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Betsy

Betsy's Non-Blog

I'm not a blogger. I just love to read.

Currently reading

Blindsighted
Karin Slaughter
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari Dr
The Silver Ships
S. H. Jucha

Sugar & Spice

Sugar & Spice - Saffina Desforges I started this book with a bit of trepidation. It was advertised as a "breakthrough first novel", self-published on Kindle only and already on some best seller lists. But some of the reviews warned that it went into some unpleasant details. As if the subject -- the abuse and murder of young children -- were not unpleasant enough.

I was intrigued enough to give it a try, and I was not disappointed. It is surprisingly good for a first novel. The plot is intricate and well developed. The suspense was immediate and nearly unrelenting. I finished the book in less than three days. I did figure out the culprits by about halfway through the book -- partly. But there were a number of true surprises and even shocks.

The secondary characters were well drawn and likeable, but I think the leading characters could have used just a bit more development, especially with respect to their relationship.

There were also a few developments that I thought were left unexplained and I felt the lack. For instance, the profile done by the teenager was supposedly more accurate and compelling than the one done by the pro. I didn't have any trouble believing that, but we got very few details of her profile. That makes me wonder how well Desforges really knows profiling. There were a few other developments necessary to the plot that we were expected to accept without much explanation. but, again, I felt cheated.

I did not find the level of detail offensive, but readers who are sensitive to that kind of thing should beware. However, I think it should be said that the sexual detail did not have to do directly with the child abuse.

On the whole, I would reacommend this book. Fairly quick read, very suspenseful, fairly well written.