Helpful Score: 1
What a ride! Keeps you guessing to the end and left me with chills! I would be raving about this one if not for a bit of vagueness on the actual event. Still, it is a heart pounding tale with twists that is worth the read.
I am the star of screaming headlines and campfire ghost stories.
I am one of the four Black-Eyed Susans.
The lucky one.
Tess was 16 years old when she was found in a shallow grave surrounded by a bed of back-eyed Susans. She was one of four bodies, only she was alive. She has no idea how she got into the field or why.
Story is told in two time frames; when crime happened and now two decades later when alleged attacked is about to be executed. The alternating chapters help keep timeline moving.
Lots of twits and turns, like Lydia who is Tessa's best friend, since they were 8 years old --- is gone. She's been missing since she testified in court. Her entire family is gone... ( house sold and no contact with Tessa)...Lydia comes back into story 17 years later.
And Tess wakes one winter morning to see a patch of Black-eyed Susans planted in her yard. These are summer flowers....is the killer back? Should she be worried about her 14 yo daughter?
A fast-moving story, with surprise ending.
I am one of the four Black-Eyed Susans.
The lucky one.
Tess was 16 years old when she was found in a shallow grave surrounded by a bed of back-eyed Susans. She was one of four bodies, only she was alive. She has no idea how she got into the field or why.
Story is told in two time frames; when crime happened and now two decades later when alleged attacked is about to be executed. The alternating chapters help keep timeline moving.
Lots of twits and turns, like Lydia who is Tessa's best friend, since they were 8 years old --- is gone. She's been missing since she testified in court. Her entire family is gone... ( house sold and no contact with Tessa)...Lydia comes back into story 17 years later.
And Tess wakes one winter morning to see a patch of Black-eyed Susans planted in her yard. These are summer flowers....is the killer back? Should she be worried about her 14 yo daughter?
A fast-moving story, with surprise ending.
Very good book 8 1/2 out of 10
Teen-aged Tessa is the sole survivor of a horrible crime, and her story is told in chapters that alternate between 1995 and the present when the culpability of the man convicted of the crime is questioned. As he sits on death row with an imminent execution date, Tessa's long-buried memories and forensic evidence begin to accelerate. It took me awhile to get into this book, but I did find its suspense compelling once I continued reading. It is slow-moving, and there are unanswered questions about the occurrence of the crime and Tessa's presence there that would have enhanced the ending. I am grateful to Library Thing for the opportunity to review this book in their Early Reviewers' program.
Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin is named for lovely, bright flowers but is a story of the survivor of a serial killer whose past comes back to haunt her. The adult Tessa battles her fears and looks to uncover the truth, and the teenage Tessie tries to recover from the attacks. The book jumps back and forth to the two time periods to create a story that is part teenage drama and part mystery.
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2015/09/black-eyed-susans.html
Reviewed for LibraryThing Early Reviewers program
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2015/09/black-eyed-susans.html
Reviewed for LibraryThing Early Reviewers program
I really tried to like this book. I found it slow moving and not that suspenseful.
Just the visuals of the surviving "Susan" lying in a grave with a dead girl and a bunch of skeletons were disturbing and caused anxiety.
I staggered through most of the book, giving up in the middle. Just not my cuppa.
Just the visuals of the surviving "Susan" lying in a grave with a dead girl and a bunch of skeletons were disturbing and caused anxiety.
I staggered through most of the book, giving up in the middle. Just not my cuppa.
