The Question being -- is a monster raised or
created? The Answer to Your Question by Paulette Alden addresses this burning
question in a brilliant novel.
The Answer to Your
Question by Paulette Alden
How well can you really know the people you
love, even your own son? Four young women are murdered, and he's the suspect .
. .
After raising her son, Ben, as a single parent, librarian Inga Daudelin is blindsided when he is accused of the murders of four young women.
After raising her son, Ben, as a single parent, librarian Inga Daudelin is blindsided when he is accused of the murders of four young women.
At the same time, Jean, a young, pregnant waif
who seems both simple and wise, "imprints" on Inga at work, drawing
her into an unusual friendship.
When Ben kidnaps Jean, Inga and lead detective
Ron O'Loughlin, with whom she is falling in love, search for the two, who along
with Jean's baby, have formed a strange but human family.
"This wonderful novel is a success at every level--an engrossing thriller and a nuanced examination of love--written with artful directness. I loved every word and could not put it down." -- Scott Turow
THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION is the winner of The Kindle Book Review's 2013 Best Indie Book Award in the suspense category
"This wonderful novel is a success at every level--an engrossing thriller and a nuanced examination of love--written with artful directness. I loved every word and could not put it down." -- Scott Turow
THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION is the winner of The Kindle Book Review's 2013 Best Indie Book Award in the suspense category
NetGalley/Radiator Press.
Fiction. 2013. Print version: 250 pages
Fiction. 2013. Print version: 250 pages
My review:
Every
now and again I am absolutely delighted with the fact that I read books that
attracts my attention without reading the blurb etc. This is such a book.
Inga,
one of our two main protagonists is a woman with an ageless question burning
away at her soul -- was her son a monster since birth or did she create him?
Jean
is a young girl with a degree of naivety that I at first found irritating and
later a perfect contrast to Inga's growth toward love and self
forgiveness.
I
was most impressed with the authors' ability to make the story of Inga totally
ageless. She might be alive today,
dealing with this right this second or she could be dealing with her situation
200 years ago.
It
is Jean that places the story within a time frame in an age of turmoil it is
the inner turmoil that she most efficiently plays off against idealism and
realism in a time of war. I found this
brilliant and for that alone the book deserves 5*.
Inga
shows real growth in this book again played off against the growth of Jean in
the same time period and the time they spend apart is the time they grow the
most and relies on their friendship to pull them through the most. Brilliant.
The
book did drag on a wee bit toward the end.
I think it would have had as much punch if it was a chapter or three
shorter. That said… I don’t care. I loved it and could not put it down.
Wanda, I'm thrilled that you enjoyed ANSWER and that you posted about it here. Thank you! It's just wonderful to get an engaged, thoughtful and appreciative reader like you! I know it's some trouble to write a review, and post it to Amazon and this blog--and I'm very grateful. Best, Paulette
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