|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
Nominated for several mystery awards, this first novel by Elizabeth Little has all the markings of the modern age. In this tale, a young celebrity (think Paris Hilton or one of the Kardashians), famous for
nothing more than a rich mother, is found at the scene of her mother's death. She's tried and convicted, both in the courts and in the court of public opinion. Readers meet Janie Jenkins just as she's released from prison on a technicality.
Janie can't remember anything from the night of the murder, and so once released from prison goes in search of answers, even if that means leading the trail back to herself. Of course, with the scandal so widely covered by the tabloids, she needs to take on an entirely new persona to conceal her identity, and she ends up following the trail back to South Dakota's Black Hills.
There she uncovers her mother's own change of persona. Janie finds that South Dakota holds the key to understanding her mother and perhaps offers a glimpse into her own heritage, as well clues as to why her mother's past actions there may have earned her more than a few enemies. Could one of them be the real killer?
Many, many readers and reviewers have commented on the twisty ending to the book, but it seems to this reader that the real pleasure is in the journey to that point. There have also been the inevitable comparisons with the book GONE GIRL, but it seems to me that DEAR DAUGHTER is more an indictment of celebrity and its celebration in our culture than a study of psychosis. It's much lighter in tone, and that's appropriate too for the type of mystery that Elizabeth Little has crafted.
Comparisons aside, this is a quick. easy, enjoyable read. Can the movie be far behind?
§ Christine Zibas is a freelance writer and former director of publications for a Chicago nonprofit.
Reviewed by Christine Zibas, September 2015
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
