The Other Part of Me

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Summary: web of deceit, lies, lust .....
Review: Ronnie Kinsley's first novel is an intricate puzzle. Each character is hiding something along the way, and some secrets are ready to explode. This is a story surrounding the Websters, a family that has coped with the child abduction of one of their twin daughters at the age of nine months. Vivian , the mother, unable to cope with situation becomes an alcoholic and an abusive parent. Larry, the father, trys to hold things together as best as he can. The story begins a bit slowly, and I almost put it down. Don't Put it down. Once the story takes off, the plot line develops with an intricate web of deceit, lies, lust and love. The characters in this story are both admired and hated in turn, you never quite know which person is the one who you will "pull" for, which adds a terific twist to this tale. When things start to fall in place for this family, Vivian stops drinking, Rachel starts to achieve her potential at school, and Larry's career takes a promising turn, they are really starting to disassemble and what you are left with is not what you may anticipate. The suburban Maryland setting was perfect for this story and the change of scenery to Wyoming was wonderful. This is a vivid story that holds your attention through the surprising ending. Kinsley is a promising new psych thriller author to watch for in the future.

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Summary: Read It In One Day
Review: This certainly wasn't the best book I've ever read, but I can't remember a book that was so hard to put down. In fact, I didn't put it down -started it this past Saturday morning and finished it in the afternoon. I bought the book on the recommendation of a friend because the story takes place in Columbia, Maryland where I live. Actually, the book starts off fairly slowly, but after about page 30 the pace becomes almost frenetic - just one surprising twist after another. The Webster family just can't let go of a tragedy that struck them 17 years in the past. Every time you think you have a handle on what happened on that terrible day 17 years ago you're hit with another shocker of revelation. Once you do understand the full scope of what really happened you can't wait to see how things are going to work out. One clever little thing the author did I really liked - for almost the entire book I thought the title meant one thing only to find out near the end that it meant something completely different. The sex was a little too explicit in a couple of spots for my tastes, but other than that I really enjoyed this book.

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Summary: What happens when there are too many secrets
Review: This is a good new author to watch for more work from. The Other Side of Me is a little slow starting but still intriguing. The family is dysfunctional. The daughter with chopped off blonde hair died black is rebelling from a severely abusive and alcoholic mother. The father is a scientist who seems at first look to be the glue that holds the family together. Guess again, as the family begins to come unglued the story picks up as we find out that the good looking atheletic father who is a respected scientist happens to have a lover on the side. That seems understandable until we figure out that the daughter had a twin sister who was abducted when the girls were babies, and that he was in the back of the van with the lover when the one twin was abducted. The father has a secret life filled with well deserved guilt; the mother is trying to pull her life together; and the daughter is trying to understand why she feels so incomplete. Searching for "the other side of me" is the reason for the plot and the suspense moves towards a surprise climax with a somewhat lackluster finish. I liked the writing, however, and will look for the next book from Mr. Kinsley.