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book_concierge 's review for:
The Girl She Used to Be
by David Cristofano
From the book jacket: When Melody Grace McCartney was six years old, she and her parents witnessed an act of violence so brutal that it changed their lives forever. The federal government lured them into the Witness Protection Program with the promise of safety, but the program took Melody’s name, her home, her family, and ultimately her innocence. Now twenty years later … when the feds spirit her off to begin yet another new life in yet another new town, she’s stunned by a man who accosts her and calls her by her real name. Jonathan Bovaro, the mafioso sent to find her, knows her, the real her, and it’s a thrill Melody can’t resist.
My reaction
That last half-sentence from the book jacket should have warned me (that is, if I’d read the jacket in advance). But I’ll get to that later.
On the positive side, Cristofano writes a fast-paced suspense filled story full of twists and turns. Like Melody herself, the reader doesn’t know whom to trust, which story is factual, which person truly has her best interests at heart. I was quickly hooked and turning pages far into the night. But then …
That “thrill” that Melody feels coming from the Don’s son, Jonathan... Sure he buys her nice clothes, corrects himself when tempted to swear in front of her, comes to her defense when a college boy bothers her in a bar, and buys her wonderful meals with fine wine. But he’s hardly a candidate for “best boyfriend.” WHAT is she thinking?! What is HE thinking?! The situation just stretches credulity too far in my opinion.
At the end I’m left just shaking my head and muttering “Huh?”
My reaction
That last half-sentence from the book jacket should have warned me (that is, if I’d read the jacket in advance). But I’ll get to that later.
On the positive side, Cristofano writes a fast-paced suspense filled story full of twists and turns. Like Melody herself, the reader doesn’t know whom to trust, which story is factual, which person truly has her best interests at heart. I was quickly hooked and turning pages far into the night. But then …
That “thrill” that Melody feels coming from the Don’s son, Jonathan... Sure he buys her nice clothes, corrects himself when tempted to swear in front of her, comes to her defense when a college boy bothers her in a bar, and buys her wonderful meals with fine wine. But he’s hardly a candidate for “best boyfriend.” WHAT is she thinking?! What is HE thinking?! The situation just stretches credulity too far in my opinion.
At the end I’m left just shaking my head and muttering “Huh?”