4 out of 4 stars
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Tiring of her life in Switzerland, Emily takes the opportunity of a lifetime in America. She says goodbye to her family and takes a job as an Au Pair in New Jersey. This new adventure leads her to meet the love of her life and fiancé, John Joseph. Soon after her host family moves, Emily finds herself working for a new family that is full of drama. One rainy afternoon, John Joseph stops by the new family's house to drop something off for Emily and he is murdered in front of their home. With no witnesses, save for a traumatized child, the murder of John Joseph is pinned on a heartbroken Emily.
We first meet Emily waiting in prison on death row for the murder of her fiancé. Emily's soul is at peace with the upcoming execution, her mind is only on finally being reunited with her love. Throughout the novel, Emily moves between her prison cell and what she calls her "prism" window. While at her window, Emily daydreams of her life in the States and of her love, John Joseph. Slowly, the reader discovers more and more of her life with John Joseph leading up to his murder. The shifts made between her mundane life in the prison and her daydreaming of life outside are abrupt with no transition. This was a wonderfully effective way of allowing the reader to experience the emotions of Emily, a supposedly innocent woman who has been imprisoned for the murder of her only love. Emily lives for the only purpose of going to this window and remembering what was and what could have been.
My Prism Window by P.A. Schweizer is a unique and fascinating read. The abrupt changes in setting place the reader right into the world of Emily and allow them to have a front seat to all of her emotions, frustrations, and heartaches. This book successfully sheds light on this country's broken justice system and leaves the reader wondering about wrongful convictions and executions.
This book does have some murder mystery aspects as we do not know who killed John Joseph until the very end. Though Emily is very insistent that she is innocent, I couldn't help wondering throughout the book if maybe she was lying or insane. I think this book would appeal to anyone who likes mysteries, especially ones with little to no gore. The story itself is gripping and I very much wanted to know how it ended but it was not a fast-paced, "edge of your seat" type of book. If someone is looking for an interesting book but one that is a break from very intense stories, this would be the perfect one!
While reading the book, I found three very minor typos but they did not distract from the story. Overall, it was professionally edited and well-written. Because of its professional editing and gripping story, I would rate My Prism Window 4 out of 4 stars.
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My Prism Window
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