Genre: Suspense
Description:
“An accidental encounter with her father's killer leads her down a
dangerous road of revenge and murderous madness where the only outcome seems to
be total destruction of her or the killer...or both. A psychological drama that
portrays the disruption of an idyllic, vital, beloved father-daughter
relationship and how the contrasts of the wounds of loss, and development of a
kind of justice, payback, and compassion unfold.”
Author:
“Bette Hepler is the author of the new novel, Scarred Soul of a
Grieving Daughter. Bette grew up in Washington, D.C., earning a Master's
Degree in Social Work at Catholic University. She has maintained a private
practice in psychotherapy for over thirty years and still loves her work. She's
an avid reader of fiction, especially psychological thrillers. Writing a
psychodrama was always her dream, and after periods of self-doubt and
procrastinating, it became a reality. A tragic event in her life was the catalyst
for her to finally write a story in which she weaves her experience and skills
as a psychotherapist into a tense-filled drama of truth and fiction. Bette
lives in Maryland with her husband, Gary, and, on any given day, when she's not
working, you can bet she's engrossed in reading another page-turning thriller.”
Appraisal:
Although a novel, the Amazon listing for
this book has the tagline “Inspired by True Events” as part of the title. In
the “Author’s Note” at the end of the book the author explains that the book
started out as a memoir, but then evolved into fiction. At the end of the main
story the author psychoanalyzes herself, to a point, explaining why she thinks
what started out as a memoir turned into something else. An addendum or supplement
section even includes some of the sections cut from the earlier drafts of the
book when the author made the decision to switch to fiction. All of that is
interesting as background. Once you’re read the main story you might want to
peruse the author’s note and the supplement, but ultimately that’s not the main
story here.
The main story is interesting because, in
spite of the reworking I later found out had been done, it felt like a memoir
at first. I knew it was fiction, with some truth (that “inspired by” part) but
exactly how much wasn’t clear. As things progressed it started feeling like fiction,
but where the line between truth and fiction landed was not very clear. This
was a positive in one way. The “memoir like” aspects gave the story more credibility
(the protagonist and the events that happened to her that set the foundation of
the story felt real, because she was real, as were the story’s foundation). But
it also left me feeling off balance and thinking strange things. “Is this
real-life therapist really treating the guy who killed her father? Is she going
to kill him?” Not knowing where the lines were made it easier to believe, but
harder to imagine some potential outcomes or to even seriously consider what I
think I might do in the same situation. So, this aspect had both pros and cons.
Whether fact or fiction, or some point in between, it was a heart-wrenching
story that should get your mind reeling and struggling with the possibilities
of what you might do in the same situation.
Buy now from: Amazon US Amazon UK
FYI:
A small amount of adult language.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: ****
Four Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words
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