If you like fiesty female-led plots, you
might enjoy Meg Gardiner's debut novel. It all get's off to a
flying start with Evan Delaney taking care of her brother's young
son Luke whilst his parents are going through a messy divorce. A
religious cult named The Remnant are in town creating mayhem
especially kicking up a fuss about Evan's newly published novel.
Then they turn nastier when they bring young Luke into it. Evan is
disturbed to find out that his mother, Tabitha, is a member of the
cult and hiding behind its power is determined to get her son back
by any means.
What follows is a thriller by the numbers;
a sequence of events featuring Evan, Tabitha, The Remnant, Jesse
(Evan's wheelcahir-bound lover) and air jock Brian, the boy's
father. There's hardly any breathing space in the book, it's full
of twists and turns, alarming revelations and expositions.
Small-town America is a supporting character as is the US air base
of China Lake.
It's an exhausting time for Evan Delaney
who is tough, quick tempered and resourceful. Though how much I
would trust her to be my lawyer I wouldn't say: strange given Meg
Gardiner's own background in law. There are some critical clues
she overlooks and you wonder if it is plausible that almost
single-handedly Evan Delaney could take on the fanatically force
of The Remnant, solve a murder, save those she loves (not to
mention most of North America) and still come out unscathed,
hmm...it made me wonder about this superwoman. But then again,
there's the second novel
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