Genre:
Contemporary Fiction/Woman’s Fiction
Description:
“Cass
Adams comes from a long line of crazy, and she fears passing that on
to her unborn child. Also, she’s run over Roland and Clay’s
surprise half-brother Britt, landing him in the hospital. With her
inner demons coming out to haunt her, she doesn’t know if she
should keep the baby.
Clay
Adams has his own decisions to make. His half-brother shows up to
tell him their father, Freddy, is still alive but needs a liver
transplant. When Freddy blew out of town thirty-five years ago,
secrets were buried. But it’s time for them to be dug up, because
only then can Clay hope to lay the past to rest.
Call
Me Daddy is a story of
family, the secrets they keep, and to what lengths someone would go
to protect them.”
Author:
“I
want readers to take something away from my books and short stories:
something memorable, whether it be an interesting protagonist, an
emotion or a moment in time. Depending on what characters decide to
sit beside me on a particular day, I may write historical fiction or
quirky, dark humor.
My
interests are as diverse as my writing. I am at home fishing on a
river, riding horses in the mountains, reading on a beach, hiking
through the desert or playing pirate with my friends. I don't believe
in growing old and I refuse to grow up.”
To
learn more about Ms. Gamble check out her website or Facebook page.
Appraisal:
Call
Me Daddy is above all a
story of family, much like the novelty song “I’m My Own Grandpa”
written in 1947 by Dwight Latham and Moe Jaffe. They got the idea for
the song from a book of Mark
Twain anecdotes. I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist the reference
because it made me laugh.
Honestly,
though this story isn’t nearly that complicated, but it is tangled,
and is certainly not nearly as funny. However, there is a lot of dark
humor employed with complicated emotions throughout the story. Ms.
Gamble slowly unravels secrets of old friends and family in a delft
manner using multiple points-of-view that are clearly marked by
chapter headings. This style choice also produced some repetition of
facts. I tried to overlook those instances because it lets the reader
know that the character was also aware of those same secrets.
Deacon,
Kansas is a small town with many memorable quirky personalities. Most
are longtime residents that grew up in the area and know everyone
else’s business. The twists in the plot are realistic and
surprising. There were times the book was hard to put down. Hard
decisions had to be made by the Adams’ family members. While others
could only watch and be there to pick up the pieces in case things
went awry. Call Me Daddy
is a poignant story where skeletons are forced out of the closet to
dance on the graves of those passed and at times the souls of the
living.
I look
forward to more stories from Deacon, Kansas. I’m almost embarrassed
to admit that this setting is almost in my neck of the woods and the
residents seem like family to me. Which may be why I prefer to escape
into fantasy and paranormal books. However, Ms. Gamble is quickly
becoming a favorite author.
FYI:
Call
Me Daddy is the sequel to
They Call Me Crazy, and
can be read as a standalone novel.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No
significant proofing or formatting issues.
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 80-85,000
words
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