Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

4 Stars

 

“The Susans are a greedy plant, often the first to thrive in scorched, devastated earth. Pretty, but competitive, like cheerleaders. They live to crowd out the others.”

Nearly twenty years ago Tessa Cartwright was labeled “the lucky one.” Rather than dying with the other ladies who occupied the ditch in which she was dumped, Tessa was rescued. Since then she got on with life as best as she could. She made a life for herself, had a daughter, forged a successful career. But as the countdown begins to the execution of her “monster,” Tessa begins doubting if he actually committed the murders at all – especially when she discovers some new plants growing outside her winder. In February . . .



Gak! I hate reviewing mystery/thrillers – especially the ones I really enjoyed reading. Obviously I can’t say much of anything or I’ll ruin everything and NO once again this wasn’t the next Gone Girl (not nearly twisted enough). However, it was good. The mystery wasn’t handed out on a silver platter, and even if figured out early I don’t think it would stop many people from still enjoying the story. The writing was above par (especially for a mystery/suspense/thriller/whatever) . . .

“What if your monster opened the door right now and walked in? Sat down. Confessed everything. You could see his face. Know his name, where he grew up, if his mother loved him, if his dad beat him, whether he was popular in high school, whether he loved his dog or killed his dog. Imagine he sat in that chair right over there, three feet away, and answered EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR QUESTIONS. Would it really make any difference? Is there any answer that could satisfy you? Make you feel better? . . .

I don’t want to have a conversation with my monster. I just want him dead.”

Black Eyed Susans gets a solid 4 Stars from me – which is pretty rare. Most thrillers get 3 at best from my stingy self. While I was impressed that this book didn’t go 100% Scooby Doo and actually included forensic science and attorneys trying to save the accused serial killer from walking the Green Mile, there were still moments of Tessa sleuthing on her own. And while the pace stayed consistent and the story never lagged, the “a ha” moment dragged out until the last second due to Tessa refusing to use some of the tools she had at her fingertips which could have wrapped things up in a one-hour episode . . .



All in all, though, a very good read that I would recommend to mystery lovers.