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Contingency Plan (Raven Books / Orca $9.95)
Having written two detective series since she received her Ph.D. in English Renaissance literature back in 1975, Lou Allin has graduated to making things simpler.
In Contingency Plan, Allin's second contribution to Orca's Rapid Reads series, newly widowed Sandra Sinclair discovers it doesn't pay to go too fast when it comes to finding new love. A scant few months after their too-hasty marriage, successful and handsome lawyer Joe Gillette finds it out, too.
Sandra and her 12-year old daughter, Jane, are in a quandary familiar to many women. Without resources, confidence, or close family ties, how will they be able to escape the abuse? They flee north to a deserted cabin in more familiar territory, but have they covered their tracks well enough?
Their predicament is beyond creepy. Who was the mysterious woman who claimed on the phone to be Gillette's mother? How did Joe really get the family heirloom and did it ever really belong to his mother?
Did he kill his first wife? Could he be responsible for the death of Sandra's beloved aunt?
Men like Joe often prey on dependent, timid and socially isolated women. Sandra, still in mourning after the death of her beloved husband a year earlier, appears to fall into that category.
Is he going to kill her? And what are his plans for his bright 12-year old stepdaughter? The wise always have a contingency plan, and Sandra turns out to be much wiser than Joe anticipated.
Contingency Plan is one the latest offerings in Orca's Rapid Read series, a line of short novels and non-fiction books dealing with contemporary themes and aimed at adult readers. "We started publishing them in 2010 because we had great success with our shorter novels for teens,"; says publisher Andrew Wooldridge, "and people kept asking for books for older readers.";
There are now 25 books in the series. Plot-driven, these large print, short novels can be read in one sitting. Not surprisingly, many are murder and mystery titles. Not everyone can devour text; so thrillers such as Contingency Plan allow slower readers to get into the literacy race.
[Cherie Thiessen regularly reviews fiction for BCBW from Pender Island.]
In Contingency Plan, Allin's second contribution to Orca's Rapid Reads series, newly widowed Sandra Sinclair discovers it doesn't pay to go too fast when it comes to finding new love. A scant few months after their too-hasty marriage, successful and handsome lawyer Joe Gillette finds it out, too.
Sandra and her 12-year old daughter, Jane, are in a quandary familiar to many women. Without resources, confidence, or close family ties, how will they be able to escape the abuse? They flee north to a deserted cabin in more familiar territory, but have they covered their tracks well enough?
Their predicament is beyond creepy. Who was the mysterious woman who claimed on the phone to be Gillette's mother? How did Joe really get the family heirloom and did it ever really belong to his mother?
Did he kill his first wife? Could he be responsible for the death of Sandra's beloved aunt?
Men like Joe often prey on dependent, timid and socially isolated women. Sandra, still in mourning after the death of her beloved husband a year earlier, appears to fall into that category.
Is he going to kill her? And what are his plans for his bright 12-year old stepdaughter? The wise always have a contingency plan, and Sandra turns out to be much wiser than Joe anticipated.
Contingency Plan is one the latest offerings in Orca's Rapid Read series, a line of short novels and non-fiction books dealing with contemporary themes and aimed at adult readers. "We started publishing them in 2010 because we had great success with our shorter novels for teens,"; says publisher Andrew Wooldridge, "and people kept asking for books for older readers.";
There are now 25 books in the series. Plot-driven, these large print, short novels can be read in one sitting. Not surprisingly, many are murder and mystery titles. Not everyone can devour text; so thrillers such as Contingency Plan allow slower readers to get into the literacy race.
[Cherie Thiessen regularly reviews fiction for BCBW from Pender Island.]
Submitted on October 12, 2012 in By David.
