A Villain for Vanessa can be said to be a mystery, a book of suspense, a study of family dynamics, or a romance; however, this novel is all of those things and then some, just like most of all good-to-great writing that cannot be contained within only one genre.

Alice Orr, the novel’s author, graciously gifted me with the paperback version of it, several months ago. Although I read it right away, I couldn’t write a review immediately. Then, when the book was offered on Kindle, I downloaded it immediately and read it once more, discovering even more depth within the versatile characterization and exquisite plot construction.

In the story, Vanessa Westerlo, who was taken away by her mother from Riverton Road and most of her family at five years of age, returns to the town to find her relatives. Little does she know that about the same time of her return, her uncle falls off a roof and dies. Vanessa, a Westerlo on her father’s side and a Kalli on her mother’s, finds both families and begins to investigate her uncle’s suspicious death, and while doing so, she meets Bobby Rizzo. The results of her investigation and her relationship with Bobby I am leaving up to the future readers to find out.

What is so absorbing about this book is the different, multi-layered characterization and the mastery in the building of an exciting plot, while letting the central focus concentrate on family dynamics. Another great aspect is that this volume stands alone as a separate story in a series. The reader doesn’t need to read the other books in the series to better understand and relate to the characters and events. Still, what ties the series together is the setting, a possibly imagined version of a small northern town.

The language of the author is sophisticated, which doesn’t mean unnecessarily florid or dramatic, but it is measured with vivid descriptions and details. Especially the opening scene attracted my attention, in which Carl Westerlo, Vanessa’s uncle, slides off the roof to his death. The first sentence of this scene and the novel can be any creative writing teacher’s favorite example of a hook. “Carl Westerlo’s pudgy fingers caught the corner of an asphalt shingle and tried to hold on, but there was no chance of that.” Just this first sentences is enough for me to utter a “Wow!”

In short, Alice Orr's multidimensional characters with hidden motives and family entanglements, a plot with several angles that build up, and a fish-out-of-the-water-yet-tenacious protagonist who bravely enters into suspenseful situations made the reading of this story a highly enjoyable event for me.

seeing how well an indie writer can craft a good story

characterization and plot structuring

Alice Orr has written 15 novels, three novellas and a memoir. Her romantic suspense stories such as the Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series are on sale in Amazon, and her network of Alice Orr blogs are reachable at http://www.aliceorrbooks.com, through which she offers writing tips.

I enjoyed reading it, and also because it is a well-written novel in a series that stands alone.

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Created Jan 29, 2017 at 8:01pm • Submit your own review...