One Kick; Chelsea Cain
Simon & Schuster - 2014
First in a new series by Chelsea Cain, One Kick, gets off to a decent start, but then loses steam. The story opens with a young girl named Beth who is playing scrabble one evening, with a man who acted like her father. The curtains are closed tight, there's a knock at the door, the man hesitant to answer, and in a flash the truth about the young girl is revealed.
Beth is really Kit Lannigan who was abducted when she was just six years old and held captive for over five years. She has been through a lot as one can imagine. The author is sensitive to not shock the reader’s although it is pretty clear that Kit was exposed to it all -- abuse, child porn etc, the details are left out. Through occasional flashback you sense the bad stuff she was exposed to.
Now at twenty-one, Kit (Kick she prefers to be called) Lannigan is one tough cookie. She’s a trained marksman, knows how to make bombs, is a martial arts master, a Houdini of escape and can kill. She tries to be tough, but the wounded child is still there and surfaces from time to time.
Now, at twenty-one, she finds herself unexpectedly sought after to help find a missing child. John Bishop is the unsavory, yet persistent character who draws Kick in while trying to track down a missing child (Bishop has his own agenda). Kick’s brother James is a computer genius who is helping her narrow the clues to aid in the search for missing kids.
The flow of the story seemed off at times, and I think that it might have felt that way because Kick was still an emotional mess. I don't think the Bishop character helped to heal her wounded self either. Although I liked parts of this story, and had high hopes for this new series, as I've been a Chelsea Cain fan for a while, the ending of this story just seemed too unrealistic to me and I was left unsatisfied. At this point, I'm not sure whether I'll follow this new series, but was glad I tried One Kick at least. The audio book was read by Heather Lind who did a decent job.
3/5 stars (audio book sent by publisher)
Bummer! I was hoping for good things with her new series.
ReplyDeleteToo much for me. I have overdosed on missing children and the emotion it involves.
ReplyDeleteWell shoot, I brought this book home because it was the first in a series. I have not read this author yet so I have no expectations.
ReplyDeleteAw, too bad. Hopefully the series will get better.
ReplyDeleteI've seen mixed reviews of this one and will probably skip it. Thanks for your honesty!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it, Diane, but there were probably some unrealistic twists that I "forgave" because I loved it in general. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI've heard mixed reviews of this one. I haven't read anything by Cain, but I know how loved her other series is.
ReplyDeleteI'd never read this author, then I heard about her fb rant and I think it's just best to stay away.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of Chelsea Cain until her FB brouhaha, which is unfortunate. :-(
ReplyDeletePass. While the premise intrigues me and it sounds like the child abuse was handled in a way I could deal with I think the Bishop character and an unsatisfying ending would not make this an enjoyable read. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour review made me curious enough about the book that I put it on my wishlist. Thanks!
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