We give this book 4 stars out of 5 for the page-turning aspect. We didn't get bored. We wanted to keep going.
For believability, we're giving it a 3.5. Without giving spoilers, we found the end to be a bit...wanting.
There was also the idea of leaving a little girl alone, for so long. Without giving spoilers, let's just say that we have a hard time believing certain things about this part of the story line.
There was name confusion on a few occasions. In the chapter called "The Investigation," we start out hearing "Sheriff Jackson" -- not even hearing him called Sheriff Ed Jackson, so that we'd know his first name. A few sentences later, the deputy calls him "Ed." (Oh, okay, the sheriff's first name is Ed). Then we hear him called "Jackson" -- then a couple paragraphs later, it's back to hearing "Ed." And this happens thoughout the book. In the case of the deputy, for example. Also in the case of two lawyers. One is the prosecutor, one is the defense lawyer, but it's hard to keep track, and as the reader, I shouldn't have to work this hard.
With Mrs. Sam Andrews being called to the witness stand, I bristled, because I don't like when women's first names are omitted, though I know this was done in the 1960s when this was set. But then the next sentence refers to her as "Patti Love." -- and I was like, WHY is the author saying Mrs. Andrews one moment, then Patti Love the next? There was probably an explanation several chapters back but I couldn't remember.
As for writing devices, since I am a writer, I take notice of when an author tries to hard with similes and metaphors. My eyes rolled at: "a throat of oaks." Also, the author uses way too much personification. Using some personification can work. Overusing it does not work well. Language that calls attention to itself bothers the writer in me.
There was a reality check moment when the author referenced "Jumpin's" great-grandfather as having built "the wharf sometime before the Civil War," which is where Jumpin now works. Jumpin is an elderly black man, and this is North Carolina. So could someone please tell me how it is that Jumpin's granddad built a wharf in North Carolina when black folks were enslaved? And then, how did that "black wealth" get handed down? Because we sure don't see many examples of this, especially in backwoods marsh areas like where this book is set.
Okay, so these are our thoughts. We liked the pace of the book. We liked that we felt it was a page turner. I just wish G.P. Putnams Sons (the publisher) would have required that an editor challenge the writer on some of the sections, and that a copyeditor would have caught the occasions of name confusion.
