The Outlaw Duchess Day Radley will stay with you for a long time
This is not your typical crime thriller. The book starts with a police search and the discovery of a body that leaves you wanting to find out more about Vincent King and why he spent 30 years in prison. We then fast forward to the present day when King is released and returns to his hometown. His childhood friend welcomes him back but it is clear that others are not so keen to have him back in town.
To begin with it takes a little bit of getting used to the style of writing if you have not read a book by Chris Whitaker before. However he portrays life in a small American town in such a way that you feel like you are there watching what is going on alongside Walk as he attempts to discover the truth about a tragedy that acts as a catalyst for a chain of actions that will change the lives of the characters forever.
Part one ends with a tragedy brought on by the actions of a child (Duchess) desperately trying to protect her family and leads in to the promise of a new and better life for the two children. Although the novel is not a fast paced crime thriller, the way the characters slowly unfold draws you in to the action and one character in particular, Duchess Day Radley, will linger in your mind for a long time. The outlaw Duchess Day Radley has not had an easy life, assumes all responsibility for her younger brother Robin and will go to any length to protect him. At times you forget that she is in fact a child due to her maternal instincts and the way she interacts with Walk, Hal and other characters in the story. She is foul mouthed, sharp and bitter towards a system that has failed her and her brother. Yet at the same time she is fiercely protective of her family, loving and compassionate.
This book is not just a crime thriller, it is a love story, a tale of secrets and lies and a coming of age story for a child who has faced more hardship and disappointment than any child ever should .
I don't want to give too much away about the plot as this is a book you have to read for yourself to truly appreciate how it is written, how the characters and their actions all interconnect and how it reaches it's conclusion.
To begin with it takes a little bit of getting used to the style of writing if you have not read a book by Chris Whitaker before. However he portrays life in a small American town in such a way that you feel like you are there watching what is going on alongside Walk as he attempts to discover the truth about a tragedy that acts as a catalyst for a chain of actions that will change the lives of the characters forever.
Part one ends with a tragedy brought on by the actions of a child (Duchess) desperately trying to protect her family and leads in to the promise of a new and better life for the two children. Although the novel is not a fast paced crime thriller, the way the characters slowly unfold draws you in to the action and one character in particular, Duchess Day Radley, will linger in your mind for a long time. The outlaw Duchess Day Radley has not had an easy life, assumes all responsibility for her younger brother Robin and will go to any length to protect him. At times you forget that she is in fact a child due to her maternal instincts and the way she interacts with Walk, Hal and other characters in the story. She is foul mouthed, sharp and bitter towards a system that has failed her and her brother. Yet at the same time she is fiercely protective of her family, loving and compassionate.
This book is not just a crime thriller, it is a love story, a tale of secrets and lies and a coming of age story for a child who has faced more hardship and disappointment than any child ever should .
I don't want to give too much away about the plot as this is a book you have to read for yourself to truly appreciate how it is written, how the characters and their actions all interconnect and how it reaches it's conclusion.