All Fall Down

October 31, 2011
Fans of melodrama will cleave to Hart’s latest, which is inspired by the Jonestown massacre and the Peoples Temple cult. Sunshine (“Sunny”), 19, and her three children, who have spent their lives at the Family of Superior Bliss religious compound, are forced by Sunny’s mother to leave. The four of them show up on the doorstep of Sunny’s birth father Christopher, and soon learn that those remaining at the compound have died in a mass suicide. The world of the “Family” had questionable practices: male leaders had their pick of women as young as 15 to bear their children and vie for being “the true wife”; children and adults were often humiliated or brutally punished. Christopher, meanwhile, had no idea he had a daughter with his first wife, let alone three grandchildren. His current wife, Liesel, desperate to have children of her own, suddenly finds herself saddled ostensibly with four of them and now must confront the realities of parenthood. An interesting set-up, but unfortunately, the numerous iterations of Liesel’s discontent prove predictable and whiny. Though Hart (Precious and Fragile Things) works with an unusual story line, the novel lacks the depth that could have yielded a thought-provoking read.

February 28, 2000
Melanie, Mia and Ashley are triplets dealing with the effects of an abusive childhood in Spindler's (Cause for Alarm) dark psychological thriller. Grown up and battling dysfunction, Mia's now married to a physically abusive doctor; Ashley has become a bitter man-hater; and Melanie is a divorced cop fighting for custody of her son. When a serial killer nicknamed the "Dark Angel" starts bumping off abusers who have gone unpunished by the legal system, Melanie begins her own investigation into the mysterious deaths. Most people, including world-famous FBI profiler Connor Parks, think the case is best left unsolved, but Mel is out to win the respect and cooperation of her peers, even if her findings take her too close to home for comfort. Although suspenseful, this hefty novel is diminished by sluggish plotting and uneven writing.

December 1, 2011
Happily married for some time, Liesel Albright has been giving serious thought to starting a family. She never thought a family already-in-progress would enter her life. Twenty-year-old Sunshine and her three children have just escaped from the nearby compound of a devout religious cult and decide to seek shelter at the Albrights' after learning that Liesel's husband is Sunshine's father. Liesel and Chris are forced to deal with the toughest issues that have ever surfaced in their marriage, while Sunny and her children must deal with the differences between life in the Family of Superior Bliss and life among the blemished. While the children are young enough to adapt to the ways of the Albright household, Sunny's past life of strict lessons and even stricter punishments can't be unlearned as quickly. This is a brilliant study of motherhood and identity wrapped in an undeniably engrossing story. Set amid flashbacks of Sunny's early days in the cult compound, Sunny's and Liesel's personal growth is a joy to witness. A captivating, intelligent, gorgeously written read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)