Ricochet in Time

Rating:
Summary: I loved this book
Review: Award winning, best-selling author, Lori L. Lake, tells a riveting story in her acclaimed novel, Ricochet in Time. Lake's novel hits a raw nerve in its depiction of prejudice, homophobia, and gay bashing at its ugliest. It is a story of how tragedy and despair can lead to hope and love as a brave woman, Dani, with the help of newfound friends, fights back. The main theme of Ricochet in Time is, "What goes around comes around...you send love out into the world, and it comes back to you. You send out hatred and hell-fire, and it behaves just like a boomerang. It ricochets right back and hits you in the heart (p. 198)." One door closes for Dani, will another one open?

Danielle Corbett (Dani) and her new girlfriend, Margaret Lee O'Donnell (Meg), lives are changed forever because they stopped at a bar along the road. They had been traveling by motorcycle in hot, humid weather, and after two hours they needed a break; they stopped to get a Coke. If only they hadn't, things would have been so different. The mere sight of these women provoked the locals, who took offense at having two "queers" in their establishment. One bigoted low-life forces them to leave. He doesn't think "perverted dykes" have the right to be in his presence. Dani and Meg leave, but not without a fight. Thus, begins the masterful storytelling Lake is best known for.

Left for dead by their basher, hikers witness the accident and rescue Dani. Hurt, alone, with little money, and no place to go, Dani's impulse is to run. She has always run away from her troubles. The only thing keeping her from running this time is her medical condition. Dani has to heal first-physically and mentally. She has to come to terms with Meg's death, figure out where she is going to live, and what she is going to do with her life. After her mother's death, Dani and her brother were raised by a homophobic, abusive, and alcoholic father. Growing up under harsh circumstances, she developed a tough outer shell, but inside she is a sensitive, caring woman who only wants to love and be loved.

Hospitalized at a very vulnerable and lonely time in her life, Dani meets a physical therapist, Grace Beaumont, who is interested in Dani for reasons she doesn't reveal. Grace's great-aunts, Estelline, and her partner, Ruth, take Dani into their home and hearts. They feed her starving body, as well as her mind and soul. What started out as Ruth's desire to get the story of the bashing for The Purple Paper, and to help the gay community fight prejudice and hate crimes, ends up to be so much more. Dani becomes an important part of Grace, Estelline, and Ruth's lives. The women become very special to Dani too.

The heart-warming, committed, and loving relationship between Estelline and Ruth sets a perfect example of two soul mates who remain together through thick and thin; they have weathered many storms and have become stronger because of it. The older women are role models for the younger women. Can Dani and Grace achieve what these two women have?


Ricochet in Time grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go. The story flows so naturally that you don't feel like you're reading a book. You are there, living through the circumstances along with the characters, who come to life on every page. Lori L. Lake is a masterful storyteller. What I love most about Lake's novels is how much I care about the characters and what happens to them. Even with Dani's rough-around-the-edges exterior, you can't help but love her. She comes across as a strong woman who can fend for herself against all odds, but this is her coping mechanism. Through Grace's eyes, you see the good more clearly and you find yourself rooting for more than friendship between Dani and Grace. Lake writes with such clarity and imagery that her description of the pain Dani suffers from the accident is palpable. The author, insightfully and eloquently, went inside her characters' heads, making the story that much more believable. You know exactly what and how the characters are feeling at any given time.

I highly recommend Lake's debut novel, Ricochet in Time. This talented author of the best-selling novels, Stepping Out: Short Stories, Different Dress, Under the Gun, Gun Shy, and Ricochet in Time, is "considered one of the best authors of modern lesbian fiction," according to Lavender Magazine, " but her work-part action, part drama, and part romance-gleefully defies categorization." I couldn't agree more.


Rating:
Summary: Touching story on a touchy topic
Review: Having already read Lori's "Gun" duo, I wasn't sure what to expect from "Ricochet". I was not disappointed, because the book deals with a horrible crime with multi-layered characters, legal realism and consequences that have far-reaching effects. The book opens with action that grabs the reader right away, one can see the outcome but we go along for the ride, and then we watch the fall-out begin to affect so many more lives than just the main characters. It's been said by another reviewer that the characters are under-developed but even Dani's father is more than just cardboard! I could see Estelline right there, I could envision Ruth, and Grace, and I could definitely feel Dani's frustration during her first physio appointment!
The main thrust of this story is the aftermath of a hate crime, but it is so much more than that. Simply put, this is a story that will amuse, anger, sadden and grab you on so many levels, you'll be hooked.

Rating:
Summary: Ricochet In Time - Another Hit
Review: I first discovered Lori Lake when I read the online versions of Gun Shy and Under the Gun. I was so impressed by the way Lori told her stories that I had to purchase Gun Shy and Ricochet In Time (which was only available in printed form). Now I am eagerly awaiting the release of Under the Gun, as Lori has proven time and again, that she is an exceptional author who I have added to the ranks of my "must have" book collection.

Ricochet In Time dealt with a subject that I personally have troubles understanding - hate crimes. I was terribly moved by the story of Danielle Corbett. Lori takes us from that fateful day that started out as a peaceful drive in the country for Dani and Meg, and turns into a nightmare at the hands of a person so full of hate and intolerance that he thinks nothing of mowing these people down on a deserted road and leaving them for dead.

This story follows the results of this person's actions; how Dani comes to terms with the loss of Meg, and her inability to allow people to help her when she needs them the most.

There are some very strong characters in this story. Right from Dani down to the three strangers (Grace, Ruth and spunky Estelline) that are willing to help Dani heal both physically and mentally from the accident that brought them together, the criminal trial and from the events in her past that prevent Dani from letting anyone get close to her emotionally before feeling the need to run away.

I can't say enough about how good an author I think Lori Lake is. I found this book to be very thought provoking and even long after having read the last word, I find myself thinking back to how this book had touched on so many emotions. I laughed, I definitely cried, but mostly it made me think about the world around me and appreciate that there are far more tolerant and caring people out there and that maybe someday we won't have to experience firsthand or read about how someone was harmed or bullied for being perceived as "different". We all deserve to love and be loved.

If you haven't read Lori's books yet, you are really missing out. I highly recommend them all.

Rating:
Summary: An Unforgettable read
Review: I have been in love with Lori Lake's writing for years now and Ricochet in Time is at the top of my Lori list. The characters come to life under Lori's skilled hands and you laugh and cry right along with them.

This story touched me deeply. It starts off with an overwhelming tragedy. Dani and her partner, Meg, are the victims of a vicious hate crime. I felt the pain and guilt that Dani went through. She survived, her partner did not. This, then, is the story of the aftermath of the tragedy and the healing power of love.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Story
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this solid, entertaining story. The best books both show you a world you aren't familiar with and yet make you identify and sympathize with the characters. Lori Lake succeeds on both counts. As a gay man, I haven't read a lot of lesbian fiction and Ricochet in Time makes me think I need to read more. Let me see, however, that I even hesitate to classify this book as "lesbian" fiction. It's simply fiction and damned good fiction at that.

It's especially difficult for a writer to get a reader to sympathize with a prickly main character, yet I was rooting for Dani all the way. And the supporting cast is terrific as well, a circle of friends I'd like to know. Pick this book up and I guarantee you won't go wrong!

Rating:
Summary: Suspense with the Feel of Silk
Review: It is no wonder that Lori Lake's books are best sellers. Her characters are deep-bodied, multidimensional, and convincing. Her plots unfold like pedals on a flower, coming to full bloom at just the right moment. Ricochet in Time is no exception. When Dani and her lover Meg are victims of a hate crime at the beginning of the story, it is anybody's guess how the plot will develop. Will the killer get away with it? Will Dani be able to pull herself together enough to pursue justice for her slain partner? Or will she run away as she has from trouble in the past? The interesting point, here, is that this particular plot element becomes the background for a much more interesting story. Meet Ruth and Estelline, Grace, Bryce, Cleve, and a whole host of distinct characters, all of whom interact in various important ways with Dani as she fights her way back to full health from her physical injuries and emotional pain. You'll have to read the book to see if the perpetrator of the hate crime is brought to justice. The outcome is far more surprising than you can guess. Ronald L. Donaghe is the author of The Blind Season and a professional book reviewer for Foreword Magazine.

Rating:
Summary: Top-Notch!
Review: Lesbian fiction is getting better and better! This book has a big following, and I can see why: top-notch all the way. Great characters, solid story, nice pace and structuring. There's nothing flashy or shocking or annoying about this book; it's just good, old fashioned storytelling!

Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: Relive the pain and rebirth of Dani Corbett. A woman who lost her partner to a hate crime and is given a second chance at happiness with the help of Grace Beaumont and her aunts. Awesome story!

Rating:
Summary: I've read better
Review: this is a very sweet and affecting novel about a young woman's complicated mending-process, following a hate-crime that is like the externalization of the deep psychic traumas that have shadowed her since high school. Dani is a tough and vulnerable heroine, and her unanticipated rescuers, if a bit too good to be true (but they have to be, to get through Dani's defenses) are so completely defined, with such a wealth of ambient detail, that they're totally irresistible. The political message is gracefully folded into the people story, and the love-story really grows on you.