Book Review: How We Were Before

 

How We Were Before                                                                                                                                     by Jonathan Kravetz                                                                                                                                  294 pages, Running Wild Press                                                                                                           Genre: Fiction

Do we really know what is going on in the minds of our family members and friends? How important is a local school incident to the rest of the community? Do we really understand the dangerous ends to which small town gossip can lead to? These questions and much more are asked and answered by the author in his book, How We Were Before.

This is a crime novel with a difference. It starts with the crime, the double murder of an elderly couple Pete and Tara when a home invasion is attempted due to rumors, goes wrong and the murderer Billy Lawson who is 18 years old is caught within hours. However, the POV changes as it is narrated by the surviving friend and family of the murdered and the murderer. the local police force, local newspaper and school and how this affects them. Kravetz has used a brilliant technique to narrate what would be a regular murder mystery bringing the small town of Benfield to life including the story of the murdered who fill the gaps to ensure there is smooth transition. Though set across multiple timelines and multiple POV, it brings all the characters to life in the small town of Benfield, Massachusetts.

The writing is good as the pace changes between timelines, and you are learning about the social landscape of Benfield but could be any place in the USA or world and how a crime affects the people of the town directly and indirectly. It has a chaos effect which many may not realize.

This is the feat of the author as this book brings to life full-fledged 3D characters and not just crime and who did it? It makes you wonder. 

It is a must read as it makes you think about your way of thinking about yourself, friends and family and society as a whole. 

Buy it here     AMAZON

Book review of Serabelle

Serabelle: Where the Wealthy Come to Play
by Tavi Taylor Black
Genre : Historical Fiction
325 pages,  ‎ Black Rose Writing

Set against the backdrop of women's suffrage movement.in New England, USA, does being born to a servant means you have to end up as a servant and have no other future? Did a servant life matter in New England in the 1910s? Should they just serve and die ? What about a young  beautiful maid who dismisses the vulnerability of her position and thinks she has a right to life and right to vote? These are questions that the author asks and answers in her book Serabelle.

Mabel Rae is a young teenager who joins the staff of the house of Serabelle which is owned by the Hunt family.Separated from her mother who works as a maid in another estate, Mabel plans to change her fate.  With no money and few rights, the suffrage movement and Alistair Hunt's love give her hope but for how long?  Her best friends are Willie,  an  African American stable boy  and Rebecca who is a maid, Both her young friends only bolster her hope.

Black has written a novel that moves crisply and has a no-nonsense quality to it. If people who employ servants or helpers worldwide, pause and think about what they are doing, this book would have achieved its aim.

Do buy it here on AMAZON