Scan barcode
antonishapolitepeoples's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
erinkelly's review against another edition
5.0
What a book. Flew through it and cannot believe the backstory is not talked about more!
beebeereads's review against another edition
3.0
This was a book club choice...I waffled between 3 and 4 * so 3.5*. I enjoy historical fiction and I found this story compelling. The author drew a clear picture of the setting in antebellum Virginia and the plot propelled the reader forward with a sense of suspense and urgency. The female characters were believable and most had enough depth to support the history. Fanny and Kate could have been fleshed out a bit more, but to what purpose. The male antagonist was perhaps a bit overdone, making him more a caricature than a realistic character with a hate-filled heart. The facts of the story alone are surprising and previously unknown to me. The trial segments were fascinating as well due to the differences in our courts now compared to the 19th century...much the same but several very different practices that impacted the results. My favorite part of any historical fiction is the afterword and it did not disappoint, although some of the factual events that took place after the story's end were disappointing.
eloiseinparis's review against another edition
1.0
Not at all what I expected. Because the writer is a journalist I thought the book would be more based in fact with a bit of poetic license. Unfortunately there was not much historical record for the author to go on, and the actual court case did not have transcripts. So basically the entire book is made up with the plot following the basic facts known. Unfortunately this reads like some antebellum miniseries from the 80’s. Kitty’s voice did felt off to me the entire story. This book falls completely flat and there are much better books that cover this subject matter, like Roots and Cane River.
More...