Review by Cynthia Chow
Even though she has only recently sought treatment for her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, part-time waitress and crossword puzzle maker Quinn Carr is frustrated at not being immediately cured. Her organizational skills do come handy when going through her grandfather Bernard Dudley’s antique roll-top desk, a task delegated to her while Quinn’s mother adjusts to his move into the Bonneville Assisted Living Facility. Along with many papers stuffed inside the drawers is a Quit Claim Deed for nearby property, but when Quinn brings it up to her mother Georgeanne is infuriated. Her anger and refusal to talk about the matter is distinctly out of character for Quinn’s normally affable mother, which is why Quinn has her father retrieve the deed so that she can do further research and discover why it triggered her mother’s emotional reaction.
 |
| Image Source Lyrical |
This third in the series takes a closer examination of Quinn’s struggles with OCD and the manner in which it both hinders and helps her life. A coping mechanism during stressful times, it also allows her to make CSI-level evidence grids as she organizes clues at a crime scene. For her everyday life, Quinn is learning through therapy how to manage her stress and recognize when her OCD begins to take over her life. This unique perspective continues to make this a fascinating series, one that incorporates the mystery into Quinn’s challenge to overcome her lifelong habits.
Equally fun is how Quinn attempts to incept the police
chief’s brain and lead him down a trail by placing clues in the crossword
puzzles he loves and she creates for the Chestnut Station Chronicle. These
puzzles will be fun for crossword aficionados, but even more importantly they
sprinkle in the history of Japanese Internment camps that were in truth prisons
for the innocent and who never even went on trials. Camp
Chestnut may be fictional, but the
ten internment camps that imprisoned over 120,000 Japanese Americans for years
were very real. There is a lot of sugar to go down with this educational medicine,
though, as Quinn works through her relationships with the ever-impulsive Loma,
the retired seniors who regularly visit the Chestnut Diner, and even the
abrasive Police Chief. Even her bestie Officer Rico Lopez has never fully known
nor understood the extent of Quinn’s disorder, and as Quinn lowers her guard
their friendship only grows stronger. While Quinn may unrealistically wish to
quickly conquer her OCD, learning how to manage her symptoms in a way that also
further her investigation is a laudable achievement. This is an extraordinarily
original, sympathetic, and still very entertaining examination of a young woman
dealing with mental illness and anxiety.
You can use this link to purchase the book or click here. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:
Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).
I read the first book in this series. Count me in!
ReplyDelete