Catherine Adel West

I love a smart read…and this is one you want to savor.

When Giovanni reunites with her former best friend, makeup influencer Natalie Moore, things get heated as a mending of fences morphs into a public argument in the hotel restaurant, and Giovanni loses her cool. Hours later, Natalie is missing.

This is a mystery that keeps you guessing and wondering who is involved and who is doing what to whom! Add in the complicated relationship between Giovanni and Redding…(heck, any relationship show more with Giovanni is complicated) and you have constant tension and unexpected twists.

I have loved this author since her very first book, Saving Ruby King. She never disappoints. She also always has some hidden gems in the phrasing of her books.

This was very close to a five star read for me. The only reason I did not give it five stars was I felt like it was a bit too long. The story could have been wrapped up 50 pages sooner. But talk about an intense ending…I did not see that coming.

Need a story to keep you guessing…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review. show less

Alice King is murdered, leaving her daughter Ruby to live with Lebanon, her violent father. Ruby’s best friend, Layla Potter, is determined to protect Ruby from Lebanon. Layla would like the help of her father Jackson, pastor of their church, but he always defends Lebanon whom he has known since childhood. Undeterred, Layla persists in her mission to save Ruby from herself and from Lebanon, but ends up discovering dangerous secrets which may tear apart her own family.

The novel is set in show more Chicago’s South Side in both the present and the 1960s. Besides the dual timelines, there are multiple perspectives; Ruby, Layla, Lebanon, and Jackson are among the first-person narrators. The most interesting viewpoint is provided by Calvary Hope Christian Church which is given a consciousness and a voice.

What most impressed me is the characterization. All characters are multi-dimensional with complex histories. Lebanon, for example, is definitely one of the bad guys, but once we learn about his upbringing, we cannot but have some understanding and sympathy for him. There are also good characters whose actions show them to be flawed. These complicated, very human characters leave readers questioning how they would behave if given the same background and placed in similar circumstances.

The book examines inter-generational trauma. The trauma suffered by Lebanon’s mother affects her relationship with her son so his becoming a violent husband and father is not surprising. Lebanon even admits, “whatever haunts [my mother], haunts me.” He also believes that Ruby will be much like him: “[Ruby] has that same look in her eyes for me, the same one I have for [my mother]. And I know that girl can do something about it. And the hate Ruby has for me is the same flavor I have for [my mother].”

The novel also focuses on how people are often complicit in domestic violence by doing nothing. Most people in the church knew that Alice was beaten by Lebanon, but everyone looks the other way. Lebanon’s mother tells him, “’[Alice] went to church and pretended things was fine and you stood by and acted like you was a good person, a holy person and people in church pretended right along with y’all.’” Layla admits the same thing: “The people at church glossed their eyes over bruises and swallowed the poorly explained reasons of why these things always seemed to happen to Alice. ‘It ain’t any of my business,’ was a common refrain. But now, they shake their heads and cry their tears, wondering how this could’ve happened.”

Layla decides not to live in denial because unless someone acts, nothing changes: “The easiest thing to do is nothing and we were all guilty of it. My parents. People in church. Our community. We sang our songs and prayed our prayers and talked in pleasantries, but very few of us really knew the business of the other. Though gossip would flow, secrecy also flourished. All the evil we find and leave be, we can’t be surprised when it visits, shows up all sharp teeth and vileness.” The consequences of doing nothing are repeated: “We mind our own business. What goes on in your house. Stays in your house. But. It. Doesn’t. It doesn’t stay. It bleeds into the next home and the next block, the next family.”

The impact of secrets is also explored. Jackson has a terrible secret which he is desperately hopes is never discovered. In order to keep that secret, he must lie and thereby ends up distancing himself from his family. That secret also means he must remain loyal to someone other than those he should support. Jackson realizes that “more things than love bind people together, secrets and lies make just as hearty a bond as love.” Ruby admits that she has lied to keep the secret of Lebanon’s violence: “I did what I was taught. I lied about my pain. To cover Lebanon’s abuse. To maintain my family’s image.” As a result, she receives no help and remains “collateral damage of shame and shadow.”

This is not a light-hearted book. It touches on many serious topics: domestic violence, sexual abuse, racial discrimination, murder. There are some melodramatic scenes and some intrusive passages about the history and geography of Chicago but, overall, the book is a compelling, emotionally intense read. Saving Ruby King is an exceptional debut novel.

Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.

Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) recently ranked as one of the top 25 Canadian book blogs. show less

Sara is a new mother finding her way in life. She is living with Mama Sugar at her boarding house in Memphis. But, Sara soon learns she cannot out run her past and secrets really never stay hidden.

Sara and Mama Sugar are two fabulous characters and each are so different. I love Mama Sugar’s wisdom. And…Mama Sugar is not to be messed with! Sara, you just make her mad one time! So, you can just imagine these two together are forces to be reckoned with!

The setting of Memphis in the 60s is show more spot on. I knew exactly some of the streets and areas she mentioned in the book. Felt like I was right at home!

I love this author’s prose! She has some wonderful sayings that resonate with any reader. I adored her first book, Saving Ruby King. I fought hard to get a signed copy of that book! Now, that being said, this book is very good but it just has a few dead places in it. I wanted it to move much faster than it did.

Need a good read with relatable characters…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review. show less

Saving Ruby King is an ambitious debut novel that introduces us to Ruby and Layla, who have been friends since childhood. Author Catherine Adel West takes on multi-generational relationships, as she shares the nuanced story of a black family's life on the South Side of Chicago.

When Ruby's mother Alice is killed on the way home from church, Adel West skillfully pulls back the layers of these two intertwined families and the secrets and history they keep. The multiple points of view show more storytelling and shifting time periods add so much dimension as they each share what they know and feel. Even the Calvary Hope Christian Church has a voice and adds an integral part to the storyline. While it takes some time to balance all the narrators, once you take it all in, it's such a powerful and compelling use of layered storytelling and how the past can stay with us forever.

While this book takes on many important and timely present-day issues, Adel West shines at sharing a compelling story of a neighborhood and the families within it. The idea that no one is inherently "good or bad" is masterfully woven into this powerful and often heartbreaking storyline. This novel does an impressive job of delving into racism, domestic abuse, sexual assault, and trauma, while also balancing the power of friendship, hope, and redemption.

I alternated listening and reading this book and it was such an incredible experience. This character-driven novel packs a powerful punch and it would be a wonderful book club selection.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin, and Park Row for the gifted copy. As always, all opinions are my own. show less