Keep Quiet by Lisa Scottoline

This is a very prolific author.  While I have not read all of her books, the ones that I have are stories that seem connected to the headlines.  They are stories that speak of ordinary lives transformed by unexpected events.  In many instances, the plots are constructed with every attention to detail and they keep the reader immersed in the storyline as if listening to every conversation.

Keep Quiet has a beginning scene that has been presented in several other stories recently.  However, the body of the book offers a different slant.  This is a technique that is often used in the teaching of writing.  Would-be authors are given a simple sentence and asked to continue the story,  The results are varied and interesting.

Jake is the owner of a small investment firm.  His wife, Pam is a lawyer.  They have one son who is a star basketball player at a local school.  Jake picks his son up one night to take him home.  They take a shortcut on a dark road.  Jake agrees to let Ryan drive even though he only has a learner's permit.While driving, Ryan hears a thump.  They get out of the car and discover a body laying on th ground.  The story takes off from there.

This was a well written story about the unraveling of a family unit.  It speaks volumes about how a family that appears to be perfect on the surface can suddenly be thrown into a turbulent situation that shakes their very foundations.

It is also a story about the strength of family and how an invisible bond helps it to stand strong in the face of adversity.   It is a story about love and that despite unfavorable circumstances in life can move forward.

Well done.

Ladybookbug!