Carla Buckley

The Things That Keep Us Here by Carla Buckley

“The Things That Keep Us Here” is a phenomenal debut thriller about what happens to one family when a virulent bird flu pandemic hits the USA. And it has the potential to kill about 50 our of every one hundred that it infects. And then that potential turns to reality.

This is the story of one broken family coming to grips of the reality that is America during an unseen and unprepared for emergency.

I’ve read so far this year, about 250 show more books…this is the one that I will remember for years to come. I’ve just finished it and I want to grab it up and start rereading it . It was an utterly amazing book especially for a debut. The characters are so well written that I came to think of them as friends of mine. The plot was very well thought out, fast paced, chilling, thrilling and yet tender. This book preys on our deepest emotions and fears, it also makes us ask the really hard moral and ethical questions of ourselves. It makes us wonder if we could cope just half as well as the Brooks family does. If we would come out of something like this with our sanity even half as intact as they did.

I look forward to Carla Buckley’s next novel. show less

The Things That Keep Us Here is an exceptionally painful book at times. Not because it's awful but because awful things happen. There's just enough room left between the lines to imagine what would happen "if." If the pandemic we've been panicking about for the last year really did happen (although in this case it's H5N1) and if it was so much worse than we ever expected.

If you're looking for one of those epidemic books where you can't go three words without hitting a very long, very show more garbled scientific explanation, this is not the book for you. There's enough science to keep things rolling at the beginning of the book, but for the most part Things expects that you already know that a pandemic is the worst nightmare you've never given quite enough thought to before.

Instead, the book works because it focuses on how one family's world implodes during the aftermath of the avian flu. Simple things like grocery shopping or stopping to talk to a neighbor become far more dangerous than one would imagine and therein lies the hook. You're forced to stop and wonder what you would do in each circumstance. Would you continue to go to work at a job that would constantly expose you to the deadliest disease in decades? Would you pay nine dollars for a can of tuna or would you be the person who feels justified in price gouging to such an extreme? Would you let an infected friend in when they came begging for help or would you lock the door?

There are a couple of issues I have a bit of a hard time with in Things. When trying to explain this awesome (but horrible for my ability to sleep and then go to work at a job where people seem to delight in sneezing right in your face) book, I realized the shopping trip that made me so angry I was shaking (on behalf of the characters) happened... Day One. And I'm not really sure that people would degenerate quite that quickly on the first day of an announced pandemic. Day two, sure. But day one seems a bit premature, particularly when the general population hits the mall on days two and three. The scene is a good one but I fear it happens a little too early.

Also, when looking back on the book, there seems to be an overabundance of back story drama. On the one hand, it doesn't seem to be quite so much while actually reading the story. On the other, after it's all said and done, I can't help but think... that's an awful lot of crap thrown at them before the book even started. Was it just to push Ann and Peter's marriage to the breaking point? The way it comes across in the book, they seem to have just never really recovered from losing their son, William. Do they really need Alzheimer's, a probable suicide, and cancer all thrown in the mix as well? This isn't to say it's not realistic but looking back it does seem a bit like overkill.

Even with these small flaws that may apply only to me, I couldn't put the book down. I originally planned on reading maybe a chapter or two every morning after work but that first day I managed to read halfway through before I even realized what I was doing. The story haunts even as it races along. show less

This is a character driven novel, more psychological than suspenseful, with each chapter written from a different character’s perspective. Whitt and Diane and their children Cassie and Boon live in a rundown apartment complex on the Outer Banks. You can just see the ocean from their balcony. Twelve year old Cassie is a little wiseass I wanted to smack most of the time but as more is revealed about the past I felt sorry for her. Her dad is always at work and her mom has mental issues. She show more “forgot” Boon was in the car and almost killed him. Sara is in witness protection to avoid jail and is placed in the apartment next door. Their lives will collide with a major hurricane that provides much of the suspense. The book starts a little slowly but that was necessary to build the characters and fill us in on their pasts. The characters are believable and human. They are complex. They are not perfect. They all have flaws. Mostly they are likeable. Who is the liar’s child referred to in the title? Read the book and decide for yourself. I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book to read and review. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of Ms. Buckley’s work. show less

The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley
Bantam, 2014
Crime Fiction; 448 pgs

I did not know much about Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) going into this novel, nor how limiting survival with this genetic defect could be. Not only does Tyler have to stay indoors during the daylight hours, but certain types of light, including from car headlights, can be detrimental to his health. Extreme care must be taken for Tyler to get to doctor's appointments and the like. His mother, Eve, has gone out of her way to show more make life as comfortable and safe for her son as possible. She's gotten most of the neighbors on their cul de sac to avoid halogen bulbs and advocated to get the street lights in their vicinity turned off. She will take no chances at keeping her son safe--and alive.

The Deepest Secret is an engrossing novel that takes the reader into the life of Tyler's family. Tyler dreams of being a photographer, and often ventures out into the night without his family's knowledge to capture photographs of nature and life. He peeks into the windows of his neighbors, and probably knows more about what goes on behind closed doors than anyone else. His older sister, Melissa, is the "perfect" child. The one without the genetic defect. Her own life has begun to spiral out of control, something her mother doesn't at first realize. Eve's attention and concern has always mostly fallen on Tyler. She's had to play the role of father more often than not too, her husband living and working in another city, only coming home on the weekends or when he can.

The novel is told from alternating viewpoints, giving the reader multiple perspectives into the lives of the Lattimore family. The author takes her time setting up the story, making sure the reader has a clear and in-depth picture of the players involved. As a result, The Deepest Secret is not a fast paced novel. However, it was difficult to put down. I became so invested in the characters, in their lives, and in their fate. I felt for Eve's friend whose daughter was missing, and I felt for Eve and her family, who seemed to be at the center of it all.

I often forgot as I read just how young Tyler is--only 14. At times he seemed older, and then he would do or say something that would remind me just how young and innocent he is. I can't imagine living like he does, how lonely an existence he has, even with his few friends. And to know that your life could be cut short any day . . .

I did not warm to Eve, Tyler's mother, right away. It's easy to see why the neighbors and outsiders might have a poor attitude about her, given her obsession with keeping her son safe. She often has to be assertive and sometimes even aggressive about it. As annoying as that might be, it's a necessary evil. Wouldn't any of us do the same in most situations, knowing our child's life depends on it?

I felt from the start for not only Tyler, but also his sister, Melissa. She too has been impacted by the shut in life her brother has had to lead. In many ways, she has been shut in too. It is no wonder she has begun to act out.

As for the father, David, well, I have mixed feelings about him even now. He was so often absent, and when he began to realize just how much he didn't know or understand about his own family, his first reaction was to run away. I know that people cope in different ways, but I often found his reactions disappointing. At the same time, I did feel for him on some level, knowing it was not easy on him either. And I felt that Eve could have been more flexible in some things than she was. Honestly though, I cannot imagine it was easy on any of them.

The way the story unfolds, the fate of the missing girl, and the roles the Lattimores and their neighbors play make this thrilling novel all the more intriguing. This is one of those books I am having difficulty reviewing for risk of spoiling any part of it. It's such a good book on many levels, one I enjoyed thoroughly--and one that left me wondering what I would have done in the same situation. Or, at least, understanding why certain choices were made, even if I did not quite agree with them. I am still thinking of this book weeks after finishing it.

Recommendation: Read it! show less