Customer Reviews

Tamarack Creek

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

 

 

This is definitely NOT one of Jackie Calhoun's best books. Calhoun creates one of the great mistakes in literature, you don't care about the characters at the end of the book. Carly, who discovered her lebianism late in life, comes home to find her younger lover in bed with another woman. She runs off to live in the family home at Tamarak Creek with her gay brother and meets the new neighbors, Serena, also a lesbian, and her abusive husband Jess. Carly and Serena start an affair, threatened and made violent by Jess. Reads like pretty powerful stuff. The problem is that you can't develop any connection to the characters and there's no passion except when Jess is nearly killing one or both of the women. It took me three days to plod through 204 pages. For a contrast, read Love's Melody Lost by Radcliffe. Ironically, it's only 187 pages, but, by the end of it, you really care about what is going to happen to the central characters. Jackie Calhoun, who can be an excellent writer, should read that book to get herself back on track.

At one point I actually threw this novel (if you want to call this a novel) across the room. From the very beginning I found the story flimsy, unbelievable, shallow and poorly written. I'm disappointed with such a well-known author as Calhoun. The characters are never really fleshed out! The story opens when the main character walks in on her lover with another woman--she packs her bags and leaves to return to a cabin on a lake to live with her gay brother. Because we know nothing about her life with this lover, I felt this plot was only contrived to "get" the main character to move to the cabin. Once she finds a niche living in this cabin on a lake she meets the married neighbor and before long they are in the sack together. What a surprise this was to me! There was no simmering, seductioin, or any apparent attraction at all! It just happened. Sure, I see the possibilities of an interesting story here and I never finished the book BUT--I hate it when a woman's lesbian sexuality is due to the fact that she has/had an abusive husband/boyfriend. I cannot recommend this book to anyone--there are so many other great novels to spend the evening with.

"Tamarack Creek" is one chilling tale of lust and danger. The danger begins when Carly is attracted to Serena, who is married to Jess, a controlling, possessive man. If Serena weren't afraid of her husband, she would have left him long before meeting Carly. As it is, the women are forced to meet in secret. Unfortunately, Carly, like Serena, can't let go, even when Carly suspects Jess has been secretly watching them. Thrillers, such as "Tamarack Creek", feed into my sense of adventure, and challenge my understanding for survival. My heart raced from every dark choice that Carly and Serena were compelled to take. My kind of reading!

Tamarack Creek is a compelling book from the start as Carly meets Serena and finds that Serena's husband is an abusive and troubled man. Jackie Calhoun once again captivated my attention with the easy to relate to characters, active story line, and wonderful scenic descriptions! This story is also unique from her other books because of the terror she adds to it. Great choice to read!

With her personal life falling apart, Carly decides to leave her life behind and move back to her family home and live with her brother, Dan, at Tamarack Creek. Within a short time, Carly finds herself heavily involved and falling in love with her beautiful, yet married, neighbor Serena. Serena's husband, Jess, is both physically and emotionally abusive. (This is a common theme in Calhoun books.) He is frightening and threatens Serena with her life if she leaves his home. Wanting badly to run away with Carly, Serena finally gives in and the women flee. They both uproot their lives and hide in a new town. They're constantly looking over their shoulders, expecting Jess around every corner.

I am a sometimes fan of Jackie Calhoun. That is, sometimes she writes a great book with believable, lovable characters. Such is not the case with "Tamarack Creek." The author does not provide any build-up - not even "she's beautiful so I'm going to flirt a little" -- before the protagonists fall into bed together. They fall in love almost immediately, but there is no sexual or romantic tension to support their feelings. On top of that, the characters spend so much time running in fear from one place to another that there is no time for romance between Carly and Serena.

It was very hard to like this book. I kept waiting for some sort of closure or declaration of everlasting love. That never happened. After the first few repetitive chapters I kept reading, mostly because I hate to leave a book unfinished. Except for their immediate experiences, neither of the protagonists was defined or dimensional. Do yourself a favor and pass this one by.

A starter book for readers and writers of lesbian fiction.

Hard to really get close to the characters - I finished it mainly for my own sense of closure. Viable situation, but the book needed more character development. Seemed like a story sketched out pretty well but not worked fully. The antagonist was not "large enough," and the steps taken to counter the antagonist were naive.

I will probably read more Jackie Calhoun, but more from her reputation than this particular book.