Review of Deceptive Calm

[Darlene Bothner]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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In the novel Deceptive Calm author Patricia Skipper relays the story of Vanessa, a black orphan raised in the South who has the fair complexion of a white person. The story begins amidst the racial upheaval of the late 1960s in South Carolina. Vanessa and her best friend Trisha pursue acquisition of the birth certificate of a deceased white baby, just to prove that it can be done. This comes to play a major role in the story when Vanessa experiences a heartbreaking betrayal by her love interest and uses the documentation to disappear from his life. As Vanessa appears white, there is no reason for her race to be in question. However, she later finds herself in a bind when she becomes betrothed to a wealthy white man of high standing in the community in which they live. She cannot seem to find the right time to share the true information of her birth with him. Once married, Vanessa becomes pregnant and has a child. When her son presents in a medical crisis, it is discovered that he has sickle cell anemia. The truth of Vanessa‘s race has now been revealed. This presents a major problem for her socially prominent and extremely racist husband and his like-minded parents, who devise a plan to make the problem go away.

As the story covers a period of several decades, there were what seemed to this reader to be disjointed leaps in time. Dialogue seemed contrived and stilted at times. But both elements do continue to move the plot forward. The racist remarks made by some characters are harsh; but they are the reality of what is at times expressed by those of extremely racist mindsets.

Having reached the point where our protagonist becomes the target of her husband‘s hatred and revenge, this writer found herself unable to put the book down. The story then progressed rapidly and the addition of a sharp-minded detective into the novel helped to pull everything together.

I ultimately found this to be an enjoyable read. I rate it a 4 out of 5 and would definitely recommend it to others.

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Deceptive Calm
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