Customer Reviews

Shoot the Moon

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I could not put this book down. Every opportunity I got to pick it up I did. The story is about a man, Dr. Mark Albright, veterinarian to the stars, who travels to DeClare, OK to find out about his birth mother. Mark's father has recently passed away, and while going through his things, he discovers he was adopted, and was originally from OK.

Well, back in 1972 in Declare, a young woman (Gaylene Harjo) was stabbed to death, and her 10 month old baby, Nicky Jack went missing. After years searching, the town feared him dead, and no definitive answers were giving as to who killed Gaylene.

Well, Mark discovers he's Nicky Jack. The towns divided as to wether they think he's the real deal, or a con artist. But Mark is taken in by Teeve, his aunt, and Ivy his cousin. With their help, and the help of a bunch of other very colorful townsfolk, they are searching for answers as to why and who killed his mother, how did Mark/Nicky Jack end up in California with his adoptive family, and who's been trying for 27 years to cover up the facts.

There were twists and turns all over this book, and you'll NEVER guess who was responsible for the killing/kidnaping. I highly recommend this read. This was my second book by Ms. Letts, and I loved it, just as I did The Honk and Holler. Can't wait to read more from her, she's quickly turning into one of my favorite authors!

In 1972 DeClare, Oklahoma, eighteen-year-old Gaylene Harjo was stabbed to death in her trailer and her month old son Nicky Jack disappeared. For weeks the town was looking for him but the only trace of him were the pajama bottoms near the creek. The sheriff O Boy Daniels arrested someone for the murder of Gaylene and her son but many people thought he went after the wrong man, who died in prison.

Almost thirty years later wealthy Hollywood veterinarian Dr. Mark Albright checks into the motel in DeClare and hooks up with Teeve Harjo. He tells her he found out three weeks ago that he was adopted and his birth mother was Gaylene. He did not know that she was killed and he was presumed dead. He seeks information about his mother, his biological father and who transported him to California to be adopted. Instead he is shot at and jailed while a person is murdered, another commits suicide, and a third arrested, convicted and is sentenced to death row.

SHOOT THE MOON is more than a murder mystery; it is the story of one man's need for answers surrounding the circumstances of his birth and adoption. Readers get to know Gaylene through the pages of her diary, the entries of which are sprinkled throughout Billie Lett's latest blockbuster novel. The murder of Nick Jack's mother affected the whole community in different ways and three decades later, many of them are still living with the consequences in this exciting, heartwarming and poignant thriller.

Harriet Klausner

I loved WHERE THE HEART IS. Who could resist a story about a pregnant, redneck girl who moved in to the Wal-Mart to have her baby?

SHOOT THE MOON, a term derived from dominoes which means to try to capture all of the tiles, isn't as good as WHERE THE HEART IS, but it has its moments.

It's about a man who, as he's going through his parents belongings after his mother's death, discovers that he's adopted and returns to DeClare, Oklahoma to find his real parents. He's in for another rude awakening, his real mother was murdered and her ten-month old son went missing at the same time.

SHOOT THE MOON stretches the imagination at times. For instance, Nicky Jack Harjo, the protagonist, is not aware of his American Indian heritage. He'd always thought he was Mediterranean. He also falls in love with his cousin and is grossed out by it until he conveniently discovers she's not his real cousin.

Letts does a good job keeping us in suspense as to who Nicky Jack's real father is and we don't find out who murdered his mother until almost the last moment. You will not be able to predict who did it, so don't even try. The minor characters are rather stereotypical, including a bully sheriff and a drug-addled friend of Nicky Jack's mother, but the ending saves the day. It has elements of a Greek tragedy.

Mark Albright, a vet from Beverly Hills, is coming to Declare, Oklahoma after the death of his parents, and he's on a mission. Twenty-seven years ago, a murder took place in Declare. A young woman's body was found stabbed to death and her ten-month-old son, Nicky Jack Harjo, had been presumed dead, too. The child's pajama bottoms were found outside the house in a wooded area, the body never recovered. But following the death of Mark's parents, he found some paperwork in a safety deposit box; adoption papers. Come to find out, Mark's birth name is Nicky Jack Harjo, and he's returned to Declare to speak to his mother and find out why she'd given him up for adoption (which would be a great trick since she's dead).

Once in Declare, Mark visits family and meets up with plenty of suspicious characters, including the town Sheriff, "O'Boy" Daniels. The case was closed by the Sheriff 27 years ago, the murder suspect being the town priest who's knife was used in the killing. And the preacher apparently killed himself before the case went to trial. Intriguing.

Mark (aka Nicky Jack) has to dig deep into the town's past and its residents so that he can find out who his mother truly was. Some call her a tramp, a loose woman. Other say she was one of the brightest young women in town, and had a promising life ahead of her. Who's telling the truth? Is the murderer still alive ...and in town!

******************************************************************************

Billie Letts, award winning author of "Where the Heart Is", gets us back into the feel and flow of Oklahoma life in this wonderful novel. The prose of the story is a bit meandering, but so is life in Oklahoma, so the pacing of the novel (interestingly) matches it VERY well. Plotting is king in the story, too, as you try to guess who murdered Mark's mother and if the killer is still around.

I listened to this story in audiobook format, and it was narrated by actor Lou Diamond Phillips. I don't much care for Mr. Phillips in the acting department (except for his excellent portrayal of Ritchie Valens in "La Bamba", 1987), but here I have to admit I was impressed with him. His range of voices astounded me and kept me engaged in the story. Combining his voices with the able prose and great plotting of author Billie Letts added to my enjoyment of the novel immensely.

This book was quite different from Billie Letts previous novels. On the surface was a mystery about a man who finds out he was adopted many years before and goes looking for his birth parents. This quest leads him to a town in Oklahoma with interesting and quirky characters, a hallmark of Billie Letts previous books. But if this was the surface the book really delves into how an act years before affects people years later and how these same people can help others to become whole again and allow them to take new chances in life.

Although I thought I was disappointed while I was reading this book, by the end I did realize how much I enjoyed many of the characters which included Teeve Harjo, the owner of the local pool hall, Kyle Leander, a man with a difficult past which included drugs and emotional breakdowns, Kippy, a man with Downs Syndrome who loves to fish, Ivy Harjo, a pregnant woman who is accustomed to roaming the country, never willing to settle down but most of all Nicky Harjo, who is looking for his parents but finds families come in all sorts of packages.

I do advise you if you're going to read this book and have read Where the Heart Is and The Honk and Holler Opening Soon, to approach this book with an open mind. While it isn't exactly the same as Letts' other books, there is enough here to keep any reader interested and in some parts the reason I loved her first two books also comes shining through in this one too.
Rating B+

While I couldn't seem to put the book down, I believe it was mainly to see if it all turned out the way I predicted. It did. I couldn't pin down the "who done it" but thought it was someone connected to O Boy. I loved "Where the Heart Is" and truly expected more from this author. The book read like a bad Lifetime movie.

This was my first book by Ms. Letts. My mother has raved about her work forever. I saw the movie "Where the Heart is" and decided to give this booka try. I found the story to be slow and unbelievable. There were holes in the plot and the characters were not well developed. I kept telling my husband that I was gonna finish it just to find out if finding out the answer to the questions made it worth reading in the end. The answer to that is "NO."

My book club chose Shoot the Moon for this month's book. It's not the kind of book I would normally read, so I was a bit skeptical - especially since the author had previously been chosen for Oprah's book club. I appreciate all Ms. Winfrey has done to get people to read, but I have yet to enjoy one of the books on her list - I generally find them a bit depressing.

However, Shoot the Moon was surprisingly engaging. Although certainly the book has a sad story at its base, the mystery involved and Ms. Letts' depiction of small town life were the true points of the story. These aspects overcame what I expected to be a book about soul-searching and "finding yourself" with little dialogue or action - i.e. what I generally don't like about the books on Oprah's list. There was plenty of action in the book and everytime I thought I had the mystery figured out, Ms. Letts provided another twist that kept the story interesting. There is a risk with having that many twists of alienating the reader, but the twists in this book were brought about in a believable enough way, so as to avoid this. None of the members of my book group had figured out "who-dunnit" before it was revealed.

On the other hand, I found some of the characters to be a bit too stereotypical, most strikingly, the Sherriff. He reminded me just a bit of Boss Hogg from the Dukes of Hazard in that sort of archetype of the evil, unethical sheriff that no one (except the heroes, of course) ever questions. I grew up in a small town, albeit not in Oklahoma, and although the general small-town stereotypes are often true to a point, they were never as glaring as Ms. Letts characters.

Also, I did not find the Ivy/Mark interaction to make any sense. I never knew where Ivy was coming from or why.

Billie Letts has once more proven herself to be one of the most talented and grounded writers today. Shoot The Moon reads like a movie script with vivid descriptions to ignite the imagination. It's funny and heartwarming. A lovely book by a lovely woman...I met her at a book signing and she was so down to earth and kind.

It's no Where the Heart Is, but this offering from Billie Letts was an enjoyable read, and I knocked it out in three days. Shoot the Moon is set in the small town of DeClare, OK, where everybody seems to know everyone else's business. As always, Letts brings us a quirky supporting cast (all with too-crazy names, but please don't think everyone in this state is named Caney or Kippy or Teeve) that surrounds a long-ago suspicious murder of a teenage mom, Gaylene Harjo and the disappearance of her infant son, Nicky Jack. While a local man was accused by crooked lawman O Boy Daniels, the story was full of holes, and no one fully believed he was responsible.

When Beverly Hills veterinarian Mark Albright comes to DeClare searching for his birth mother, he discovers he is the presumed-dead Nicky Jack, and sets out to discover the circumstances and the truth surrounding her murder.

Letts tells us an interesting story, and keeps the reader guessing to the last. Her character development is rich, and though the romance that develops among the characters is a little unbelievable, they are likeable enough. I would recommend this read to anyone wanting to have a little fun!