Out of Nowhere by Sandra Brown ©2023 is about a mass shooting at a county fair in Texas and its aftermath. The portrayal of the shooting itself is intense and chaotic. Although it opens the novel, it has the intensity and the fast pace of a climax. The novel not only explores the anguish of the victims and casualties, but also relates the investigative efforts of the authorities to determine the perpetrators. It is the type of book that once I’d begun, I needed to finish, permitting myself only those interruptions that were absolutely necessary.
I also appreciated the candor of Sandra Brown before she launched into the text. Her honesty in the introductory Author’s Note is worthy of note.
I tried to imagine how one copes after surviving such a horrifying traumatic event. … I confess that even as I was writing this story, I knew my words were inadequate to describe rending of heart and spirit that Elle andCalder were suffering. ... To anyone reading it who has come even close to an experience such as my characters, I apologize for presuming that I know what it’s like. I don’t.
Key characters are Elle with her two year old son Charlie and her best friend Glenda, a business man Calder, and a detective team of Compton and Perkins. The characters are well-defined with inter-relationships morphing enough that I became engaged with key players’ feelings and thought processes. Interspersed chapters from the point of view of the shooter also inject a creepy feel into novel. The settings are varied and lend themselves to a suspenseful ambience. My one star reduction from four stars is that I felt the book ended too abruptly. The level of detail in telling the story seemed to have been dropped in order to finish succinctly, almost as if an invisible word limit had been reached. Other than that, I would still would recommend this book. Overall I enjoyed Out of Nowhere and became deeply enough engaged as to be entertained.
★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience
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