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
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
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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