David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "adolescent-quirks"
Girl in Snow
The most impressive aspect of GIRL WITH SNOW, is Danielle Kukafka's ability to make the reader think each of the suspects is capable of killing Lucinda Hayes, a fifteen-year-old, found near a merry-go-round on an elementary school playground.
Perhaps the number one suspect is Cameron who's a known stalker or peeping Tom. Actually he's so bewitched by Lucinda he can't stop watching her, especially at night. Cameron's father doesn't help either. He was a former police officer who was tried for assaulting a woman who later turned out to be his mistress. He disappears after being found not guilty.
Russ is the patrolman assigned to the case, and Lee Whitley, Cameron's father, is Russ Fletcher's former partner. Russ has a secret involving Lee. Before Lee left he asked Russ to take care of his son, so Russ does everything he possibly can to make sure Cameron is not charged. That's not the secret.
Perhaps number two on the list of suspects is Jade, a somewhat overweight Goth girl who was jealous of Lucinda. Lucinda was a blond cheerleader type, and her friends made fun of Jade, but her main reason for hating her was Lucinda's relationship with Zap, Lucinda's childhood friend who grew distant when they started high school. Lucinda and Jade also babysat for the Thornton's, and Jade was losing more and more babysitting work to Lucinda. Jade adds a stylistic device to the novel. She's writing a screenplay dealing with the murder: “What You Want To Say But Can't Without Being a Dick”.
Russ is married to a Mexican woman whose brother just got out of jail. He found religion there and has started his own church, but as an ex-con he's still a suspect.
I am a mystery aficionado. I can usually spot who done it almost immediately, but not with this one, and I can bet you a dollar to a doughnut (please excuse the cliché) you can't either. Let's just say that Lucinda was not the perfect little angel everybody thought she was. That's one of the faults of the book. It's hard to believe that a fifteen-year-old girl was this “experienced”.
Perhaps the number one suspect is Cameron who's a known stalker or peeping Tom. Actually he's so bewitched by Lucinda he can't stop watching her, especially at night. Cameron's father doesn't help either. He was a former police officer who was tried for assaulting a woman who later turned out to be his mistress. He disappears after being found not guilty.
Russ is the patrolman assigned to the case, and Lee Whitley, Cameron's father, is Russ Fletcher's former partner. Russ has a secret involving Lee. Before Lee left he asked Russ to take care of his son, so Russ does everything he possibly can to make sure Cameron is not charged. That's not the secret.
Perhaps number two on the list of suspects is Jade, a somewhat overweight Goth girl who was jealous of Lucinda. Lucinda was a blond cheerleader type, and her friends made fun of Jade, but her main reason for hating her was Lucinda's relationship with Zap, Lucinda's childhood friend who grew distant when they started high school. Lucinda and Jade also babysat for the Thornton's, and Jade was losing more and more babysitting work to Lucinda. Jade adds a stylistic device to the novel. She's writing a screenplay dealing with the murder: “What You Want To Say But Can't Without Being a Dick”.
Russ is married to a Mexican woman whose brother just got out of jail. He found religion there and has started his own church, but as an ex-con he's still a suspect.
I am a mystery aficionado. I can usually spot who done it almost immediately, but not with this one, and I can bet you a dollar to a doughnut (please excuse the cliché) you can't either. Let's just say that Lucinda was not the perfect little angel everybody thought she was. That's one of the faults of the book. It's hard to believe that a fifteen-year-old girl was this “experienced”.
