April’s Reading Challenge was to read an author’s debut novel.
For my first selection, I chose Roz Nay’s debut, Our Little Secret, which opens with lead protagonist Angela Petitjean being questioned by the local police in the disappearance of a woman named Saskia. It is not until Detective Novak starts interrogating her that she begins telling him about her tangled history with Mr. Parker, aka HP, and an interesting, and somewhat disturbing, picture begins to emerge.
Angela’s family moved around quite a bit for her father’s job and when they settled into Cove, VT when she was 15, she was a bit of a social outcast until HP befriended her. Thick as thieves and extremely close, the two were inseparable until after high school graduation. HP remained in town whereas Angela felt pressured by her parents to go to Oxford for a year of university. This decision is a HUGE turning point in both her and HP’s lives and unexpectedly leads straight to why she is suspected in the disappearance of Sakia.
I have to confess that I initially felt very sympathetic toward Angela. Her relationship with her parents is rather strained and her mother is pretty horrid. The frequent moves made it difficult for Angela to maintain friendships and their move to Vermont occurred at a critical point in her life. HP was a lifesaver when he stepped in and became her friend, so it is no surprise she feels rather territorial and protective of what they shared.
It is not until after the situation in Oxford plays out that my empathy for Angela’s plight took a nosedive. Had she made other decisions,everyone’s lives would have turned out for the better. She refused to see (and accept) what was staring her in the face and she made choices that put her and everyone around her on a collision course with disaster. Even knowing this, the novel’s ending took me off guard and I was a little stunned to discover the truth about what happened to Saskia!
An impressive debut by Roz Nay, Our Little Secret is definitely a page-turner even though readers might be a little hard-pressed to like the characters. The storyline is compulsively readable and I was genuinely surprised by the novel’s somewhat stunning conclusion.
For my second selection, I picked Don Travis’s first novel, The Zozobra Incident. And I am SO happy I did.
I absolutely LOVE BJ Vinson. He is so personable and I just wanted to slap Del for breaking his heart- especially once I found the circumstances surrounding their break-up! Seriously, Del is SUCH a creep! Unlike me, BJ was willing to let bygones be bygones when Del asks for his help finding the person who is blackmailing him. I love how BJ freely spends Del’s money during the investigation!
BJ has to swallow his pride and have a few face to face meetings with Emilio, the man Del cheated on him with. Emilio might be gorgeous but he is definitely an opportunistic young man with a very questionable morale compass. BJ perseveres and manages to glean some valuable info from the recalcitrant hustler but is Emilio being entirely forthcoming?
BJ also matches wits with a local gang that Emilio is loosely affiliated with but he is unsure what connection, if any, they have to the blackmail scheme. Before he manages to wrap up his investigation, a couple of people are murdered and BJ becomes a target of someone who is very determined to ensure he does not solve the case.
The next book in the series The Bisti Business (which I also LOVED) features a car chase in Taos by the Rio Grande Gorge. Here are a few pictures I took when my husband and visited there a few years ago:
The bridge spanning the Rio Grande Gorge:
The Rio Grande Gorge:
And here’s a shot of the countryside:
The Bisti Wilderness and Farmington are still on our list of “must explore” places in New Mexico. We have been to City of Rocks which is where book three in the BJ Vinson Mystery series takes place. I am incredibly delighted book four, The Lovely Pines, will release August 28th!
Now it’s your turn! Did you complete your challenge? Did you like the book you chose?
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Read about this month’s challenge HERE.
I read Te District Line by CF white
I was a bit disppointed – I didnt get too much of a feel for their differences, other than the houses. The story raised lots of questions taht I didnt feel got answered. I did read the originl 2016 edition and I understand there is a new 2018 version so maybe that would have the answers I looked for.
Glad you enjoyed the BJ Vinson stories – I enjoyed the locations and I’ve not been there so much be better to actually know the places!!
Oh, no! I’m sorry The Distict Line was a bit of a disappointment. I picked up a copy so I’ll read it… at some point lol.
One of Don Travis’s strength as an author is his descriptions of the various settings in his books. Since I’ve been to many of them, I can tell you he is absolutely spot on!