Sunday, September 25, 2011
The Anglophile - Laurie Gwen Shapiro
When will I stop impulsively buying chick-lit type books just because they are on the Library Sale shelves and only 50 cents? Once again I was hoping for a light, pleasant, fast read and instead got... well, not a book I disliked, but a book that just puzzled me. Like Elegance, the main character behaves in a way that makes no sense quite a bit of the time. At times, it seemed like there were things that happened just for the sake of having some sort of conflict rather than any logical reason. And there are strange/incorrect turns of phrase here and there that left me wondering why an editor hadn't corrected them - are there no editors anymore? Don't books get edited or proofread before publication these days? One interesting aspect of this book was an (apparently real) constructed language called Volapük that was intended to be used for international business in the late 1800s. I had heard of Esperanto but had never heard of Volapük so I found the (too few) parts of the book that dealt with that interesting.
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Here's a book where the characters click and seem real.
ReplyDeleteThe Witness: A Novel by Naomi Kryske
Available from Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com in softbound or ebookversions
Central London and Hampstead were the principal settings for the first of a trilogy.
No one expected Jennifer Jeffries to survive the physical and emotional trauma she experienced -- not the doctors, not the London serial killer who chose her for his seventh victim, not the Scotland Yard detective who desperately needed her to testify against her attacker. No one expected this young, petite Texas to overcome her fears -- not her witness protection team nor the tough ex-special-forces sergeant in charge of them. And no one expected her character and courage to blossom -- not the defense barristers who sought to discredit her testimony and not even Jenny herself, who had to battle pain and panic to rediscover hope and love.
This novel portrays the rebuilding of a traumatized life from victim to survivor to victor--each step an important shift in the struggle to regain personal power. Clues for real recovery are revealed from Jenny's journey through the 1998-99 British law enforcement and legal system and beyond. The first of a trilogy, this crime/suspense novel contains the same psychological intensity as Anna Quindlen's Black and Blue. Ms. Quindlen's protagonist endures, but Ms. Kryske's triumphs. Healing and hope overcome fear and pain.
The Witness breaks new ground by showing the enduring effects trauma can have on a life and the process victims must undergo to heal, while still being an entertaining and compelling read.
For more details: http://www.naomikryske.com
Here's a visual update:
ReplyDeleteCheck out Naomi Kryske's new book trailer for The Witness: http://youtu.be/094ZNn1n0Ac
The story started in THE WITNESS continues in THE MISSION. Same unforgettable characters populate this crime/suspense novel set in London in 2001.
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