Jackie B reviewed a book.
Unpredictable Webs
“Read from May 19 to 21, 2013
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Betrayal, rebellion, jealousy, and a kidnapping gone awry are at the core of this fourth novel in Darlene Quinn's ensnaring series. Unpredictable Webs picks up the Webs series five years after Twisted Webs.
About to...”
“Read from May 19 to 21, 2013
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Betrayal, rebellion, jealousy, and a kidnapping gone awry are at the core of this fourth novel in Darlene Quinn's ensnaring series. Unpredictable Webs picks up the Webs series five years after Twisted Webs.
About to turn sixteen, Marnie Taylor is rebellious--fighting often with her mother, Ashleigh--and jealous of her more even-tempered and popular twin sister, Callie. Lonely, Marnie finds a compassionate listener in Brad, whom she meets online. Spinning a web of lies to throw her parents off, Marnie arranges an in-person meet-up with Brad. But she realizes too late that she has been targeted in a sinister scheme for ransom.
Quinn's vivid cast of characters returns in this high-tension, stand-alone sequel. Though their actions are plausible, none of them behaves as others might predict in this tale that discloses the darker behaviors people are capable of. Cougar Viviana De Mornay takes Chicago's fashion world and ''Italian Stallion'' Gino Cabello by storm. Tony Wainwright, who has paid his dues for a past crime and appears to have turned his life around, is catapulted to the top of the list of suspects. PI Ross Pocino is on the scene with his surprising insights into criminal behavior, and Paige Toddman's mother, Helen, seems to grow younger every day. While some mothers can unintentionally do unspeakable harm to their children, Ashleigh's steel-magnolia efforts to wrest her daughter from her captor redeem the sacredness of that role.
My Thoughts
Since first introduced to the characters so vividly portrayed in author Darlene Quinns Twisted Webs in which Marnie Taylor was first kidnapped and then reunited with her family I have been fascinated with this series. Although there is 8 years in between that 1st book and the 4th book Unpredictable Webs it feels more like just stepped out for a moment than being lost as to what happened in the intervening years as it was easy to pick up the story and become reacquainted with the characters immediately.
What came to mind immediately upon reentering the world inhabited by these characters is that their lives were exactly like those portrayed on a soap opera, lot's of glitz and little substance on the surface. However upon digging deeper you find that the characters are indeed full of all the human frailties of real people, they just have a little more money to grease the way and make life easier.
In this story you find that having money does not always equal having a peaceful or easy life as you still have those unexpected ups and downs where things never seem to go as you would like, especially when it comes to your children.
While it is a true family saga the twists and turns that the main plot takes the reader through leaves you with the understanding that no matter what happens love of a parent for their child transcends everything else and there is truly nothing that a caring mother would not risk to help her child when in need!
I laughed at the antics of Paige's mother as Helen gave a lighthearted break that allowed you to catch your breath after the tension that came before the scenes she played a part in, cried for Ashleigh and her angst over her own child rejecting her love after 8 years of doing what she could to prove that Marnie belonged with her birth family, raged at Marnie for being so blockheaded and unaware of just how much her family truly cared about her and most of all eagerly turned the pages to see how all the multiple threads that the author wove would come together to form a cohesive hole by the end.
Darlene Quinn has truly captured for her fans the dynamics of what happens when the lives of those we love most are put at risk as she also captures very well the fashion industry and the people who live in the heart of it in a way that is both interesting and informative without being overwhelming to those of us who have no clue what it is like in that world of privilege and money.
As enjoyable a read as the first book in this series and one that kept me thinking about it long after finishing!
[EArc from Netgalley in exchange for honest review]”
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