THE MEASURE OF THE MOON Review & Giveaway

 Lisa Preston uses her experience to brilliantly channel human drama and suspense into THE MEASURE OF THE MOON (Thomas & Mercer; April 18, 2017).  New York Times bestselling author, Lisa Scottoline calls it “a powerful follow-up to Orchids and Stone, Lisa Preston’s The Measure of the Moon is a beautifully rendered story - in fact, two stories - which weave together the certainty  of how our actions and choices affect one another with far-reaching consequences.”

When eight-year-old Greer Donner falls off his horse in the Washington wilderness, he braces himself to face the long hike home alone. But screams pierce the darkness, and he stumbles upon a dead-end road where a man is beating a woman—nearly to death. In a moment of courage, he stops the assault, but he’s left to face the man, who turns his wrath into an ominous threat: if the boy ever reveals what he has seen, his family will pay the ultimate price. The secret Greer now carries begins his emotional unraveling.

Meanwhile, in Seattle, Gillian Trett is a photographer with a troubled marriage and a childhood she’s trying to forget. Domestic tension mounts when her husband’s stepsister arrives. Desperate for a distraction, and a way to advance her career, Gillian throws herself into uncovering the history behind an old man’s Holocaust photo of boys in a forest. The mysterious children and the truth behind the scene haunt her—she can’t let go of the image, or of her own shadowed past.

Then a horrifying revelation entangles Gillian’s path with young Greer’s. The boy and the woman, separated by a generation and a hundred miles, each confront the terrible power of harbored secrets—not only to eclipse the truth but also to illuminate the dark, unknown dimensions of their loved ones and themselves.

My thoughts....3 stars

THE MEASURE OF THE MOON starts off strong but devolves into convoluted (and for me unnecessary) subplots with an almost bewildering array of characters.

It feels as if  multiple book plots have been crammed into one. Greer and his tale are all but lost in the other characters and their stories. It borders on being too busy to enjoy what the book is supposed to be about. My interest was rekindled about midway through, waxing and waning to the end.  There’s a good story there, unfortunately you have to wade through the clutter to get to it.

How do you feel about "busy" books. Some people prefer them. Let me know in the comments below (don't forget your email for contact if you win) and you'll be entered to win.

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