Erica Spindler -Red

Erica Spindler is well known for her Romantic suspense novels and she has long been one of my favourite authors in this area, so I was really pleased to open up a delivery at work to find a ‘new’ Erica Spindler book in it, only it isn’t a new book it is in fact a re-release of one of her earlier works before she started writing suspense. 

The blurb on the back sounded good, small town abused girl makes it big in the modeling world only to find you can never escape the past.  I was expecting a suspense something along the lines of someone from her home town blackmailing her.  But then I read the note by Ms Spindler and I realised it wasn’t going to be a suspense.  Instead it was a wonderfully written story about learning to accept who you are not who you were.

The story centres around Becky Lynn and Jack, Becky Lynn escaped a horrendous home life and brutal rape for the glamour of LA.  Jack was the illegimate child of a make up artist and a top fashion photographer, who due to his fathers rejection was compelled to be better than him and his ‘true’ son Carlos.  Becky Lynn ends up working as Jacks assistant and becomes his lover, however he is unfaithful to her and sends her running into the arms of his half brother and arch enemy. 

This book was a wonderfully written and compelling look at human nature, and how we see ourselves, usually through the eyes of others and through our past.  I did find myself frustrated with Jack a few times but it didn’t detract from his character or his story, in fact I think it may have added to his rounding out as not all love is perfect, sometimes people have to learn the hard way.  Also the ending felt a little rushed, in just a few pages Becky Lynn went from blaming Jack for Carlo’s death to forgiveness and undying love, it really could have done with a little more padding out.  As could her reaction to finding out her father had sold his story of lies to a newpaper, and her forgiving her brother.  It was as if someone had come along with a pair of scissors and cut our huge chunks of the ending, in fact I did re-read a couple of bits thinking I had missed something (But I hadn’t). 

Having been a bit let down by the ending, overall this was a really good book, one that I am really pleased Ms Spindler re-released.  Its well worth a read, and I can see why Ms Spindler said it launched her career. 

Tazallie

~ by Tazallie on November 27, 2008.