Seven Suspects
Bobbi Logan is a successful businesswoman and a celebrated hairdresser. She is a witty, articulate woman who has survived rape, gender transition, a murder investigation, and countless acts of bullying and bigotry to get where she is―and she's made enemies along the way. Now one of them is stalking her. With each passing day, the threats become more brazen, more violent, and more personal. No one knows who here stalker is or why he's after her, but he's getting closer every day.
Bobbi is intimidated but she has vowed to never be the victim again. She accumulates a list of six suspects, and with courage and persistence, she hunts them down, one by one―stalking her possible stalkers. But as she confronts those men who may want to do her harm, the number seven keeps haunting her―there must be a seventh suspect. And when she finds him, Bobbi’s world implodes.
This is my third Renee James book to read about Bobbi and probably the toughest one for me to get through. My issue wasn’t the writing which was great as usual but some of the content because of how vivid and detailed James writes.
Her character work allows you to explore the world around Bobbi, her protagonist who is a transwoman, thanks to some interesting supporting characters. Her characters are definitely the best part of the story as the plot line is pretty brutal. In Bobbi we find a strong woman, a rape survivor, and someone who is still dealing with the psychological torment of what was done to her.
I lost track of how often my heart felt like it was being ripped to shreds, my body tense from the horror unfolding before my eyes, or my eyes dripping with tears at the evil humanity is willing to inflict on each other for the most asinine of reasons. At times this book nearly became too depressing to continue but I felt forced to continue because I had to know where this story would lead.
If you have issues with violence and rape scenes, you may need to steer clear of James as she doesn’t hold her punches which I found to be a good thing because it provides a deeper experience into understanding the character of Bobbi not to mention taboo subjects. But if you’re willing to give her a chance you’ll also find she has an insightful ability to create a love story; one that forces you to recognize our tendency to prejudge people and how we would be better off waiting until we know them so our lives can be richer for the experience.
Hopefully throughout her series, readers will develop an appreciation for the fact that Transgendered people are no different than anyone else as James reflects this in her character style.
Thank you to Netgalley and Oceanview Publishing for allowing me to review this book.
*synopsis and pic from netgalley.com