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THE CURRENTS OF SCORPIO

Name: THE CURRENTS OF SCORPIO
Author: Kaye Freemartin

THE ZODIAC MYSTERIES BOOK 3

by Kaye Freemartin ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

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The third book in Freemartin’s (The Curse of Capricorn: The Zodiac Mysteries Book 2, 2014, etc.) Zodiac Mysteries series adds some originality to the glut of dystopian novels.
On the surface, the life of young, beautiful artist Brooke Otto seems enviable. She’s married to fabulously wealthy Marius Greenway and lives on his waterfront estate on touristy Triton Isle in the fictional realm of Astrogea, a society dictated by astrology. Their marriage, however, is a loveless one. She still nurses a broken heart from her relationship with Douglas Rubio, and Marius is bewitched by his lover, Ceto Waverly, who lives in The Cove, the island’s only town. Brooke’s despicable mother-in-law, Beryl, resides with them as well, never missing an opportunity to point out Brooke’s shortcomings. Most of all, Brooke is a Cuspian, born on the cusp of two different astrological signs, which, in astrology-ruled Astrogea, makes her a distrusted, reviled outcast. Brooke’s two signs—Libra and Scorpio—are in constant opposition, so much so that she can no longer paint. When a high-ranking politician requests that Brooke paint his official portrait, her problems come to a head, forcing her to learn the truth behind her duality and inability to create beautiful art. In the process, she reveals startling facts about her marriage and discovers whom she can really trust. Starting with the third novel in this series isn’t ideal, since the world of Astrogea can be a bit confusing, but the simple premise makes it easy enough to dive in, particularly because the generally well-written story blossoms with suspense in a beautiful, disturbing setting. Brooke is a likable, sympathetic woman, yet the story’s narrative possibilities aren’t fully developed. Likewise, at novel’s end, the rapidly switching point of view between Brooke and her friend Margo creates some unnecessary confusion, even if it contributes to the tension.
A welcome addition to the realm of dystopian fantasy, adding new twists of its own.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dog Ear Publisher

Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2014

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

by Harper Lee ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 1960

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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

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THE WINNER

by David Baldacci ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 2, 1997

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Irritatingly trite woman-in-periler from lawyer-turned-novelist Baldacci. Moving away from the White House and the white-shoe Washington law firms of his previous bestsellers (Absolute Power, 1996; Total Control, 1997), Baldacci comes up with LuAnn Tyler, a spunky, impossibly beautiful, white-trash truck stop waitress with a no-good husband and a terminally cute infant daughter in tow. Some months after the birth of Lisa, LuAnn gets a phone call summoning her to a make-shift office in an unrented storefront of the local shopping mall. There, she gets a Faustian offer from a Mr. Jackson, a monomaniacal, cross-dressing manipulator who apparently knows the winning numbers in the national lottery before the numbers are drawn. It seems that LuAnn fits the media profile of what a lottery winner should be—poor, undereducated but proud—and if she's willing to buy the right ticket at the right time and transfer most of her winnings to Jackson, she'll be able to retire in luxury. Jackson fails to inform her, however, that if she refuses his offer, he'll have her killed. Before that can happen, as luck would have it, LuAnn barely escapes death when one of husband Duane's drug deals goes bad. She hops on a first-class Amtrak sleeper to Manhattan with a hired executioner in pursuit. But executioner Charlie, one of Jackson's paid handlers, can't help but hear wedding bells when he sees LuAnn cooing with her daughter. Alas, a winning $100- million lottery drawing complicates things. Jackson spirits LuAnn and Lisa away to Sweden, with Charlie in pursuit. Never fear. Not only will LuAnn escape a series of increasingly violent predicaments, but she'll also outwit Jackson, pay an enormous tax bill to the IRS, and have enough left over to honeymoon in Switzerland. Too preposterous to work as feminine wish-fulfillment, too formulaic to be suspenseful. (Book-of-the-Month Club main selection)