Backseat Saints (edition 2010)

Rose Mae, or Ro, was abandoned by her mother as a child, and left with an abusive, alcoholic father. As an adult, she has just fallen for men of the same type. Upon meeting a gypsy in the airport, she is told to kill her husband or else meet her own death.

Ro tackles her issues and faces her demons. I liked the book, it's hard to judge though. I loved gods in Alabama so much, and that it what I compare all her books to.

I will say that the character of Mirabelle just aggravated the crap out of me. What a cold woman. I just wanted to slap her. ( )

I was rooting for Thom to kill her. I wanted to kill her. The only multideminational character in the book was the dog'Fat Greta' ( )

Loved this. Can't wait to read another! Jill why didn't I read this sooner?? ( )

This was a pretty interesting book to read and it kept my attention the whole time. I found this is one of the better books to read about domestic abuse with a pretty good ending. I'll be passing this one on to a friend to read for sure. ( )

I've read several novels now that feature abused housewives, and there is a pretty common pattern in which we see how the couple met and married, how the abuse started and escalated, and how the wife finally steels herself to leave the marriage (usually going into hiding), and then a violent conclusion when the husband eventually tracks her down after she's made a new life for herself.

That's pretty much the pattern here, but this is the best of the ones I've read. Joshilyn Jackson is a Southern writer with a marvelously agile way with words whom I have followed ever since reading and loving "Between, Georgia". Few writers can show you beneath the skin of her characters like she can, and have you re-reading passages just to re-savor the Southern flavor of the words

I'd have wished for a little different ending; Ro Grandee is too strong a character to have all initiative stolen from her at the climax in this manner. But one lesson from the book is that there are breaks in life, good and bad, and what matters is how you deal with them when you wake up the next day. ( )