Jacquelyn Mitchard is one of my favorite authors. Her rise to fame after her first novel was featured as one of Oprah's early book club picks is almost as great a story as are each of the titles by her I've read. Another reason I like her is she is so down-to-earth. She seems like an ordinary person who hasn't allowed her fame to change her. I also feel an affinity because we were both once newspaper reporters.
Initially I wasn't excited about reading her latest book as it involved a gruesome murder, two in fact, as the main character's sisters are slain early in the story. It sounds corny I know but after visiting Mitchard's website and hearing the author talk about the book in her own voice I was compelled to check it out.
Mitchard is fantastic with character development and creating ambience. It's easy to get caught up in her stories because they are so well drawn. You feel like you're there.
This story isn't so much about the murders of two young girls as it is about the aftermath. I got to know and understand heroinne Ronnie Swan and I liked her. I could relate to her reaction to the killings and how she dealt with her grief.
Other Mitchard titles I enjoyed are:
- The Breakdown Lane
- Deep End of the Ocean
- The Most Wanted
- Christmas, Present and
- Rosalie, My Rosalie: The Tail of a Duckling which is a novella for children that I read with my 7-year-old. It was exciting sharing one of my favorite authors with him.
don't recall the name of the book and can't find it listed in my library's catalog or at Barnes & Noble's website.
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