen first edition of an Ernest Hemingway novel is about to force a reunion that neither sister is quite prepared for. Thicker ...
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
Several months ago, I read Little Women for the first time. I don't know how I made it 36 years without reading this novel (or watching the movie), but I did. When selecting titles for this year's Classics Bookclub, I knew Little Women needed to be at the top of the list. By the time I finished this beloved story, I felt like the March sisters were my friends, and I was sad to see them go. Most people know that Louisa May Alcott used her own family as a model for the Marches, and many people see similarities between Jo and the author. Louisa May Alcott, however, differed from Jo in ...
A Soft Place to Land
A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White is the story of Julia and Ruthie, half-sisters who are separated to live with different relatives after their parents' death when they are teenagers. We learn about their lives through letters that they write and mostly from the younger sister Ruthie's point of view. Their lives take very different paths, although one will never know if it was nurture or nature. I do not always look for perfect characters who always do the right thing, or who are just like me, but I do want to feel drawn to them. Something about these characters or the way their story was told was lacking, and yet the book was highly readable. I'm not exactly sure why this book lacks the "wow" factor that has to exist to move my opinion from ...
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Jennifer Donovan
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