Review of Thin Places
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Dawn Larsen
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Review of Thin Places
[Following is a volunteer review of "Thin Places" by Diane Owens Prettyman.]
Thin Places, Diane Owens Prettyman’s debut novel, is a touching story about a man, Finn Tully, who is tasked by a fellow prisoner, Calvery Thomas, to find his daughter, Chloe Gallagher, and plead his innocence. Soon after Calvery’s execution, Finn is released from prison and begins his journey from Texas to Washington State with his dying mother, Lucia Tully, in search of Chloe.
The characters in Thin Places were so richly detailed that one could easily put themselves into the story, maybe finding a bit of themselves in each character. Calvery was a spiritual man who believed the "thin places" were veils between this world and Heaven. During their time in prison, he bonds with Finn and convinces him of his innocence. Upon his death, Calvery leaves a small box of his worldly possessions for Finn, asking him to find his daughter and try to ease the pain she must feel. Finn, who has been going through a rough patch himself, ended up in prison because of some bad decisions related to drugs. During his sentence, his wife divorces him and takes away his custody of his young daughter. Because of these circumstances, Finn could have easily turned into an angry, hardened man but the journey Calvery sent him on renewed his sense of how astonishingly glorious life can be. Calvery’s daughter, Chloe, has grown into a self-sufficient, independent captain of a fishing boat, Perpetuity. She thought her father had died when she was young but recently found out that he was instead in prison on death row accused of murder. When she meets Finn, they both embark on a journey of self-discovery and forgiveness.
Both profanity and sexual content were peppered into the story, but neither was extreme enough to lessen my reading pleasure. There were punctuation errors, but they were so inconsequential that I might have missed them if I wasn’t paying attention. While the editing was not perfect, it was so well done that I didn’t subtract any stars.
Thin Places was delightful to read, a lighthearted mystery with a bit of danger but not too gritty. Diane Owens Prettyman described scenic Washington so charmingly that I wanted to jump on a plane and visit the state myself. While the mystery was predictable from the start, there were enough twists to the heartwarming story that I remained captivated. I recommend this not only to general readers but also the mystery buffs that wish to take a break from the harrowing, gritty tales that inundate the genre. I gave Thin Places 5 out of 5 stars because the story was entertainingly engaging, and the errors were so minimal that the editing seemed almost flawless.
******
Thin Places
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Thin Places, Diane Owens Prettyman’s debut novel, is a touching story about a man, Finn Tully, who is tasked by a fellow prisoner, Calvery Thomas, to find his daughter, Chloe Gallagher, and plead his innocence. Soon after Calvery’s execution, Finn is released from prison and begins his journey from Texas to Washington State with his dying mother, Lucia Tully, in search of Chloe.
The characters in Thin Places were so richly detailed that one could easily put themselves into the story, maybe finding a bit of themselves in each character. Calvery was a spiritual man who believed the "thin places" were veils between this world and Heaven. During their time in prison, he bonds with Finn and convinces him of his innocence. Upon his death, Calvery leaves a small box of his worldly possessions for Finn, asking him to find his daughter and try to ease the pain she must feel. Finn, who has been going through a rough patch himself, ended up in prison because of some bad decisions related to drugs. During his sentence, his wife divorces him and takes away his custody of his young daughter. Because of these circumstances, Finn could have easily turned into an angry, hardened man but the journey Calvery sent him on renewed his sense of how astonishingly glorious life can be. Calvery’s daughter, Chloe, has grown into a self-sufficient, independent captain of a fishing boat, Perpetuity. She thought her father had died when she was young but recently found out that he was instead in prison on death row accused of murder. When she meets Finn, they both embark on a journey of self-discovery and forgiveness.
Both profanity and sexual content were peppered into the story, but neither was extreme enough to lessen my reading pleasure. There were punctuation errors, but they were so inconsequential that I might have missed them if I wasn’t paying attention. While the editing was not perfect, it was so well done that I didn’t subtract any stars.
Thin Places was delightful to read, a lighthearted mystery with a bit of danger but not too gritty. Diane Owens Prettyman described scenic Washington so charmingly that I wanted to jump on a plane and visit the state myself. While the mystery was predictable from the start, there were enough twists to the heartwarming story that I remained captivated. I recommend this not only to general readers but also the mystery buffs that wish to take a break from the harrowing, gritty tales that inundate the genre. I gave Thin Places 5 out of 5 stars because the story was entertainingly engaging, and the errors were so minimal that the editing seemed almost flawless.
******
Thin Places
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Nightlord: Sunset by Garon Whited
