Book Review: Puppet Child

Reviewed By: Jennifer Jordan

Puppet Child     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Talia Carner
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Psychological Suspense   Child Abuse
September 2002, Page Free Publishing, Fiction/Child Abuse/Legal, 260 pages

Puppet Child is a story fraught with tension and is an unyielding depiction of a mother's battle to save her daughter from the molestation's of her ex-husband. Within the prologue, with a graphic scene that has you and Rachel discovering her husband is a pedophiliac, the story grips you and dares you to read further.

Rachel tries to keep her daughter from the attentions of her ex- husband against the wishes of the court, which wants to see a quick and expedient resolution. The case is before a judge that still believes women and children need the occasional smack to keep things in line. She works at a job ruled by the old boys club with a boss that doesn't understand her need to care for her emotionally overwrought child. And, she has yet another caseworker from social services that has decided the child is merely being a brat and that Rachel herself, is just uncooperative. With all of her money tied up in the case, her job on the line and her life in virtual shambles, things actually get worse.

The book is painful, raw and revealing. It's subject matter, from the abuse itself, to the judicial system's ineptitude and a social service overworked, underpaid children's caseworkers, and builds a level of frustration and disgust that grows with each turning of the page.

Jennifer Jordan

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jennifer Jordan