I’ve also begun to wonder if there’s a trend for unlikeable and unrelatable characters. I’ve discovered so many titles where my primary reaction is “why should I care?” About the characters or the story. Sometimes the writing can get me to The End, but it’s a tedious process ending in ultimate disappointment.
I killed my mother.
That’s what I think the next morning when I see her on the floor in the kitchen with a puddle of orange juice floating around her.
Hallie knew she’d laid it on too thick by the annoyance she heard in Becca’s tone. But she wasn’t entirely comfortable putting her life in the hands of an eleven-year-old.
Still she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t nearly as safe hiding out here as she thought she was.
He frowned. “How would you…? Wait. You were watching me get dressed?” His tone of voice conveyed his outrage at her invasion of his privacy.
“Oh, come on. How much do you think I could see hiding under the bed so you wouldn’t find me? Not much, I can tell you that. Mostly what I saw was your feet. Your shoes and socks. Your pants cuffs.”
“And from that you deduced I was an accountant?”
What book in the women’s fiction genre should I absolutely read? “I’m always on the lookout for new authors and new writing voices
Joy left home at 18 with a boy her minister father didn’t approve of. Joy and Mike marry in Vegas and arrive in LA. Shortly thereafter Joy discovers she’s pregnant and before she gives birth Mike is killed in a motorcycle accident. Broke, pregnant and widowed, Joy calls home. Her father, Art, says, “You’ve made your bed. Now lie in it.” He hangs up on her.
Seriously? Pizza and beer? Forget his feet. There was a lot to work with here. “Thomas L. Purdue. You’re about to make me swoon.” She picked up the beer and drank. Then took another bite of pizza, closed her eyes and savored.
Was that a hint sympathy she saw in his eyes? Work it, said that desperate little voice inside Hallie’s head. And be nice even if it kills you.
Look, I fed you. I didn’t call the cops on you. And there’s a good chance that will come back to bite me on the ass. I presume you were wearing shoes when you arrived. So get them. Put them on and skedaddle.” He waved in the direction of the door.
Hallie crossed her arms. “No.”
