Just Jennifer

One Step Too Far by Tina Seskis

In this first novel, Tina Seskis takes her main character, Emily Coleman, now Cat, on a journey that many of us imagine but few ever take.  Emily has left her husband, her family and home behind to start her life over.  The now former attorney rents a room in a London flop house and starts a new job at a London advertising agency where her rise to the top is swift, but on the edge.  With her new friend Angel, Cat manages to keep one step ahead of anyone looking for her, erasing all traces of her past, except for her memories: memories of growing up as a twin in a dysfunctional household and memories of how she thought she had escaped her life growing up when she married her husband.  What Emily cannot escape is the memory of the events that have led to her running away and if she is not careful, it will catch up with her as her present collides with her past and things that Emily thought she had under control spin so far out of control that she may never be able to recover and regain a life that is her own.  Flashbacks are told in the third person while Emily’s present life is related in first person, a very effective technique as readers watch her spiral out of control still held fast by her past.  Emily/Cat is a tough character to get to know as she reveals very little about her present self.  Readers will come up with many variations on what might have caused Emily’s break with her life but few will see the twist that comes.  A little too much detail is given after the big reveal slowing down the pace of the story a bit but wrapping up any loose ends and questions that were remaining.  An author interview and suggested questions for reading groups offer much food for thought.

The Big Rewind by Libby Cudmore

Jett Bennett knows she’s very lucky to have landed in her grandmother’s rent-controlled apartment in a hip neighborhood of Brooklyn, temping while she is waiting to break into the music journalism business.  Jett gets her upstairs neighbor, baker KitKat’s mix tape in the mail and takes it upstairs to deliver it, only to find that KitKat has been murdered, the weapon, a marble rolling pin, soaking in the sink.  Jett knows that KitKat’s boyfriend Bronco is not the murderer, and when he is arrested and charged with the murder, the entire neighborhood bands together, raising money for his defense, taking turns visiting him in prison, bringing him care packages with all his favorite foods.  Jett decides she can do one better and sets out, with her best guy friend, the ever polite and oh-so adorable, Sid, to find the murderer on her own.  She decides to start with the secret boyfriend who must have sent the tape and sets out on a journey through KitKat’s past and present to find who killed her friend.  At the same time, Jett relives some of the mix tapes she received over the years, pulling mementos out of her “Boyfriend Box”; but will she ever be able to put all her past loves in the past and live in the future.  Jett’s search for KitKat’s killer takes her on a musical journey into the eighties, into hipster bars, and secret parties.  There is so much nostalgia packed into this novel, along with great characters and several subplots, but first-time novelist Cudmore handles it all like a pro without the book feeling stuffed.  The narrative is deceptively light and breezy, and as Jett searches for a killer, she also looks into her own past and is able to say good bye and deal with her heartaches, heartbreaks, and guilt and will maybe finally be able to move on with the love life portion of her life.