Customer Reviews

The Company You Keep

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Company You Keep is the story of Kendra Clayton, a 28-year-old part-time Hostess and GED instructor who lives in the sleepy college town of Willow, Ohio. Her life is nice and quiet (even a bit boring). Her best friend Bernie is involved with a shady ladies man by the name of Jordan Wallace. Bernie confides to Kendra that she is sick of Jordan's cheating ways, and is ready to get rid of him. (This makes Kendra happy). Bernie wants to run up on Jordan and confront him, but instead, she finds him brutally murdered on her property. She doesn't call the police first, but calls her best friend Kendra instead. As a result, both Kendra and Bernie become suspects in the murder of Jordan Wallace. Kendra, in an effort to clear herself and her best friend as suspects, turns "amateur sleuth" and does a little private investigating of her own. And she finds out that there is more to Jordan's past and shady lifestyle than meets this eye. The story goes on from there...

This book was an excellent, classic "whodunit". I thought at first, since this book is a little over 200 pages, that there would be a couple of suspects and that's it. But with each chapter, the list of suspects gets longer and longer. I mean, this book could have easily been 400 pages. Easily. I am mesmerized at how the author could fit such a large amount of detail in such a short book, complete with engaging backstories and flashbacks. Now that made this book a great page turner. I couldn't put the book down. I wanted to see who indeed killed Jordan Wallace.

On top of that, the author weaved a few interesting subplots (Kendra's love interests, Kendra's relationship with her mother and neighbors, etc., etc.) very nicely and delicately into the main plot, without overshadowing the main plot. And on top of that, there were so many crazy and unexpected twists and turns in the book!! I LOVED that about this book!!

And I really liked Kendra Clayton. She was a classic homegirl, with all the day-to-day needs, worries, and concerns as the girl next door. Quite realistic indeed!!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. If you are looking for a quick, engaging and fun read, and if you are a fan of good mystery... this book is for you!!!

Part-time teacher Kendra Clayton is thrilled when she hears that her friend Bernie is ready to get rid of her cheating, good-for-nothing boyfriend Jordan. But then Jordan gets himself murdered and the police cast a suspicious eye not only in Bernie's direction but Kendra's as well, forcing her to turn sleuth to clear their names. Along the way, Kendra discovers secrets about someone she thought she knew, meets a man that ignites both her interest and her suspicions, and becomes a target herself. This was such a fun read! Kendra is sassy and sarcastic and the secondary characters are well developed and believable. Angela Henry is a writer to watch.

Attention all amateur sleuths, there's a new girl in town in Angela Henry's debut mystery, The Company You Keep. Twenty-eight-year-old Kendra Clayton is your average sister next door. She's making ends meet by working part-time as a GED teacher and putting in hours as a hostess at her uncle's restaurant. She's down to earth, laid back and a little nosy by nature. So when her friend Bernie's boyfriend turns up dead, Kendra, of course, is curious about who did it.

It all happened so quickly. Bernie is left stranded at work because her no-good boyfriend Jordan neglects to pick her up and he has her car. Bernie asks Kendra for a ride home and she obliges. However, while en route, Bernie asks that Kendra take her to her old house, a house that she now rents out to Vanessa Brumfield, whom she suspects is having an affair with Jordan. Reluctantly, Kendra drops Bernie off at the old house. Sure enough, Bernie's Lexus is parked outside, but Kendra does not wait around to see the drama unfold. Shortly thereafter Kendra receives a phone call from a sobbing Bernie, who says she found Jordan... dead.

Kendra jumps into her car and rushes back to get Bernie. Full of curiosity, Kendra checks out the crime scene and sees Jordan's head has been brutally bashed. Did Bernie actually kill Jordan, perhaps in a fit of rage? The police seem to think so. And why did Bernie not tell the police that she knew Jordan was cheating with Vanessa? Interestingly, Vanessa, who lives in the house, is nowhere to be found. Did she kill her lover? If so, why? These questions and more trigger Kendra's quest for answers.

As she conducts her amateur investigation, secrets of the past are revealed, which create a more tangled web of potential suspects. To make matters worse, police detectives keep questioning Kendra as if she herself is a suspect. Although she never liked Jordan, she is determined to find out who killed him and clear Bernie's name as well as her own, all while dodging danger.

The Company You Keep is a solid debut effort. It's not a heart-stopping thrill ride full of intrigue, but a fun little mystery with just enough twists to make it enjoyable. While the author does an admirable job of developing a maze of motives and means, some parts of the book seem unbelievable. For instance, most police detectives are not at all willing to share details of an ongoing investigation with a civilian, particularly one who may be a suspect. Other parts of the book were too coincidental, but all in all, this is a good "whodunit". I look forward to seeing this author's growth in the next installment of the Kendra Clayton series.

Kendra Clayton is living a quiet life in small town Willow when she gets dragged into a murder mystery after her friend Bernie's no good man gets killed. Kendra decides to investigate on her own when the police suspect both her and Bernie of the crime. The suspects and motives are plentiful, as is the humor, and twists and turns. The Company You Keep is a fun, page-turner. Angela Henry has a winner on her hands and I can't wait for Kendra's next adventure.

As an up and coming writer of mysteries who is working on his first book, I tend to read novels mostly written by veteran novelists. In recent months I wanted to find novels written by debut authors to see how they took it to task to deliver on a mystery novel. Well...Angela Henry, I will be looking forward to reading your next book. Just when I thought I knew 'whodunit' you spun me into a crowd of most likely suspects and the guilty party was not any of whom I thought did the crime. Brilliant job!

The author knocked this one out of the park! I actually rate this book 4 1/2 stars. I read this book over a 5-day period. I couldn't wait to get to the chapters ahead. Usually it takes me about two weeks to read through a novel due to being so busy, but I eagerly read this book just about every free moment I could spare so I could find out `whodunit'.

The reviewer who made comments about Kendra Clayton being 28 years of age and still listening to cassette tapes failed to do the math. Keep in mind that the setting of the book is around 1996, not 2005. During this time even though CD's and CD players had much popularity, I do recall still listening to cassette tapes (which where still being sold in music stores at that time by the way):)

Anyone looking to read a great mystery written by a talented African-American author, get your hands on this one. I recommend this book for teenagers to adults! Sit back Nancy Drew...Kendra Clayton is takin' over!

The Company She Keeps. I was guessing until the very end. Good job, Angela. The motives behind the madness were all well in there places. All the best to you too!

Kendra Clayton, waitress and part-time GED Instructor, lives a quiet life in her hometown of Willow, Ohio (which at somepoints sounded like Mayberry with its small town and noisy neighbors). Kendra is happy when her friend Bernie finally decides to get rid of her womanizing boy-friend, Jordan. Yet, Jordan turns up with his head bashed in at his girl-friends house and Bernie is arrested for murder. The drama or should I say mystery begins to unravel.

Kendra begins to ask questions that even the police don't ask. All in all you will love this story. Kendra is funny, smart and noisy. A good trait to have. I enjoyed Ms. Henry's writting very much...it got off to a slow start but once you learned all of the characters it was full speed ahead. Ms. Henry gave very suttle clues of idenity of the killer but it did not take away from the shocking conclusion. I would easily recommend it to others to read.

Peace!

To be honest I have never been a big fan of mysteries...but Angela put it down in this book. I loved Kendra's character, she reminded me of someone in my circle of friends.

This book packs a punch and just like the other person stated in their review...this book was such a ride that if you don't pay attention you might miss something. I don't want to give the story away, so buy it for yourself. You will enjoy Angela's great storytelling.

I have never read a mystery like this one. Angela Henry takes you into the life of Kendra Clayton. Kendra is wise and witty and not afraid to speak her mind. Her friend Bernie's boyfriend is killed and everyone in town thinks they are the suspects. This story is fun and a definite page turner. Angela, job well done!

OK, that's my opinion. Angela Henry has introduced us to the freshest new face in mysteries in ages. Smart, savvy and funny, Kendra Clayton has more common sense in her little finger than Stephanie Plum has in her entire truck-exploding body. This is a character that would work well with television or the big screen; and everyone can empathize with her and love her close-knit family. Thanks, Angela, for sharing Kendra with us!

Oh, and by the way, I loved the sequel, Tangled Roots. Folks, buy both, grab a lawn chair and an iced tea, and have a great weekend!