Raymond Benson

Sixty-one-year-old Shelby Truman, a romance novelist, has received a request to visit her childhood friend, Eddie, who is on Death Row. Though mentally ill, Eddie is scheduled to be executed for the disturbing, brutal murders of his wife and unborn child. -- amazon.com

a novel

The secrets on Chicory Lane

Dee B. 

At about the halfway point, I was sure that I would be rolling my eyes at the ending of this book, sure that I wouldn't care about Eddie's fate one way or another. I was also equally sure that he would have a miraculous redemption arc in which he's proven innocent of all his various crimes. Instead, this book, though predictable in places, convinced me to like it. I was invested: I needed to know what really happened all those years ago. I got the closure that I was looking for, and so did Shelby.

Shelby wasn't my favorite charcter, I found her self-centered/shallow, but after all that she's been through, it is to be expected. I also liked that there was a repeat of a paragraph that begun the book, towards the very end of the book.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

TW: (view spoiler)[Child abuse, domestic violence, mental illness seen in a negative light, joke about suicide/suicide (hide spoiler)]

The secrets on Chicory Lane a novel

Reviews