Amanda's Rib
By Cyndia Depre
Mundania Press
Mystery
Jan. 2005
245 pages
ISBN: 1-59426-014-1
$14.00
The process of elimination and public pressure landed upscale wife Amanda Winslow in jail. She is acquitted of murdering her husband and begins a new life in Carlisle, Illinois far away from the claw of the media in Minneapolis.
At a Valentine's Day party at the Carlisle Country Club, Attorney Jack Lindsey learns about Amanda’s past. Circumstances pointed at her for having a motive for ending his life in the basement of their home. Apparently, Michael Winslow had a half million dollar insurance policy and his wife was the beneficiary. Amanda's wall of silence disintegrates when Jack repeatedly questions her about her husband's death. Jack is determined to discover the truth.
Amanda is no stranger to the darker side of life. Gregg, her abusive first husband, was mentally imbalanced when it came to possessing her. All through their marriage, all she'd known was physical pain and shame for accepting his abuse.
As determined Jack is to dismantle Amanada's protective barrier to get to her heart and soul, Wade Harris is just as determined to protect her. Wade is one of Amanda’s closest friends and Jack’s law partner. Her sister, Amanda, knows the truth of her past and her life with Michael. She's a shoulder to lean on, but it's Wade and Jack who Amanda comes to depend on.
AMANDA'S RIB is a deep-down psychological mystery which unfolds through Amanda's slowly recovering events of her years with Gregg and her last days with Michael. This book demands to be read slow because of Amanda’s high level of thinking. She's not a trophy wife, nor a greedy rich girl. She's just trying to get through her life living beyond her relationships. Amanda's all-to-realistic story is a wake up call that goes beyond hearing about domestic violence. It's a necessary perspective in revealing what women experience until they die or are brave enough to pack up and leave their abusive husbands. The author does not spare us with details. Description of the abuse, of Amanda's fight to retain her sense of self worth and her battle to let her guard down and fall in love again are what moves the plot along. Dialogue is the main vehicle. The setting is merely a place to start over. I look forward to reading more of Cyndia's books because she's not afraid to tell it like it is.
Five diaries out of five
Denise Fleischer, gottawritenetwork.com
June 12, 2005
A variety of guests gather at the home of Halburton-Smythes to celebrate their daughter Priscilla's engagement to playwright Henry Withering. On the morning that there is to be a grouse hunt, one of the guests is found dead. At first glance it appears he accidently shot himself, but upon further investigation, the local policeman Hamish Macbeth declares it is a murder. The head detective Blair had pronounced the murder an accident and is not happy to be shown up by a local yokel. The murdered guest was despised by almost everyone. He was a bounder who had affairs with at least three of the women guests, and the men found him boorish to say the least. Macbeth and Priscilla, long-time friends, have feelings for each other though they try to deny this; after all, Priscilla is engaged to Henry Withering. Blair, the detective, bullies all the guests as well as the Halburton-Smythes and he is dispatched and a higher-ranking detective is sent, one who uses the talents of Macbeth. Hamish Macbeth is a shrewd detective who is quite happy living and working as a policeman in a backwater town in the highlands. It is apparent he loves Priscilla but he is somewhat resigned to her marrying the playwright; yet, he wishes otherwise.
Death of a Cad is a charming cozy mystery. M. C. Beaton's writing makes one believe he or she is in Scotland among the varied characters, and the characterizations are well-delineated. Most of the people are quirky enough to give the story a certain flair without making it a slapstick comedy. I heartily recommend M.C. Beaton's Death of a Cad.
