Could also have been titled Facade or What Lies Beneath--the plot involves so many characters with veneers of respectability.
The perfect Harris family is shattered by the death of "Big Jim" Harris. When the beloved pillar of the community is murdered, the entire town is in shock. "Big Jim" was admired and respected by everyone for his generosity of time and money; the reader, however, gets a creepy vibe from the first page.
As it turns out, the personas adopted by many of the characters are only skin deep. The novel spends a great deal of time introducing characters that we are instinctively leery of even before we get the less attractive details.
Anyway, Jennifer Harris may have seen the intruder, but she is so traumatized that she can't recall any helpful details. Her older brother becomes more and more concerned about her, insisting that she receive counseling before her depression and apathy lead to self-harm.
Who could have wanted Jim Harris dead and why? In spite of the way the man has been idolized by his family and community, as information about various characters comes to light, the reader realizes that there may have been more than one person who would have liked to see Jim Harris dead.
The DSM might be handy for all of the psychiatric diagnoses covered in this book.
NetGalley/BookBuzz.net
Mystery. 2013. 278 pages.
Great review! Your comment about keeping the DSM on hand cracked me up. I often feel that way about people I meet in real life. :-P
ReplyDelete:) Even some of the "good" guys have problems!
DeleteAh, so what you are saying that I would be diagnosing all the characters or attempting to as I read. LOL
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun one. In a manner of speaking.
"In a manner of speaking," is right. I'm not really sure what I think about this one. It's a strange story, more telling than dialogue, and even one of the psychiatrists is a bit loony. Or maybe it is strange that one of the psychiatrists is not loony.
DeleteThought this was a horror at one look of that cover. ;) Sounds like this is more of a character-driven story?
ReplyDeleteWell, in a way, it is a horror story. One or two of the characters could easily have been a villain in a horror story. Some interesting characters, but not exactly character-driven.
DeleteI'm with Melody. Totally looks like a horror novel from that cover. Is this supposed to be a YA book? I don't know why I thought it might be.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not YA! The cover kind of looks like it, though.
Delete"The DSM might be handy for all of the psychiatric diagnoses covered in this book." Oh my goodness, did this line have me laughing. The cast of characters in this one sound interesting to say the least.
ReplyDelete:) Oh, yes. Not necessarily pleasant, but interesting!
Delete