Fatal Kidnapping by Tracy B. Evans

fatal waste of time zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....................by Anonymous

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November 20, 2009: How on earth this monstrosity got published is beyond me. The book is banal, limp, badly written tripe and a complete and utter waste of time and money. You could strain lettuce through the plot, the dialogue makes you cringe and the narration is all over the place.

I tried to give it one star in the detailed ratings but the system won't allow me to do it. Two stars however is way over generous, so I give it one for overall rating and zero for everything else.

Easy style, gentle cadenceby dennis_batchelder

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December 06, 2008: "Fatal Kidnapping" tells, from three different perspectives, the story of Katie Stone's kidnapping and subsequent escape. We see it first from her father's and boyfriend's side, then we hear Katie tell the story to the sherrif, and then we find out "the truth".

Evans writes in simple, short sentences. She uses a minimalist style, and it reads as if the narrator is reciting the story in a gentle, repetitive cadence. She tends to avoid (or at least to dampen down) the conflicts in her scenes, focusing more on the current interactions of the characters, and telling about their past reactions to major crises in their lives.

Katie Stone and her surrounding characters are from a simple and rural life. I enjoyed the glimpses into this life, espeially around how Katie and her family handled the process of dying (several people have lingering illnesses).

Without giving away the ending, I will say that Evans surprised me with her glimpse into a person's dark and overly-practical side. She did a nice job of gently leading up to the surprise without revealing it too soon.