The Row
by J.R. Johansson
Genre: YA Mystery
Release Date: October 11th 2016
FSG/Macmillan
Summary from Goodreads:
A death sentence. A family torn apart. One girl’s hunt for the truth.
Seventeen-year-old Riley Beckett is no stranger to prison. Her father is a convicted serial killer on death row who has always maintained that he was falsely accused. Riley has never missed a single visit with her father. She wholeheartedly believes that he is innocent.
Then, a month before the execution date, Riley’s world is rocked when, in an attempt to help her move on, her father secretly confesses to her that he actually did carry out the murders. He takes it back almost immediately, but she cannot forget what he’s told her. Determined to uncover the truth for her own sake, she discovers something that will forever change everything she’s believed about the family she loves.
Review:
The voice of this book is simply riveting. We all have preconceived notions about prisons and the people that live within the walls-but what if it happened to someone in your family? And what if it was true? These are some hard questions and dealt with in such a real way I couldn't put the book down.
5/5
by J.R. Johansson
Genre: YA Mystery
Release Date: October 11th 2016
FSG/Macmillan
Summary from Goodreads:
A death sentence. A family torn apart. One girl’s hunt for the truth.
Seventeen-year-old Riley Beckett is no stranger to prison. Her father is a convicted serial killer on death row who has always maintained that he was falsely accused. Riley has never missed a single visit with her father. She wholeheartedly believes that he is innocent.
Then, a month before the execution date, Riley’s world is rocked when, in an attempt to help her move on, her father secretly confesses to her that he actually did carry out the murders. He takes it back almost immediately, but she cannot forget what he’s told her. Determined to uncover the truth for her own sake, she discovers something that will forever change everything she’s believed about the family she loves.
Review:
The voice of this book is simply riveting. We all have preconceived notions about prisons and the people that live within the walls-but what if it happened to someone in your family? And what if it was true? These are some hard questions and dealt with in such a real way I couldn't put the book down.
5/5
Buy Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Google Play | Books-a-Million | Indiebound | Indigo | Overstock | Powell’s | Target
Also available October 11th by the author, the paperback of CUT ME FREE!
Guest Post – Mysteries versus Thrillers
The Row will be my fifth book, but my first mystery. The Night Walkers Series and Cut Me Free were all thrillers which is similar in feel, but still quite different. It was eye-opening for me to see just how different, actually.
Thrillers have their tension built on the idea that the main character is in mortal danger for most of the book. The pacing, story development and character arc are all intricately tied to the main character fighting for their life. It is high adrenaline storytelling.
Mysteries are different. The tension in them is based around the puzzle. The whodoneit aspect of finding of clues and sorting out the red herrings drives the plot and characters. The pacing is usually slightly slower and the character development more drawn out and intricate. We need to know and understand our suspects in order to figure things out alongside our protagonist and find our solution.
Sometimes you’ll have both and there are definitely aspects of The Row where Riley is in danger. It’s just where the emphasis and plotting develop that makes the difference. I really enjoyed writing a mystery. It was a fun change of pace and a unique challenge for me. Hopefully you’ll like reading it as much as I liked writing it.
About the Author
J.R. Johansson's books have been published in a dozen languages and more than twenty countries worldwide. She has a B.S. degree in public relations and a background in marketing. She credits her abnormal psychology minor with inspiring many of her characters. She lives in Utah with two sons, a wonderful husband, three cats, and a hot tub named Valentino.
She is represented by the stellar Kathleen Rushall of Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
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