I would like to share with everyone a review I received on my novel. Its on Amazon, but I will post it here, as well. Its written by Peter Mladinic (of NMJC and Director of the Lea County Museum Press). I humbly thank you, Pete Mladinic! I dont write fiction, but I read it religiously. Minerva Day, by Christie Keele, is fiction at its best. Once grounded, acquainted with the characters and their world, I was, in a very satisfying way, hooked: Whatever I was doing, I couldnt wait to get back to Minerva Day, for all the right reasons that add up to superb storytelling. This novel is balanced, well structured. Each chapter consists of scenes, and in each scene what is held back, unsaid, is as important and compelling as what is said. Skillful with her descriptions, with what the characters say and do, Christie Keele is equally skilled with what they dont say and dont do. Precision and economy are two qualities of her novel. She makes the most out of silence, and, with her plot, the most out of suspense. Minerva Day is a murder mystery, and much more. Theres nothing formulaic about it: no stock characters, no car chase scenes, no people dying in one fell swoop, nothing at all sensational, or ghoulish. This novel has the ring of verisimilitude; everything, everyone, and everyplace seems so real, and so vividly realized both on the page and in the attentive readers imagination. The rule is, if we dont know we cant care. Christie Keele indeed gets us to know and care. A reader puts down the book saying, I know these people, and I care about their relations to one another, to their tribulations and tragedies, and to their joys and triumphs. So to say Minerva is a murder mystery and leave it at that, is to miss the mark. Ultimately, its about being human. A central part of the plot involves the abduction and murder of Fellow, a young boy, the adopted child of Piper, Minervas daughter, and Pipers husband George. An event that underscores this tragedy is the death of Minervas husband Henry. Who is guilty, who is innocent? What readers discover is revealed, chapter by chapter, scene by scene--in a way that only a writer skilled at her craft can do. But more than skill is involved; there is passion, a vision, a feeling that Minerva Day is a story that had to be told. Ms. Keeles considerable talents and unwavering conviction are involved in the telling.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 00:40:05 +0000
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