Review of Deceptive Calm
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Nathalene Armstrong
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Review of Deceptive Calm
[Following is a volunteer review of "Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper.]
If the reader is looking for a book that offers romance, deception, suspense, crime and historical content, Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper is the book to read. The novel follows the lives of two friends, Vanessa Condon and Trisha Bibbs.
The initial chapters of the book focus on the late teenage years of Vanessa, Trisha and Vanessa’s boyfriend, Barry Hale, in North Charleston, South Carolina, in the late 1960s. Vanessa, Trisha, and Barry attend Bishop England High School, located in a Black neighborhood. Barry is Black, Trisha is White and Vanessa, who looks White, is of mixed race. Vanessa came to Saint Paul’s Orphanage as a baby. The orphanage, run by the Sisters of Our Ladies of Mercy, is solely for Black children. Sister Rosalie, the only Black nun within the diocese, raised Vanessa.
The author does a decent job of presenting the racial tensions during this period with the depiction of riots, segregated communities and the grief and shock resulting from the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King and Senator Robert Kennedy. Barry’s father, a neurosurgeon, performed emergency brain surgery on Trisha after she suffered a skull fracture from bricks, rocks, and other debris thrown by an angry Klan mob while the school bus attempted to drive to school. Having grown up during this time as a child, I was expecting more racial trauma; however, I realized the author is presenting the story through the eyes of the teenage character’s experience and not mine.
Sister Rosalie, who missed her call as a history professor, was extremely knowledgeable about Charleston, South Carolina history, The author utilized this character to provide South Carolina historical content. This was often verbalized by Sister Rosalie in everyday conversation, which I sometimes found annoying.
I found Vanessa and Trisha’s friendship refreshing and believable. Vanessa, who wants to be loved and belong to a family, finds support from her best friend, Trisha, who is also suffering from her own insecurities. Both witnessed and worked through the inequalities extended to minorities during the period. While researching the immigration system at the library, they discovered a major flaw in the government system…how easy it was to obtain legal documentation in the United States due to the lack of cross-referencing birth and death certificates. Trisha urged Vanessa to apply for the birth certificate of Vanessa Vaughn, born in Charleston. Both parents are dead.
The novel takes another turn with deception as Vanessa decides to assume her newfound identity after the death of Sister Rosalie and a painful breakup with Barry. Vanessa utilized this birth certificate to change her last name and live a new life in California as Vanessa Vaughn.
I think the relationship between Barry and Vanessa needed more development. I could then understand why Vanessa waited over 15 years to even consider dating another man. Things really picked up in later chapters of the book after Vanessa married Tod Von Westerkamp. It appeared rushed, however, as the author attempted to capture all the twists, revelations, and deception in the last seven chapters of the book. I give the book a good, 4-star rating.
The sensitive reader should be aware that the book contains profanity, sexual content, abuse, and use of the “N-word.” Some of the sexual content is explicit so I wouldn’t recommend it for the young reader.
Overall, I liked the book. It is a good romance novel which contains genuine life issues.
******
Deceptive Calm
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
If the reader is looking for a book that offers romance, deception, suspense, crime and historical content, Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper is the book to read. The novel follows the lives of two friends, Vanessa Condon and Trisha Bibbs.
The initial chapters of the book focus on the late teenage years of Vanessa, Trisha and Vanessa’s boyfriend, Barry Hale, in North Charleston, South Carolina, in the late 1960s. Vanessa, Trisha, and Barry attend Bishop England High School, located in a Black neighborhood. Barry is Black, Trisha is White and Vanessa, who looks White, is of mixed race. Vanessa came to Saint Paul’s Orphanage as a baby. The orphanage, run by the Sisters of Our Ladies of Mercy, is solely for Black children. Sister Rosalie, the only Black nun within the diocese, raised Vanessa.
The author does a decent job of presenting the racial tensions during this period with the depiction of riots, segregated communities and the grief and shock resulting from the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King and Senator Robert Kennedy. Barry’s father, a neurosurgeon, performed emergency brain surgery on Trisha after she suffered a skull fracture from bricks, rocks, and other debris thrown by an angry Klan mob while the school bus attempted to drive to school. Having grown up during this time as a child, I was expecting more racial trauma; however, I realized the author is presenting the story through the eyes of the teenage character’s experience and not mine.
Sister Rosalie, who missed her call as a history professor, was extremely knowledgeable about Charleston, South Carolina history, The author utilized this character to provide South Carolina historical content. This was often verbalized by Sister Rosalie in everyday conversation, which I sometimes found annoying.
I found Vanessa and Trisha’s friendship refreshing and believable. Vanessa, who wants to be loved and belong to a family, finds support from her best friend, Trisha, who is also suffering from her own insecurities. Both witnessed and worked through the inequalities extended to minorities during the period. While researching the immigration system at the library, they discovered a major flaw in the government system…how easy it was to obtain legal documentation in the United States due to the lack of cross-referencing birth and death certificates. Trisha urged Vanessa to apply for the birth certificate of Vanessa Vaughn, born in Charleston. Both parents are dead.
The novel takes another turn with deception as Vanessa decides to assume her newfound identity after the death of Sister Rosalie and a painful breakup with Barry. Vanessa utilized this birth certificate to change her last name and live a new life in California as Vanessa Vaughn.
I think the relationship between Barry and Vanessa needed more development. I could then understand why Vanessa waited over 15 years to even consider dating another man. Things really picked up in later chapters of the book after Vanessa married Tod Von Westerkamp. It appeared rushed, however, as the author attempted to capture all the twists, revelations, and deception in the last seven chapters of the book. I give the book a good, 4-star rating.
The sensitive reader should be aware that the book contains profanity, sexual content, abuse, and use of the “N-word.” Some of the sexual content is explicit so I wouldn’t recommend it for the young reader.
Overall, I liked the book. It is a good romance novel which contains genuine life issues.
******
Deceptive Calm
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper
