I wanted to love this book. I really, really did. After hearing Jodi speak at the National Book Conference last September, and from being a fan for many years, I'd been waiting anxiously for March 4th to come around, and so was beyond thrilled last month when my boss at the bookstore where I worked parttime (not a Jodi fan herself) snuck an ARC in my mailbox before anyone else saw it.
If you know and love Jodi's books, you know that they follow a formula, and you're ok with that. They all center around a legal/ethical/social/medical issue that's come to a head; typically have at least one sassy yet insecure single female in an investigative/advisory role (who frequently finds love by the end of the story), and all end with a twist. This twist leaves the reader in one of any number of states - lost in thought, changed on a certain issue, outraged at society, or drowning in a pool of tears. (Almost literally on that last one - in fact, when My Sister's Keeper came out in bookstores, one promotion included a pack of kleenex with every sale; also, Jodi told the story at the NBF about how her daughter, upon finishing the book, stormed upstairs, slammed her bedroom door, and would not speak to her for the rest of the day). For Jodi's fans, this formula works, though reading a number in a row (as I did when I first discovered her 6 years ago) can become tiresome (I took a long break after that, and in fact skipped the two books between My Sister's Keeper and Nineteen Minutes - 2 of my three favorites, along w/ Plain Truth).
So having a background in bioethics, and being fascinated by criminology, I eagerly awaited this book and had the high hopes that I'd count it among my favorites. But this book, though gripping, made me roll my eyes WAY too often. Being a fan of Jodi's means that, in exchange for finding that rare book that you cannot put down, you also often have to suspend a bit of disbelief and roll along with some fairly unbelievable plot devices. Trust me, I'm willing to do that. But imbuing a character with supernatural abilities? Really? I just don't think this 'hook' was necessary to keep a reader's attention on a story dealing with as loaded and controversial a topic as the death penalty.
Additionally, there was WAY too little focus on the background of the victim's family and the events leading up to the murders for which the main character, Shayne, was sentenced to death. The book made me feel very little sympathy for the woman whose daughter and husband were murdered, simply because her character was hardly fleshed out. Way too much focus was put on characters that, though entertaining and interesting, could easily have retreated to the background while still being worthwhile to include - particularly Maggie Bloom and the priest.
I was also pretty annoyed that The Twist of the book seems to impact everyone besides Mrs. Nealon. Far be it from me to dance around the issue of whether or not to include a spoiler here - as a Jodi fan, I definitely know better. Suffice it to say - once you know what the twist is, especially if you've ever had a child you've loved, you may also think it was just too 'easy' that her reaction seemed like such an afterthought.
That all being said, there were some positives. As a bookseller, I've gotten to a point where, if I see one more book called or 'the Mona Lisa Lexicon' or 'the Codex Conspiracy' or 'the Templar Legacy' (wait, I think that's a real one) or any other book trying to steal the thunder of the DaVinci code in all its trite glory, I will just cry. So when this book seemed to head in that territory, I very nearly stopped reading. But in the end, Jodi gave that genre a nice little ironic kick in the butt, and for that it earned 2 stars alone. The 3rd star is because, somehow, at the end of any Jodi novel, no matter how blah, I still have goosebumps for a good 20 minutes after putting it down.
See my review of Nineteen Minutes to know that I bow to Jodi at her best, but unfortunately, this was just not it. Better than Salem Falls, but no Plain Truth or My Sister's Keeper. In any case, keep an open mind and enjoy! I'm anxious to hear what others think...
