Customer Reviews

The Whole Truth

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's easy to see why this novel earned a starred review in Publishers Weekly. Pickard leaves the sprints behind and breaks out in a marathon! This exciting new novel is a major page-turner and quite a dramatic shift from the Jenny Cain novels, with the best opening chapter I've read in twenty years (don't miss it). Why some people commit heinous crimes is an area too often left unexplored by mystery and suspense authors, wherein villains are likely little more than caricature. Not so in this riveting story of the human heart gone astray. Pickard's characters open like rosebuds releasing strong perfume. But she doesn't stop there. Her story gathers in the thorns and the skin of individuals badly bruised and torn by life, and, finally, exposes the bare roots of evil. With perfect pacing, the author here seems pulled along by the story as much as by the characters. And you will be too. Reading the Whole Truth is like being shoved downhill... you can't stop running and, breathless, you can't stop reading. You can't stop, period. The whole truth is a villain is someone who weeps. Pickard's strongest work to date, The Whole Truth outpaces her previous novels and represents the full flower of the masterful talent she has shown in her short stories. It is such a great dare for an author of this stature to leave off a successful series! It pays off handsomely for the reader. This one will be a movie. And, if we're lucky, they'll leave the lights on in the theatre when the show it.

Raymond Raintree, an odd looking, oddly behaved young man withno family, no friends, and no history, has been arrested, tried, andconvicted in a Florida court for the senseless murder of a young child. The pace of this complex and mesmerizing novel only gains momentum from there. Marie Lightfoot, a true crime writer, is instrumental in finding the keys to unlock Raintree's cryptic past. As she delves deeply into the lives of victim, suspect, and those intertwined with them, she begins to suspect that there is more to the case than meets the eye, including an enigmatic link to a little boy who disappeared in Kansas over 20 years ago. Although you will be repulsed by the creature who is Raymond Raintree, Ms. Pickard will also wring from your depths a profound sympathy for him. I stayed up late to read this in one night and couldn't stop thinking about it the next day. This is a masterful piece of story-telling which will stay with you for a long time. END

As a first time reader of Nancy Pickard, I didn't know what to expect. I can tell you, I was very impressed with the opening of the book and the way that the author had written a book within a book to tell us the story of the killer. Ms. Pickard is very talented and pulls you into the story with ease. But what kept this from being a great book was the lazy and abrupt way the book is concluded. Several improbable plot twists, including a right place at the right time shooting, caused me to have a dissatisfied feeling when I finished the book. It seemed like the author, after building up our expectations with a very fine beginning, just wanted the novel to end as quickly as possible without any imaginative twists that characterized the first half of the novel. I will read Ms. Pickard again, but I hope she spends a little more time in crafting an ending that lives up to the promise and suspense the beginning of her novel creates.

I too am a first time reader of author Nancy Pickard and I did not know just what to expect. Bottom line.. I liked this book well enough not to turn ahead a few pages to see what was going to happen and then fill in. I read it within 24 hours of getting it. I wanted to know why Ray Raintree did what he did and why he acted the way he did. Once the truth comes out you will ask yourself why you didn't see it coming. That is what makes this book so good and why I gave it five stars. I do not like books when I get it all figured out in the first chapter or two. Pickard draws you in and keeps you turning the pages. It is fast paced and well done. Packard has a new fan and I look forward to reading other titles by her.

I have never read Nancy Pickard before--or even heard of her--but found The Whole Truth a gratifying surprise. It created sustained interest and suspense, and I was unable to put it down without finishing it. The characters were well-drawn, although a little incomplete--I would have liked to learn more about Franklin, as well as Marie; however, this lack of definition worked for the book as well as against it; i.e., you were able to fill in the blanks yourself. I will definitely look for more of her work.

Nancy Pickard has found an ingenious device, making her series protagonist Marie Lightfoot a true crime author. She presents us with a story within a story. Chapters from her tale "Little Mermaid" are interwoven with her non-publishable thoughts and actions about the murder of a little girl by Raymond Raintree.

Raymond, a curiously young appearing man and perhaps mentally deficient, has confessed. The prosecution has him dead to rights with hard, incontrovertible evidence. The most expensive law firm in the area vigorously defends him. Can there be any doubts? Well, yes. The reader senses something is wrong. Raymond has no motive, no past, and no present. It is as if Raymond has been dropped out of the sky to go on trial for murder. Who is paying for his defense? Sometimes he is totally withdrawn, other times voluble and fantastical about his past and reality. Is he lying? Does he truly not remember anything of his childhood?

Ms. Pickard does an excellent job of keeping the story taut and forward moving. She is dealing with many characters, and they are shot with reality. The ending is a fine, satisfying climax. The introduction of the protagonist's missing parents is a mistake; it never goes anywhere and just distracts from the story. But that is a small complaint. Because of the child victim, the story could be painful for some people to read, and the violence is graphic. However, I think most readers will find this intriguing mystery poignant and sad.

I used to laugh at lists of mystery books that were divided by the occupation of the protagonist. Cop, PI, amateur - what did it matter? Several hundred mysteries later, I've come to appreciate that each player in a mystery has access to different information not to mention having differenct perspectives and agendas. I've also read true crime. But never before have I read fiction written from the perspective of a true crime writer. It really is a great idea. First, true crime writers are only going to write about pretty sensational crimes. Even better, Marie has access to virtually all the players and a legitimate reason for talking with them. And for the reader, there's the interesting format where Pickard switches from excerpts of the book within the book (written in true crime style) to the personal narrative of Marie as the post trial search for the truth reveals itself.

For a summary of the plot of this book, I refer you to the excellent editorial review by Amazon editor Flynn. Pickard works the Florida setting well. This book worked great as a page turner though I agree with other reviewers that the ending is just a little to tidy and easy for the author.

Suffice it to say that Pickard has launched a series with great potential. I agree with other reviewers that the book is a bit skimpy on details about Marie Lightfoot -- but it only whets my appetite to learn more in future books. And since true crime happens everywhere, Pickard should be able to justify lots of travel expenses as she "researches" settings.

For fans of the the Jenny Cain series, this is a very different type of book. While hardly a "hard-boiled" gorey affair, it isn't a cozy either. It is a good summer read for fans of both genres.

As a mystery writer with my first novel in current release, I greatly admire any novel that successfully breaks with the established patterns of American crime fiction. Nancy Pickard does break with our patterns in THE WHOLE TRUTH, and she succeeds masterfully. The book opens with the conviction of Raymond Raintree for the murder of Natalie McCullen. Marie Lightfoot is preparing a nonfiction book on the murder, and THE WHOLE TRUTH deals with Marie's struggle to complete her book, THE LITTLE MERMAID. THE WHOLE TRUTH is an awesome accomplishment.

I liked this book and disagree with all the people that were disappointed in the ending. I feel like the ending was not only a total surprise(I never had a clue)but that the author wrapped it up neatly and explained everything rather well. The only thing she failed to explain was why Ray Raintree escaped from the courtroom after sentencing if he was so eager to go to jail to escape the villian. He had not been sentenced to death yet, so that kind of irked me. It was a slow story in spots and I skimmed a coupla times, but all in all it was pretty interesting and I liked Marie. Will I read her next book in this series? I may, but I am not dying to get my hands on it like some series.

I'm a great fan of Pickard's Jenny Cain books and was disappointed that she was doing something new. After reading "The Whole Truth" in one sitting my disappointment disappeared. This is an excellent book, a fascinating character study with plot twists and turns I never expected. I hope Pickard continues with more books about Marie Lightfoot!