Beth F
Sandy
bermudaonion (Kathy)
Stephanie
Trisha
Janeology by Karen Harrington (see Karen’s blog)
A mother attempts to murder her young twins and succeeds in killing one of them, as well as the family dog. A father stands trial for his wife’s crime, accused of criminal negligance. A lawyer employs a psychic to delve into the past of his client’s wife, determined to prove that she was genetically predisposed to injure her children, and her husband had no way of predicting it. Oh, and the book is described by many as a thriller. If that doesn’t sound like a great description of a book I would normally try to avoid and would probably dislike reading, I don’t know what does.
Luckily for me, I read rave reviews from other book bloggers and participated in a LibraryThing author chat with the the author before I really heard all of the description above (I promise that nothing you read above is a spoiler, by the way). I was also lucky enough to win a copy of this book direct from the author during the aforementioned author chat.
Karen tells the story of Tom (the husband on trial) and Jane (Tom’s wife) with such ease and skill that at times I nearly forgot I was reading. The story comes together so seamlessly that I really didn’t even have to stop to suspend disbelief about the workings of the psychic. It probably helped that Tom was fairly skeptical himself, particularly at the beginning of their sessions. I basically just latched on to Tom’s thoughts and emotions; I am not sure I have ever identified so strongly with a male main character, but everything he was going through seemed so real. I would have perhaps liked to see him interact more with his surviving daughter, but it seemed realistic to me that the combined continuing disbelief of what his wife did along with the stress of his ensuing trial would give him a numb, internal demeanor.
I don’t think I would really classify this as a thriller. I think it is a fantastic story of family, dysfunction, pain, and the realization of how our actions effect other people. Since I could barely put this book down and read it in less than a day, I would definitely say I recommend it.
Note:
Because of the first comment I got on this review, I wanted to add something. I know lots of people are worried about having problems reading a book dealing with a mother killing her children. This actually ends up not being a big problem with the way the book is written. By the time we come into Tom’s life, both the crime and Jane’s trial have come and gone and we never directly see the events of that day. In some ways, the crime is almost incidental to the story, it is more about whether Tom could know that Jane might have problems with mental illness and violent tendencies. Don’t worry, you are not put through a graphic scene of fear with the children.
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I’m glad you enjoyed the book. I had seen reviews of this book and thought it might be too upsetting to read.
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Alyce,
Thank you for your comment, I added a note about exactly that at the end of the review.
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Thanks for the review – I have this on my Christmas wish list.
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Karen is one of the loveliest authors I know. I enjoyed this book as well although I would have liked to see a more emotional attachment to the children, I think we are a set a little to far back. But then again, I read a lot of gut wrenching books.
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good review – though this is a very harsh thing to read about.. killing your own baby — **sigh** i can’t begin to imaging anything like that!
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I really liked this book. It really isn’t a thriller, you’re right. Great review!
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You know, your note about how the killing of the children not being an issue during the reading of the book REALLY makes me want to read the book to find out how that’s possible!
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Thank you for your thoughtful, insightful review. I am always amazed at the ways in which someone else can capture elements of this story in ways I don’t. (And point out areas that would also intrigue me as a reader.)
You may be interested to know that I have a follow up book in the works that is from the daughter, Sarah’s, point of view as she turns 12 and is navigating life with her father, having her first crush and trying to come to terms with the absence of a mother in her life. Much more backstory there and relationship between father and daughter.
Thanks again! You made my day.
Karen Harrington
author, Janeology
http://www.karenharringtonbooks.com
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I have this one on my shelf and I am really looking forward to reading it!
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Karen, congratulations on the wonderful review. You deserve it.
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People, people, people, please give me a break; my book budget’s maxed out and I’m already addicted to quality fiction already. Now, here we go again with a positive review of “Janeology.” I’m being hypnotized.
Malcolm
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Excellent review, Jen!
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I’ve read a lot of reviews about this one lately but I don’t think I’ll be reading it any time soon. From what I’ve heard it sounds it a little depressing
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Sounds like a great book. I’ve heard good things about it and hope to get a chance to read it down the road. And thanks for the clarification in your review!
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It sounds like a very interesting book. At first glance I said, “no way do I want to read it..” After your review I think I have changed my mind. What a great review.
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What a fantastic compliment, thank you Toni!
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