I signed up to participate in Erica and Susan‘s Debut a Debut contest before hopping on a plane to India, so I had to find a book that met the criteria fast. Luckily for me, Susan recommended a debut book by a friend and fellow author – Rebecca Drake.

The inside cover blurbs appearing on Don’t Be Afraid promise page turning chills and thrills, and like any decent roller coaster ride, this book doesn’t let you down. If you’re not into crime thrillers, you’re probably not going to want to pick this book up – but you should.

It’s hard to write a review without giving away too much of the plot – and I really don’t want to spoil the book for anyone. It’s something to be discovered and savoured on your own.

Ms. Drake’s characters are far more than the traditional one-dimensional card board cutouts traditionally found in a good whodunnit crime novel. Painted with exquisite detail, it’s easy to become attached to Amy and her daughter Emma.

The sense of panic only increases as Amy addresses her fears for her child’s welfare, stumbles around her anger at her (soon to be ex) husband’s cheating nature, and grieves for her murdered friend Sheila. When she stumbles across some disturbing photographs of the murder victim (the bodies just keep piling up), it certainly doesn’t help any when it’s discovered that she’s a professional photographer who’s just selling real estate to make ends meet.

The side characters are nearly as interesting. There’s a lot of love, denial and dysfunction in her relationship with her mother – most of the denial is on mom’s part – and a cop with a one track mind who’s convinced Amy must be the murderer. After all, if the shoe fits…

Throw in a conflicted big city cop who’s returned home to Connecticut, running away from bad memories and a relationship he’s afraid of ,in order to help nurse an ill parent and you’ve got an excellent mix that keeps the ball rolling. In fact, one of the most interesting and satisfying segments of the novel is moving through the torment, love, and growth of Det. Juarez.

Don’t Be Afraid makes for great bed-time reading and I’ll be keeping my eyes out for Ms. Drake’s next book.

Technorati Tags: Debut a Debut, Rebecca Drake, Don’t Be Afraid, books

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.