She Treads Softly: Found Object

Sunday, October 16, 2022

Found Object

Found Object by Anne Frasier
10/18/22; 272 pages
Thomas & Mercer

Found Object by Anne Frasier is a very highly recommended psychological thriller. I could not put this found object down, which counts for a lot. Arguably Found Object might have a few flaws, but I was totally engrossed in the story, start to finish, and, oh my, what a finish!

In the opening Jupiter Bellarose, an investigative journalist, is leaving the hospital after recovering from a breakdown brought on by her latest investigation. Now 36 years-old, Jupiter is no novice to adversity. At sixteen she and her father went to her famous actress mother's house only to find the police there and her mother's dismembered body in the backyard. Her editor, hoping to give her a lighter story, is sending Jupiter to Savannah to cover the 100th anniversary of the cosmetic company Luminescent. It's not as simple as it sounds. Savannah is where Jupiter grew up, her semi-estranged father still lives there in her mother's home, and Luminescent is the beauty company her mother, Marie Nova, was the "face of." With all of this in play, it is doubtful Jupiter's homecoming is going to be as relaxing as her editor hoped.

Every clue, every new development is handled masterfully. I was completely engaged in the entire novel and savored the clues provided, Jupiter's observations, and the advancements in the investigation. Jupiter may seem like a chameleon with conflicting actions and emotions as a character, but with her background it seems like she has learned over the years to perform her role well. Plus, the clues are all there for the detailed oriented reader to follow.

The well-written narrative moves along at a brisk pace and follows story lines set in the past and present with adept skill while providing great character development. All the loose ends and story lines were provided with closure. Now, admittedly, the ending was a maelstrom of exciting new information and developments evolving at a riotous pace. I set all my disbelief and misgivings aside, went with it, and really enjoyed the entire novel, including the sudden, multiple twists at the end.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.