Friday, November 8, 2013

After Her

Joyce Maynard's latest novel, After Her, is a great addition to the women's fiction genre.

In the summer of 1979, Rachel and her sister Patty, are growing up in Marin County, California.  A serial killer is on the loose and as the number of victims rises, Rachel is sure she can see what the killer is thinking and planning.  At first the serial killer brings Rachel a bit of notoriety: her father is the lead detective on the case. (A handsome man, he and the girls' mother are divorced. Aside from his work, he spends most of his time romancing women, the reason for the breakdown of his marriage). 

As more young women are murdered, the instant popularity that Rachel experiences diminishes. People begin blaming her father for the fact that he is unable to bring a killer to justice. 

Rachel writes this as she looks back in her adulthood, and there are some things that are revealed at the novel's beginning that gave me some peace of mind as a reader.  Maynard is still able to bring suspense to this story as she weaves Rachel's story around the summer of the serial killer.  

As the story ends, Maynard is able to wrap things up in a believable way, still allowing for a bit of mystery up until the last page. I've read a few books by Maynard, and am always happily surprised by how easily I fall into her books and enjoy the characters she creates.

1 comment:

Ti said...

I loved this one. I loved the father even though he was less than perfect and the love that the sisters had for each other was very touching.