Penumbra

by Carolyn Haines

Book Overview

Jade Dupree is a beautician and an undertaker's assistant with a gift for smoothing the ravages of death from the faces of her clientele. But her strange talent isn't the only thing that sets her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312351607
• ISBN13: 9780312351601
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

If you read only one book a year, this should be it!

As someone who reads more books in one month than most people read in one year, I can attest that this one stands out from the crowd. Haines, who has entertained me well with her series of "Bones" books, made me sit up and take notice of just how good a writer she is with this book. I could barely put it down, finishing it in two days. Fiction set in timeframes other than the present rarely garner my attention, but Haines certainly did with this one. About the only other writer I can think of who has done that in recent years has been Dennis Lehane, whom I consider one of the top American fiction writers. Now, with this book, Haines has reached the top of my personal favorites list.

Penumbra is destined to be a best seller.

Bravo!!! This is by far Ms. Haines best contempory work of suspense and mystery. The town of Jexville has a wide range of characters, each with their own dark secret, which was typical of southern towns in the 1950s (when everyone knew their neighbors). Mix Jexville's characters with a splash of sexual misconduct, forbidden desires and unfulfilled dreams and you have a story that keeps the pages turning until morning.

dark foreboding historical suspense thriller

In the 1950s in Drexel, Mississippi, the color barrier remains rigidly in place with each race understanding their sphere. Jade Dupree is raised by her black adopted parents, Jonah and Ruth, although her biological mother is the very socially powerful white Lucille. Jade's half sister Marlena is married to the wealthiest and most powerful figures in town, Lucas Bramlet. Marlena treats Jade like a servant paying her for services rendered including watching her daughter Suzanna. Marlena accompanied by Suzanna meets her lover, a traveling salesman, by the river. However, men wearing masks attack them. Marlena is rushed to the hospital while Suzanna has vanished. Jade is there watching over Marlena but her husband is at home waiting for a ransom.. Jade has to be careful as some whites feel she needs to be reminded of her place and she has to be careful of the Peeping Tom who is stalking her. Carolyn Haines known for her lighthearted amusing paranormal mysteries has taken a 180 degree turn around with this dark foreboding historical suspense thriller. Readers see how bad things can get for Blacks living in a 1950's deep South small town even for a woman who could easily pass as white. The audience becomes absorbed with the historical tidbits, but soon the question of who assaulted the mother and daughter takes center stage especially in light of a spouse who does not seem to care what happens to his wife and daughter and whether Jade faces retribution for breaking the color barrier. Ms. Haines writes a strong period piece. Harriet Klausner