Friday, July 16, 2021

Choose me by Tess Gerritsen and Gary Braver

When Taryn Moore is found dead in the street outside her apartment after a fall from her balcony it is easy to conclude that she killed herself, a sad case of a young woman who took her own life.  Detective Frances "Frankie" Loomis is not convinced, and not just because her cellphone is nowhere to be found.  As she investigates the case with her partner, Frankie learns more about Taryn and her life, and the events that lead up to her death.  

Taryn left her home town in Maine to study at Commonwealth University in Boston, and she has impressed a few professors in the English Department with her brilliant mind and interesting analysis of English texts.  She is not as popular with some of her classmates, but she has a bright future in academia - as long as she can convince her mother to keep supporting her studies.  The class where she shines the most is Professor Jack Dorian's Star-Crossed Lovers seminar.  Taryn brings a spark to the class, intelligent and thoughtful debate, and Jack is more than a little taken with his star pupil - not in a romantic sense, but he is drawn to her.

As Frankie digs deeper into Taryn's life she discovers that Taryn was a complex young woman - and that there was a lot going on in her life.  Liam, the boyfriend that Taryn followed to Boston had started a new relationship while on a 'break' from his relationship with her, something that Taryn doesn't take well.  Her relationship with Professor Jack Dorian also proves to be more complicated than that of teacher and student - and some of her fellow students are not afraid to try and use that relationship to their own advantage.  As Frankie untangles the story of Taryn's death she makes some startling discoveries that prove you never really know people - not completely.

Choose me is one of those difficult books to review because talking it up requires spoiling some of the best elements of the book.  It is relatively safe to say that this is an outstanding work of psychological fiction, as no one is what they seem, and victims aren't always the victims they seem.  Taryn is a complex and very real person, not only in her death, but also in her life.  She has depth, history, emotion, and it is all too easy to see her actions played out in real life with real people.  Gerritsen and Braver have done an amazing job of creating people who fully come to life with their aspirations, histories, secrets, lies, and desires - no one is under or over done, and the conclusion is thoroughly satisfying.  A great find.

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Reviewed by Brilla

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