When
All The Girls Have Gone by
Jayne Ann Krentz leaves readers spell bound. Although billed
as a suspense romance novel it can easily fit into the thriller
category. As with the Columbo TV series there is very little
attempt to hide the identity of the antagonist, but the motive
and possible conspiracies are masked throughout much of the
novel. Just when the reader thinks they had found the answers,
the carpet is pulled from under them with a new set of questions.
This is the first in a trilogy. Krentz noted, “I am
writing the other brother’s story as we speak. The third
novel will resolve the evil cult mystery left over from this
book. Each is a stand-alone with a mystery on to itself. There
will be cameos from the characters of this first book. I really
love that set-up of a private investigator series. Any mystery
with a PI can handle more personal stories involving confidentiality,
keeping secrets, and probing the personal corners of other
people’s lives. This series is now a trilogy, but if
it works it can be the core for a PI series.”
This story has two plotlines that come together at the end.
The plot begins with the possible murder of a woman and the
disappearance of another. It appears that the one with all
the answers is Jocelyn Pruett, but she has disappeared. A
private detective, Max Cutler, is hired to find out why one
woman was murdered and in the course of his investigation
meets up with Charlotte Sawyer, the stepsister to Jocelyn.
Together they search for answers and link the death and disappearance
to an on-line based investment club and Jocelyn’s past
of being a rape victim. They find that power, privilege, an
escalating serial rapist, and a friend-enemy are all fighting
to silence Charlotte and Max.
An over-riding arc that will continue in this trilogy has
three stepbrothers obsessed in trying to find out the cult
leader who imprisoned them, and set a fire that ultimately
killed others. Because they had no relatives the police chief
who rescued them adopted the three and raised them as his
sons. The question of what became of this cult leader has
haunted the brothers. Max was affected so deeply he had to
leave his criminal profiler job, got divorced, and relocated
to Seattle.
The theme of the novel involves deceptions, unanswered questions,
and finding out the truth. Revenge, vigilante justice, and
becoming avengers are the central part of the story. Something
most readers can relate to is how “life passes in the
blink of an eye.”
Krentz feels the “avengers crossed the line to find
justice and then became vigilantes, which is not healthy.
This is why I could not make the heroine one of them. Her
own core values would not allow that kind of justice that
involves less than legal means. I wanted to show women are
perfectly capable of thinking about revenge and will have
their own way of doing it. I always believe that whoever plans
revenge has a dark side. Vengeance is a dangerous thing and
usually comes back to haunt you. Vigilantism is like the western
story of meeting a guy in front of the saloon and shooting
it out.”
The two sisters appear to be as different as night and day.
Jocelyn is flashy, an “A-list girl”, bold, and
self-confident. Charlotte is seen as risk-averse, cautious,
vulnerable, level headed, honest, and not spontaneous. She
is in-sync in personality with Max who is also vulnerable,
doubtful, a plodder, and comfortable enough with each other
to share their past.
As with all her books the characters grow throughout the story.
“I had Jocelyn learn something about herself, which
is she does need Charlotte as a sister of the heart. On the
other hand, Charlotte learned that her inner strength was
greater than she gave herself credit for. Most of us do not
understand our own strength until something stresses us and
then we have to deal with it. Regarding Max and Charlotte,
Something I have in my books is how the relationship develops
when the hero sees the strengths and the heroic qualities
in the heroine and she sees those same qualities in him. Their
story compliments each other. They share the common core values:
courage, honor, determination, and the healing power of love.”
This novel is a great read for fans of mysteries who will
not be able to put the book down. The many twists and turns
create an exciting plot with action building throughout the
story.
|