An emotionally dramatic but ultimately lightweight romance.
In this historical sequel to Love’s Dance (2017), set at the end of the 19th century, a ruthless convict escapes prison and seeks revenge against the woman who put him there.
After Bridger Crandall’s illegal financial scheme was exposed by wealthy heiress Maggie Lenihan, he unsuccessfully attempted to murder her, which landed him in the Colorado State Penitentiary for 25 years. Seven years into that sentence, in 1887, Bridger escapes and starts a new life under the name “Richard Rutledge,” working for Sloan Talbott, a successful prospector in Leadville, Colorado. That town is dangerously close to the ranch outside Greeley where Maggie now makes a home with her husband, Garret Blackstone. Bridger is hungry for vengeance, and he serendipitously finds an opportunity to get it: Joseph Bainbridge, an affluent businessman, has hired Sloan’s sister, Libby, as a teacher in Greeley, and she’s moved in with Maggie and Garret. Bridger uses his considerable charm to coax information out of Libby; she’s soon infatuated with him and unsuspecting of his motives, which allows him to freely pursue his plans. Meanwhile, the warm friendliness of the wealthy, handsome, and single Bainbridge piques Libby’s interest. Then Maggie, who’s expecting her second child, finds out that Bridger is on the loose, and she can only anxiously wait to see what he intends to do—and Creek poignantly depicts her fright. The novel as a whole, like its predecessor, brims with intrigue, suspense, and romance, and the author effectively presents all of these elements in a propulsive plot that never loses steam. Creek seems to be aiming to explore the malevolence of which man is capable, but the earnest, companionable prose isn’t especially well-suited to this ambitious task. Although there’s a surfeit of drama here, it lacks a sense of grittiness, overall. One can enjoy this story without reading its predecessor, but it will likely be a less fulfilling experience than reading both books in sequence.
An emotionally dramatic but ultimately lightweight romance.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
