Now if I was to tell you this book was written by the same author as one of our recent frothy reads: A Stitch In Time, you might not believe me, for this has a different look to it, it’s more of a conventional thriller and the heroine is an American doctor from a latino family. The strange thing is, it also works as chick lit for there’s a strong female lead, a touch of romance, some family drama and it’s unputdownable.
Dr Alita Ramirez is thirty years old and works in a Houston hospital, her busy schedule helping to distract her from commitment issues and increasingly recurring nightmares about a blue-eyed man. When her father is hospitalised for a kidney transplant, her mother Liliana confesses her darkest secret to Alita, who realises that those weren’t nightmares, they were flashbacks to an event that would forever affect both her and her mother. In her darkest hour Alita comes up with a desperate plan to exact her revenge on the man who shares her own strange blue eyes.
Kooks for your Kindle?– Although the story is mainly about Alita, there are some great three dimensional characters, in particular twelve year-old Jackson and his mother Joanne, both of whom show surprising strength under pressure. Tony, Alita’s persistent ex-boyfriend is extremely understanding of her scheming, and is supportive in the background. The bad guy, Robson, is horribly evil and fully deserving of the troubles that come his way.
The Bella-Swan-Pathetically-Self-Sacrificing-Factor– Alita is a modern, intelligent and capable woman, the first in her family to achieve such a prestigious post as a doctor. So it is quite a surprise when her revenge plan turns out to be a serious crime potentially punishable by prison time. This doesn’t come out of nowhere though, the increasing nightmares have taken their toll and Alita has to do something. Fortunately she thinks it through and plans for most contingencies.
Painting a Picture for your Paperback?– There is great atmosphere to this book, I really got a feel for the fierce Texan heat, the vast distances, the relief of the beach.
Evaluation of your eBook?– The story is well plotted and paced, a good tense page-turner. It also didn’t go quite where I expected it to, let’s just say some outside influences livened things up! It’s a brave thing for an author to write for a character of different nationality and heritage, it seems to work (although Americans could tell me if I’m right, the language seemed standard English) but Alita seems a little more mature than her thirty-odd years. Definitely worth a look for something a little different with a satisfying ending; everybody got what they deserved, good or bad! Especially if you love a good revenge tale as I do.
Frothy Ranking: 4/5 cocktails.
Can be obtained from:
UK: Amazon for £1.99.
US: Amazon for $2.99.