BLACK-EYED SUSANS by JULIA HEABERLIN

BLACK-EYED SUSANS

BY JULIA HEABERLIN

THE BLURB:-

I am the star of screaming tabloid headlines and campfire ghost stories. I am one of the four Black-Eyed Susans. The lucky one.

Left with three other girls in a grave shrouded by black-eyed Susans, Tessa alone survived, her testimony helping to put a killer behind bars. Now, sixteen years later, he is about to be executed. But Tessa feels no relief. Because someone is planting black-eyed Susans outside her window. Someone is sending her daughter sinister messages. And there's a lawyer telling her the man about to be put to death is innocent.

Which can mean only one thing: the wrong man has been sentenced, the real killer is still out there and Tessa might not be the last black-eyed Susan...

THE REALITY:-

Another book that took me a long while to read, due to circumstances. I have taken on more hours at work which equates to less reading time, a busy Christmas kicked in followed by an ear infection, eye infection and food poisoning and a then sick partner due to his blood poisoning. I also seem to have acquired family issues to deal with. Anyone who knows me knows that bad blood has existed from myself towards my (much older) brother for thirty-five years, and they will also know why. But now, I'm finding that the main finger of blame is shifting elsewhere- and it's pointing directly at my late parents. Also, common sense is forcing me to take control of the situation in a more than just emotional way.

I never really knew what a black-eyed Susan was until I read this book (it is some kind of daisy.) As a child, I had a “Big Book Of Things To Make And Do” and one of the projects was a pattern for Black Eyed Susan- a teenage doll. The book is stuck in my brother's house, but now I'm going to be making contact with him I might be able to see it once again. By the way, I never got round to making the doll. Anyway, enough of my personal vagueness, here's to the review.

As I took so long to read this book (not because it was awful- it was great- but I just didn't have the time to make it un-putdownable) I have already forgotten certain components, such as how Terrell came to be convicted and sentenced to death in the first place. A racist imprisoning? Probably. This book certainly doesn't shy away from such issues, including visiting the “death house” where the executions take place and whether capital punishment should be abolished or not. This is certainly a meaty and moving read and not for the faint hearted.

Fans of Kathy Reichs would like this novel as it deals with examining bones to try and put a name to the victim using modern forensic technology. All of the characters are interesting and some more than sinister- Lydia, Tessa's friend certainly arouses suspicion and you kind of get the idea that she's something to do with the Susan killings early on in the novel and Effie is also another person who gives cause for concern. Are they guilty as I have just charged them? I won't spoil the surprise!  Tessa is one hell of a survivor and a big WOW to her for picking her life up and not going totally insane.  The lives and houses of her Texas friends and family, and also the geography of the state,  are descriptively depicted and give a really good background to the novel, helping you to create the scenarios in your mind.

This book is well written and clearly laid out, so you know where you are and what is going on from the distinct chapter headings. The story moves along swiftly and all of the components come together like a jigsaw. It's towards the end, however, where the chapters get shorter that the book really picks up pace, towards the kind of finale that was definitely not immediately obvious, so here's to the author for creating an unpredictable yet very, very interesting conclusion. Cleverly atmospheric (what is it about black and yellow together? Those black-eyed Susans on the cover look sinister!) with more than a touch of reality, this book is a must for all crime thriller entusiasts.