Just finished reading Devil's Lake and here is my review:
This book is dedicated to the women kidnapped and held hostage for ten years in Cleveland, Ohio, and so it is with great tenderness that the author, Aaron Paul Lazar, imparts this story, which I imagine must have been inspired by what he learned about the case, and by his great compassion. Part I of the story opens with Portia coming back home, having escaped from her abductor. She is in a severely weakened state, “Her heart slammed against her ribs, quickening with every mile she recognized,” and has an overwhelming yearning for safety, for home. “Green mountains surged into the clouds in the background. guarding the rolling hills of the valley where her family’s farm nestled in the hollow.” But the place is empty, except for her childhood friend, whom she barely recognizes, and because of her harrowing experience, she is afraid to be touched. “‘It’s me.’ He offered her a hand, but she pulled her away.”
Portia would like to bury the past. “She needed to forget. Really forget…. Don’t think about him.” But part of her healing is to remember. Part II of the book goes back ten years, recreating her abduction. “Shhhh,” says Murphy, in his frighteningly metallic voice. “It’s okay. You’re with me now, sugar.” We get a glimpse into the way she managed to survive the torture and starvation. “Pretend to be respectful and sweet,” she tells herself. “Go along with him. Watch and wait… If you don’t fight him, he’ll have nothing to push against.” And throughout the ordeal, she braces herself. “You can do this.”
Part III and IV, Revenge and Payback, bring a much needed conclusion to the story. Anderson and Boone work their way toward Devil’s Lake and watch for the cabin with the boarded up windows. Grace, Portia’s sister, plays a great role, which I am not going to divulge here, except to say that in the end, she and Portia renew their bond of sisterhood, and cleanse themselves of the past. It is so symbolic that they do it by diving beneath the surface of Devil’s Lake.
This book is dedicated to the women kidnapped and held hostage for ten years in Cleveland, Ohio, and so it is with great tenderness that the author, Aaron Paul Lazar, imparts this story, which I imagine must have been inspired by what he learned about the case, and by his great compassion. Part I of the story opens with Portia coming back home, having escaped from her abductor. She is in a severely weakened state, “Her heart slammed against her ribs, quickening with every mile she recognized,” and has an overwhelming yearning for safety, for home. “Green mountains surged into the clouds in the background. guarding the rolling hills of the valley where her family’s farm nestled in the hollow.” But the place is empty, except for her childhood friend, whom she barely recognizes, and because of her harrowing experience, she is afraid to be touched. “‘It’s me.’ He offered her a hand, but she pulled her away.”
Portia would like to bury the past. “She needed to forget. Really forget…. Don’t think about him.” But part of her healing is to remember. Part II of the book goes back ten years, recreating her abduction. “Shhhh,” says Murphy, in his frighteningly metallic voice. “It’s okay. You’re with me now, sugar.” We get a glimpse into the way she managed to survive the torture and starvation. “Pretend to be respectful and sweet,” she tells herself. “Go along with him. Watch and wait… If you don’t fight him, he’ll have nothing to push against.” And throughout the ordeal, she braces herself. “You can do this.”
Part III and IV, Revenge and Payback, bring a much needed conclusion to the story. Anderson and Boone work their way toward Devil’s Lake and watch for the cabin with the boarded up windows. Grace, Portia’s sister, plays a great role, which I am not going to divulge here, except to say that in the end, she and Portia renew their bond of sisterhood, and cleanse themselves of the past. It is so symbolic that they do it by diving beneath the surface of Devil’s Lake.
Five stars.