A transgressive thriller from the author of Hey, Joe (1996), describing the troubles of a young man from the wrong side of the tracks who’s taken up by rich friends and given a brutal introduction to life in the fast lane. Drew Burke is a poor boy from New Orleans who won a scholarship and headed east to study at Johns Hopkins. There, he met Bahar Richards, and she and Drew quickly become best friends. Bahar is smart, chic—and utterly manipulative. Although her relations with Drew are not wholly platonic, she’s instrumental in hooking him up with her bisexual brother Jake, and she watches over their budding relationship with all the self-satisfaction of a confirmed matchmaker. While he finds their life of privilege easy to adapt to, Drew has to admit that he doesn—t know these people very well, and when Jake hands him a sheaf of newspaper clippings and tells him that he loves him and wants him to know all about “what happened,” Drew quickly discovers that he’s gotten into something way over his head. Apparently, years before, Jake and his friend Troy were tried for the rape and murder of Allison Myers, a poor girl from a local high school. Jake pleaded innocent and was acquitted, but there are still enough loose ends about the case to give Drew pause—especially as Bahar refuses to discuss it with him. As he tries to sort out the mystery of Allison’s death, Drew finds himself confronted with the far greater enigma of Jake and Bahar’s lives. Are they what they seem to be? And just what do they want from Drew? Soon enough, Drew discovers that his story is not one of social climbing, but sheer survival. The author’s annoying use of, like, MTV English and his Brett Easton Ellis—ish obsession with brand names (just what is the difference between a BMW 318ti and a BMW 540i?) can—t suffocate this chilling and delightfully lurid tale—though at times it’s touch-and-go. (Author tour/NPR satellite tour)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-15691-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.
Life lessons.
Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-345-46750-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
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