Official Review: The Dark Secrets of Jealousy
Posted: 16 Jul 2015, 05:22
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Dark Secrets of Jealousy" by Angela Moore.]
1 out of 4 stars
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The Dark Secrets of Jealousy by Angela Moore begins with a young woman, Kerry Ann Johnson, who wakes up in a psychiatric hospital with no recollection of how or why she’s there. The story unravels as her insatiably envious sister comes into the picture. The esteemed Johnson family’s history and all of their secrets are exposed.
The novel is labeled as a psychological thriller. This and the given synopsis are unfortunately misleading. The thriller portion takes up only the first third of the novel while the rest deals with the aftermath. I continued reading, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It never did. Honestly, this would have been better as a short story.
The writing is riddled with technical errors. I found it difficult to follow at times, especially when characters were accidentally called by another character’s name. There are a few instances of the narrator directly talking to the reader, rhetorically asking them if they think a word-choice or character’s decision is justifiable. For instance: "Who’d criticise her as I’m sure I wouldn’t absolve anyone who’d do or done the unscrupulous on me either, would you reader?” It gave me the feeling of being told what conclusion to draw about the characters rather than letting me draw them myself.
The plot (in first part) has a good foundation. The idea is solid, but the execution leaves something to be desired. The motives behind both of the sisters’ actions are explained but…fall flat. Perhaps it’s because the characters themselves are explained in a way that tells you how to feel about them. Kerry Ann is a law student, super smart, gorgeous, charitable, fashionable, the “golden child”, etc. Natasha, the sister, was sent to boarding school where she entertained herself with boys and arson. After graduating, she becomes a prostitute/drug dealer who disdains everyone and is drunk or high all the time. Kerry Anne is defined not by action and thought but by her accomplishments while Natasha is defined by her failures. We are told everything, not shown.
Like I said, the latter part of the novel feels like a different story, it merely has the same characters, give or take a couple. If there had been a clear and intentional division between the two I think it would have helped me get more into it. Instead I was waiting for there to be a connection between the two story arcs when really the former is just the background for the latter. This wouldn’t be as problematic if the summary had not insinuated that it’s a thriller revolving around a toxic relationship between two sisters. The last sentence of the summary, "Things become uncontrollable when Natasha hatches a plan that enforces Kerry Ann to look the villian and the crazy one,” is where the story begins and there are no flashbacks. It’s explained right away and the plot is over and done with by chapter eight (there are twenty-five of them).
This novel gets one out of four stars. I really hate doing this, especially for my first review, but I couldn’t recommend this book to anyone. I hate criticizing the product of someone’s hard work but…honesty is the best policy, right?
******
The Dark Secrets of Jealousy
View: on Bookshelves | on Barnes and Noble
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1 out of 4 stars
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The Dark Secrets of Jealousy by Angela Moore begins with a young woman, Kerry Ann Johnson, who wakes up in a psychiatric hospital with no recollection of how or why she’s there. The story unravels as her insatiably envious sister comes into the picture. The esteemed Johnson family’s history and all of their secrets are exposed.
The novel is labeled as a psychological thriller. This and the given synopsis are unfortunately misleading. The thriller portion takes up only the first third of the novel while the rest deals with the aftermath. I continued reading, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It never did. Honestly, this would have been better as a short story.
The writing is riddled with technical errors. I found it difficult to follow at times, especially when characters were accidentally called by another character’s name. There are a few instances of the narrator directly talking to the reader, rhetorically asking them if they think a word-choice or character’s decision is justifiable. For instance: "Who’d criticise her as I’m sure I wouldn’t absolve anyone who’d do or done the unscrupulous on me either, would you reader?” It gave me the feeling of being told what conclusion to draw about the characters rather than letting me draw them myself.
The plot (in first part) has a good foundation. The idea is solid, but the execution leaves something to be desired. The motives behind both of the sisters’ actions are explained but…fall flat. Perhaps it’s because the characters themselves are explained in a way that tells you how to feel about them. Kerry Ann is a law student, super smart, gorgeous, charitable, fashionable, the “golden child”, etc. Natasha, the sister, was sent to boarding school where she entertained herself with boys and arson. After graduating, she becomes a prostitute/drug dealer who disdains everyone and is drunk or high all the time. Kerry Anne is defined not by action and thought but by her accomplishments while Natasha is defined by her failures. We are told everything, not shown.
Like I said, the latter part of the novel feels like a different story, it merely has the same characters, give or take a couple. If there had been a clear and intentional division between the two I think it would have helped me get more into it. Instead I was waiting for there to be a connection between the two story arcs when really the former is just the background for the latter. This wouldn’t be as problematic if the summary had not insinuated that it’s a thriller revolving around a toxic relationship between two sisters. The last sentence of the summary, "Things become uncontrollable when Natasha hatches a plan that enforces Kerry Ann to look the villian and the crazy one,” is where the story begins and there are no flashbacks. It’s explained right away and the plot is over and done with by chapter eight (there are twenty-five of them).
This novel gets one out of four stars. I really hate doing this, especially for my first review, but I couldn’t recommend this book to anyone. I hate criticizing the product of someone’s hard work but…honesty is the best policy, right?
******
The Dark Secrets of Jealousy
View: on Bookshelves | on Barnes and Noble
Like Mallory Whitaker's review? Post a comment saying so!
