An atmospheric debut, but the leisurely plot hinders the thrills.
One man’s business trip to a foreign country changes his life irrevocably in O’Quin’s debut inspirational suspense novel.
Stephen Cranton is in a funk. Although his job for International Courier Services takes him to exotic locations such as Java, Indonesia, he can’t shake the feeling that the spark is gone with his wife, Leah, and he can’t seem to truly connect with their two children, Randall and Tristan. When Stephen spots a copy of a self-help book called Fear Not and Live Hot! he hopes it will inspire him to make big changes in his life. One of the book’s first instructions is to “Do something spontaneous.” So when Stephen spots a limo driver holding a sign for another man upon landing in Indonesia, he throws caution to the wind and impersonates the car’s intended passenger, Carlton Easley. Unfortunately for Stephen, however, Carlton is the target of an abduction plot—a plot that is swiftly executed, and Stephen is taken by a group of three Indonesians to the other side of the island. With the help of one of his abductors, Stephen escapes and meets up with soon-to-be-retired Bible teacher Om Donri. The two become captives once again to one of the abductors, and during their lengthy ordeal, they discuss spirituality and faith. Stephen must decide whether to live in fear and hiding as he always has or learn to view his life in a new way. The book points out that O’Quin “served as missionary in Indonesia for nearly 14 years,” and his knowledge of the landscape, culture, and climate shine through here, creating a vibrant sense of place. Some readers, however, may be disappointed that he does not give equal attention to Indonesian cuisine. The characters, especially poor Stephen, seem to spend an inordinate amount of time waiting: exhaustively long plane rides, immobile traffic jams, prison rooms, even a cave. While this certainly provides Stephen the time to reflect on his life, many readers won’t exactly relish having to wait along with him.
An atmospheric debut, but the leisurely plot hinders the thrills.Pub Date: April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-692-35013-3
Page Count: 332
Publisher: Mantap Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 10, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
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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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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