Fiction: The Redemption of Holly Dobson, by C. Lynn Barton

The Redemption of Holly Dobson, by C. Lynn Barton is the story of a girl who grows up in unloving circumstances and finds herself trying to get through life the best she can. She meets a man who changes everything for her and that is where her true story begins. Holly finds herself in many corners where evil lurks and temptation gets the better of her. She ignores the warnings of those who truly care for her, and justifies the terrible things she does by claiming to do them in order to protect her family.

This book has been labeled as horror fiction and thriller. I found it to be neither of these. Though there was a supernatural evil element, the book did not cause me to feel any fear for the characters. There were a few gruesome acts that were mentioned, but the evil described just wasn't presented in a way that would really cause fear or concern. Holly treated all things with no sense of mortification, which added to the ho-hum feel of things. The back cover mentions her son as "demonic," which conjures thoughts of the most horrifying evil. However, the actions taken by the son were more along the lines of Orson Wells' 1984. Horrifying, yes. Demonic, no.

As for being a thriller, I didn't find it suspenseful. Everything was pretty predictable. Even when new elements were introduced, they were done in a "that's just the way it is" fashion.

Overall, I found many parts of the story to be extremely redundant (e.i., the constant reminder that Holly grew up with no love, or how she would do anything to protect her family, etc.). I also feel that the transitions were very abrupt. There were many mechanical problems, and the ending was not satisfying as there was no real resolution. Lastly, I just could not sympathize with the main character because she never learned her lesson, though she viewed herself differently.

I  liked the original ideas that surrounded The Spring and the Vampierre family. This book had good bones, and I did enjoy reading it, but it really needed to be fleshed out more thoroughly in order for it to be its best.

On a scale of 1-4, I give this book a 2. I liked the overall premise of the story, and I feel it has potential.

This book was published by Dark Willow Books
ISBN: 978-0-615-34941-1

Thank you to C. Lynn Barton for this gift of this book.