(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

As I've mentioned before, there's actually a host of different reasons why I might do only a mini-review of a book here instead of a full write-up, besides that the book in question might be of subpar quality (which frankly usually is the reason, which is why people make the mistaken assumption to begin with); take for a good example Kelly Simmons' debut novel Standing Still, which when all is said and done is not a bad book whatsoever, well-written and concerning an interesting subject, with not only a decent sense of pace but a compelling personal style too. But it just so happens that I myself am not a particularly big fan of this type of story, which if pressed for an easy explanation I would say is destined to most appeal to the kind of female audience member also into The Bachelorette, Alice Sebold and the Lifetime Channel; not that I mention any of these references specifically to belittle them, but merely to point out that these too are projects and artists of decent quality that I'm not necessarily into but that others are. As you can guess, the novel is centered around a middle-aged suburban housewife named Claire Cooper, and has a dark premise I was instantly intrigued by, which is why I requested a copy in the first place from this highly active Goodreads.com member; namely, after being kidnapped from her sleepy McMansion near the beginning of the book, over the course of a week she comes to slowly realize that her abductor is actually a better man (ethically, emotionally) than her cold, corporate-embracing white-male-dick husband, with Simmons using a semi-surprising plot to reveal a much more nefarious situation with the husband's day job than Claire had ever been told about.

But be warned that what could've been a fast-paced thriller in another's hands is instead a deliberately slow psychological meditation here under Simmons' treatment, with much of the "action" actually the inner-brain thoughts of Claire as she spends the majority of the book tied immovably to a hotel bed; and also be warned that Simmons sometimes wields her metaphors with all the grace of a drunk hillbilly swinging a two-by-four, such as Claire's regular habit of referring to her unnamed abductor as "Him" and "He" with a capital 'H' (and with all the resulting Freudian daddy/Christ issues such a thing implies). This is why I say that the book is perfect for fans of the Lifetime Channel, for example, because the shows and movies produced by that cable network are known precisely for this, for using patriarchal acts of violence as a way to symbolically explore therapist-worthy issues of how middle-aged women are defined in our society, not only as wives and mothers but also sexually and intellectually; and that's why Standing Still gets today just a little bit higher of a score than I would maybe give it otherwise, because I know for a fact that there are all kinds of people out there who will adore such a book, and wanted to give it a general score that more reflected that. If you're one of those people (and you know who you are), it comes much recommended.

Out of 10: 8.2 ( )

I loved this book. I was with our heroine, a woman riddled with several panic disorders and a hidden past that lent them a legitimacy that they would otherwise not have. Simmons spun her tale out beautifully, effortlessly, allowing us glimpses when she needed to but leaving much of it to our imagination.

All of that is precisely the reason that I felt so betrayed by the ending, like Simmons was scared to go the extra mile, like all the ugliness I’d been embracing was a trick of the light and nothing risky at all. All that lovely wishful thinking was not only entirely unbelievable, but it completely negated everything that came before it, and left me regretting the whole thing entirely. ( )

Sucked me in from the very first chapter!
Most books, even thrillers, take some time to get into, but I didn't want to put down Standing Still by Kelly Simmons even though I had only been reading it for a few minutes. I was fascinated by the story of Claire, a woman suffering from a panic disorder whose worst imagined fears come true one night. Her house is broken into and she comes face to face with the intruder as he is poised to take her daugher. Claire pleads with him to take her instead, and he does. What follows is an intricate tale where the secret of Claire's past--the incident that lead to her paranoia--is as much of a mystery as whether Claire will escape her tormentor--or whether she wants to.
Fans of thrillers that delve into the fears that cloud our minds will love this one, I highly recommend it. ( )

I read the first 40 or so pages of “Standing Still” n New Years Eve as I was waiting for stuff to happen. The morning of New Years Day, I woke up earlier than planned and decided to read a bit more until I was ready to get up. Next thing I knew, hours had passed and the book was finished!

“Standing Still” is the story of Claire, a mother and journalist who suffers from panic attacks. After years of fearing an intruder whenever her husband was not home at night, Claire hears a noise and finds out her worst nightmare has come true; there is a strange man standing in her daughter’s room in the middle of the night. After begging the man to leave the girl and take her instead, Claire finds herself kidnapped and held for ransom.

As much as the plot sounds dramatic, most of this book was primarily internal. What made it so interesting were Claire’s thoughts and feelings about what was happening to her, particularly as her relationship with her captor evolved. I also loved the way that Simmons drew the reader deeper into Claire’s past and psyche, to discover what turned a vivacious reporter into the shell of a woman she became. ( )

I loved this book from beginning to end. The pace of the book moved smoothly and kept my interest throughout. The tension built with hidden secrets that in due time were revealed kept the story moving. I enjoyed the premise of the book that showed how all of us have secrets and insecurities, but through trust we can live a fulfilled life. ( )