OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Al Capone at the Blanche Hotel" by Linda Bennett Pennell.]
The year is 1930. On a moonlit night in O'Leno, Florida, 12 year old Jack and 11 year old Zeke hide in a patch of palmetto clumps as they watch a canvas wrapped body in sink into a river. When Jack tells his 18 year old sister, Meg, about what he saw, she realizes the danger he and his friend are in and makes him promise not to tell another living soul. Meg, an independent young woman who is engaged to the local deputy, lives and works at the Blanche Hotel in Lake City, Florida. A couple of days after her little brother's dangerous incident, she is surprised to find herself face to face with Al Capone and his henchmen at the hotel.

The year is 2011. Liz Reams has recently followed her handsome, Navy pilot boyfriend to Florida from Seattle. With a PhD in History focusing on American crime, she has been lucky enough to land a job as a History professor at the University of Florida. While doing research, she stumbles across a newspaper article from 1930 mentioning that Al Capone spent two weeks at the Blanche Hotel in Lake City. Her curiosity is immediately triggered. What was Al Capone doing in a small quiet Florida town for such a long stay? Feeling overwhelmed by her new job and distracted by her tumultuous love life, she finds herself shirking her professional responsibilities to follow up on this exciting surprise lead. She soon discovers a series of murders that took place in 1930, targeting locals with criminal activity. Could there be a connection with Al Capone's stay at the Blanche Hotel?

This is a compelling, multifaceted book. It captured my attention from beginning to the end. There is mystery and crime surrounding the murders of 1930. There is romance and heartache as we see Meg's desire for independence vie with her love for her fiancé, and Liz's struggle with her complicated love life and search for herself. Above all, however, this is a story of the friendship between two boys, one black one white, and of the destructive, tragic results of hatred, racism and violence.

I loved how the book took place over multiple time frames. How often do we wish we could go back in time and see the past? This book allows us to do just that: we watch Liz, in 2011, search for the truth about the events that happened in Lake City; parallel to this, we watch these very events unfold for the characters in 1930.

Overall, the story is very well constructed, especially considering its intricate nature. There were occasionally times when a character would do something, or not do something in a way I found unconvincing, and there were some branches of the storyline that I wished had been taken further. Still, these are really very minor, and also subject to personal opinion. I thought it was a very good book, and I'm thrilled that I got to read it. It's one that I definitely recommend.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Some aspects are heart-wrenching, and some are more light-hearted. If you like books that have a little bit of both, then this is a good read for you. I wouldn't call it a heavy book, but it's also not a light read. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

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Wow, this sounds interesting!! Great review!

This does sound good and there seems to be a lot of action but also emotion, I would definitely consider reading it

npandit wrote:Wow, this sounds interesting!! Great review!

Thanks!

This sounds an interesting read. Thanks for the great review giving such an insight into the story and the structure of the book.

Thanks casper!

An interesting storyline with a twist on the way it's told. Great review for an interesting sound book. Thanks for doing such a great job with this!

Sounds intriguing. Thanks for the great review.

Thanks!

Great review' Thanks.

Sounds like a really good read.