THE LAST REQUEST

A debut literary novel stars an intrepid young woman.

Rose introduces readers to Sunday Clarice Kerobo. Sunday was born on the metro in Paris. After a bumpy early childhood, she was sent at the age of 7 to live with her aunt in La Crosse, Wisconsin. La Crosse is a nice enough place, albeit it is not exactly full of inspiring characters. For instance, the administration at Sunday’s school is full of people who “fulfilled their duties, but they accomplished nothing.” It is during a trip to Chicago that things take a turn. While Sunday, her aunt, and a family friend are in an art museum, two gunmen attack the crowd. The killers take the time to state some religious reasoning for their assault. Sunday’s aunt and the family friend are murdered along with others. But not Sunday. She has the wherewithal to pick up a discarded weapon and kill both gunmen. Thanks to a journalist who happens to be nearby, Sunday becomes famous for her actions. She is known to the media as the “Girl in the Yellow Dress.” She goes on to become valedictorian of her high school graduating class. Then things take another turn: At commencement, Sunday gives a speech that is critical of religion. She’d spent a lot of time thinking about the attackers in Chicago. This brought about the conclusion that “there was something wrong with organized religion, and what it had become.” She is soon a sought-after speaker. Those attracted to her talks discover she has “a power that could not be denied.” Of course, not all of the attention is quite so sunny. There are those who dislike Sunday enough to try to harm her.

This engrossing tale journeys to unexpected cities throughout the globe. From Paris and La Crosse to Venice, Italy, the narrative never lingers too long in one place. And in those locations, the work hits on some telling details. For instance, scenes in Venice are more than just the Doge’s Palace. Seedy operations require gritty haunts like the Hotel Lucy in the city’s Campalto neighborhood. The Hotel Lucy is the type of place that “the tourists don’t see, and the brochures don’t show.” In Chicago, Sunday finds the city “thick with tourists that scurried about like hordes of locusts; every intersection was a battle between people trying to cross and cars trying to turn.” Other descriptions, mainly of characters, are not always so memorable. One individual finds that his “mission was clear, and he would endeavor to accomplish it, whatever the cost.” Such motivations are not exactly nuanced. This is the case with most of the bad guys. The foul priest who baptized Sunday is not only a child molester; he is also afraid to let people know he listens to pop music. Is it a surprise that Sunday winds up as a nemesis of organized religion? Still, the work always manages to keep readers guessing. Sunday is not the typical anti-religious advocate. Despite her generally self-assured nature, she admits at one point to having “feelings which I did not comprehend.” The attack in Chicago is not the only violence she will experience, yet the nefarious forces against her have never seen such an enemy as the Girl in the Yellow Dress.

An engaging, unpredictable character study complete with curveballs and deadly conflicts.