Not Guilty (Hardcover)

by Patricia MacDonald (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Combining hand-wringing angst with wild improbabilities, Edgar-nominee MacDonald (The Unforgiven, etc.) plunges her heroine, Keely Bennett, into a nightmarish ride through domestic bliss gone bad. First husband Richard, who suffers from horrible migraines that nothing seems to help, finally commits suicide. Their nine-year-old son, Dylan, finds his bloody body. To the rescue comes lawyer Mark Weaver, a childhood friend of Richard's, who not only steers Keely through the legal and financial problems caused by Richard's suicide but also woos, weds and sweeps Keely away to a new life in generic St. Vincent's Harbor. Five years pass, giving Keely and Mark a delightful baby girl and a surly and troubled teenage son/stepson. Then a tragic accident leaves Keely widowed once again, and a vengeful district attorney, Maureen Chase, to whom Mark was engaged before he left her for Keely, is determined to find Dylan guilty of more than teenage negligence in order to get even. Everything seems stacked against Keely and her alienated son. As their situation grows more and more desperate, Keely becomes more and more determined to protect and defend Dylan. The heroine fighting against frightening odds and against unseen enemies is fine, and MacDonald rings some nice changes on her set of bells. But she also relies too heavily on unconvincing coincidences that seriously, perhaps fatally, weaken the suspense.

From Booklist
MacDonald likes to turn quiet, picturesque towns upside down with unspeakable crimes, and this time she wreaks her havoc on Ann Arbor. Keely Bennet comes home from work one day to find her husband dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and her nine-year-old son cowering in the closet beside him. Several years later, her world is almost back on track; she has fallen in love, remarried, and given birth to a beautiful baby girl. But her son, Dylan, now 14, remains scarred by his dad's suicide and has grown sullen and resentful of his mom's new life. When violence strikes the family for a second time, all signs point to Dylan as the culprit. Are his depression and alienation just typical teenage emotions, or do they suggest something bigger? Keely vows to find out, letting nothing stand in her way, especially the assistant D.A., who happens to be her second husband's ex-fiancee. The first part of this novel--focused on the miserable plight of the heroine--is difficult to read, but those who don't give up in despair will find themselves in the grip of a tight, compelling thriller about how a woman who's come undone can muster the power to fight. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Atria (April 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743423550
• ISBN-13: 978-0743423557
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,134,119 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute MUST READ!, March 26, 2002

By	Nick Gonnella - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Keely Bennett has a wonderful husband, and a loving nine year-old son when her life shatters.
Her husband Richard has been suffering from migraine headaches and as a result of the excruciating pain he decides to take his own life, leaving his young son victim to finding the body. This devastating blow pushes Keely to the limits of what her mental, and emotional state can handle, but with the help of Richard's best friend Mark Weaver she can get over this horrible tragedy and put back the pieces of her life.

What started as a friendship with Mark turned to love, and several years later the two are married with a beautiful baby girl, but what on the surface seems perfect is not...

Keely's son Dylan, now a teenager, has become distant, and his dislike for his step-father and baby sister has become more apparent, forcing Keely to reach out to help her son before it's too late, but another shocking tragedy will plunge her back into the depths of darkness she so fought so hard to escape.

While out one night, Keely returns home to find Mark dead, a victim of drowning, and her infant daughter soaking wet, the police rule this as an accident, obviously the baby fell into the pool and Mark jumped in to save her, even though he couldn't swim, but the pool gate is always locked, how did it get unlocked? The further the police look they come up with their prime suspect...Keely's son, Dylan. Refusing to believe her son is a murderer, Keely begins questioning everything she thought she knew about her second husband Mark, the answers she will find will be beyond anything she could have imagined, and worse still are the connections to the death of her first husband.

Keely realizes she must find her answers quickly, for tracking her every move is a killer who will stop at nothing to keep the secrets of the dead buried.

`Not Guilty' is an up-all-night, adrenaline fueled, thriller that can't be set aside until all the secrets are revealed. Twist after twist you will be held spellbound trying to figure out where the book is going, and just when you think you have it figured out another twist comes in and throws you off track.

Patricia MacDonald has crafted a masterpiece of suspense, very similar to the early works of Joy Fielding, she grabs her reader early on and hurtles them through one of the most enjoyable thrillers I have read in years.

I can't recommend this book highly enough, anyone looking for a suspenseful thriller should run out and buy this for it is that good, it deserves to be bestseller!

An absolute MUST read!

...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome suspense thriller that kept my attention...., April 25, 2004

By	"franciedoll" (Eggertsville, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Guilty (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read some of Patricia MacDonald's books previously and have always found them to be well written, with unexpected twists and turns. Ms. MacDonald writes in the same genre as Mary Higgins Clark - the everyday world surrounding an attractive and sympathetic heroine becomes a place of horror. This tale, which involves both a woman's relationship with her troubled son and her loss of two husbands who were also childhood friends under suspicious circumstances(one to suicide, one to an "accidental" drowning) is loaded with well drawn characters and that "turn of the screw" type of suspense that makes you keep reading. Yes, some will say it's predictable - but that's the beauty of it - you start one of Ms. MacDonald's books and you do know exactly what you're going to get. And, in today's crazy world, that's a wonderful thing. I highly recommend "Not Guilty" to those of us who love women in jeopardy novels and Lifetime Movie Network movies and aren't ashamed to admit it. I loved this book and now want to read all of this author's books!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Class-A Writer, May 26, 2002

By	Pat Forbess "tennessee cajun" (Covington, TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Not ever having read anything by Mrs. MacDonald, I wasn't sure I'd like this book. Was I ever surprised! Mrs. MacDonald is a Class-A writer. She kept me guessing, right up to the end. And the "villain" was someone I never would have suspected. The plot twists were just fabulous; they kept me right on the edge of my chair. Every time I thought I knew who the "villain" was, Mrs. MacDonald inserted a clever plot twist and shot my clever theory down. I read this book in two settings. And the ONLY reason I didn't read it in one, was because I had things I just had to do. It was THAT great.

I have never given my opinion about a book before. But felt that THIS book was well worth the effort.

I've already gotten the titles of some of Mrs. MacDonald's previous books, and fully intend to read them.