Review of Act of Contrition
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[i][Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Act of Contrition" by C L Dugan.][/i] [rwc=id432333-125]3 out of 4 stars.[/rwc]Act of Contrition is a novel by C. L. Duggan which hits the ground running, with the book’s opening pages describing some shocking events in Michigan. A teenage boy, Caleb Lee Coulter, conspires in the abduction of his brother, before murdering his parents and younger twin sisters. He makes no attempt to escape and, in due course, is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Five years later, Coulter is sprung from prison in a well-planned, well-executed operation.
After these dramatic events, the focus of the book shifts to the Scully family. Clare is an aspiring reporter. She has a difficult relationship with her father, Jack, who is coming to terms with a life-threatening medical condition. His wife, Kate, acts as mediator between the two. A climbing trip in Tennessee results in Clare spending time in a small, rural hospital. The high-quality care she receives there leads her to make some enquiries about the surgeon who treated her. What she finds opens the door to a story with ‘Pulitzer Prize’ written all over it. It also opens a door that other people would prefer remained tightly shut. What are the staff at the hospital hiding? Is this story an answer to Clare’s prayers or is it someone else’s act of contrition?
While the opening pages of this book get the story off to a blistering start, in some respects they undermine the rest of the tale. The problem is that too much information is divulged too early. Much of the book’s potential for mystery is diminished as a consequence, in my opinion. Right from the start, we know much of what happened. The rest of the book’s 312 pages are about uncovering why it happened and the aftermath. Had a bit less information been revealed in the first few pages, the mystery element of the book would have been much stronger.
The book is well-crafted in all other respects. The family dynamics between Jack, Clare and Kate play out well. References to therapists and therapy abound, adding support to the psychological narrative underpinning the main storyline. The action in the book proceeds at a fairly leisurely pace; this is not a thrill-a-minute read by any means, but there is enough suspense and drama to hold the reader’s attention.
There are no publication details on the PDF copy of the book I was reading, nor could I find it in any of the usual book outlets. If it’s the case that the book hasn’t yet been published, then another round of editing could help it. There are quite a few mistakes, including a recurring error with the word ‘still’, which gets transcribed as ‘s until’ on 34 occasions.
I am giving the book 3 out of 4 stars, deducting one mark for the errors mentioned. There are no profanities at all in the book, not even borderline ones, and sex is mentioned rather than described in detail. That said, child sexual abuse figures as one of the plotlines and there are instances of violence and murder. With that in mind, I would recommend this book to adults who enjoy slow-burn psychological thrillers. ****** [i]Act of Contrition [/i] View: [url=http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/book.php?id=432333]on Bookshelves[/url]
After these dramatic events, the focus of the book shifts to the Scully family. Clare is an aspiring reporter. She has a difficult relationship with her father, Jack, who is coming to terms with a life-threatening medical condition. His wife, Kate, acts as mediator between the two. A climbing trip in Tennessee results in Clare spending time in a small, rural hospital. The high-quality care she receives there leads her to make some enquiries about the surgeon who treated her. What she finds opens the door to a story with ‘Pulitzer Prize’ written all over it. It also opens a door that other people would prefer remained tightly shut. What are the staff at the hospital hiding? Is this story an answer to Clare’s prayers or is it someone else’s act of contrition?
While the opening pages of this book get the story off to a blistering start, in some respects they undermine the rest of the tale. The problem is that too much information is divulged too early. Much of the book’s potential for mystery is diminished as a consequence, in my opinion. Right from the start, we know much of what happened. The rest of the book’s 312 pages are about uncovering why it happened and the aftermath. Had a bit less information been revealed in the first few pages, the mystery element of the book would have been much stronger.
The book is well-crafted in all other respects. The family dynamics between Jack, Clare and Kate play out well. References to therapists and therapy abound, adding support to the psychological narrative underpinning the main storyline. The action in the book proceeds at a fairly leisurely pace; this is not a thrill-a-minute read by any means, but there is enough suspense and drama to hold the reader’s attention.
There are no publication details on the PDF copy of the book I was reading, nor could I find it in any of the usual book outlets. If it’s the case that the book hasn’t yet been published, then another round of editing could help it. There are quite a few mistakes, including a recurring error with the word ‘still’, which gets transcribed as ‘s until’ on 34 occasions.
I am giving the book 3 out of 4 stars, deducting one mark for the errors mentioned. There are no profanities at all in the book, not even borderline ones, and sex is mentioned rather than described in detail. That said, child sexual abuse figures as one of the plotlines and there are instances of violence and murder. With that in mind, I would recommend this book to adults who enjoy slow-burn psychological thrillers. ****** [i]Act of Contrition [/i] View: [url=http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/book.php?id=432333]on Bookshelves[/url]
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