Forget what those online dating sites say about how they’re able to locate your soul mate with a series of insightful survey questions. Everyone knows it’s tougher than that. It’s especially tough for Polly, the heroine of Nevada Barr’s stand-alone thriller 13 ½. Having survived a horrendous childhood of poverty and neglect, Polly is a successful professor and single mother of two when she meets Marshall Marchand, a New Orleans architect. Her daughters do what any level-headed pair of sisters would do when faced with the prospect of a step-father: they schedule an interview, which Marshall aces. Polly, however, asks for some time to think.
And as the novel proceeds, there’s plenty to consider. Did Marshall rescue Polly and the girls in the nick of time or was he the one who caused their peril? What connection does Marshall have to the fortune teller Polly meets? Why is Marshall’s brother always hovering nearby, and can Polly trust him when he warns her about Marshall?
13 ½ is a decidedly creepy little novel told from multiple points of view, including a disconcerting deadpan voice with an interest in famous serial killers. And then there are the axe murders; did I mention the axe murders?
Fast-paced and tightly written, Barr’s novel made the New York Times best of the year list last year. You won’t be able to put it down.
Now it’s time to read about something nicer. Anyone know of a good novel about kittens drinking warm milk?
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