Review
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Title: Wrong Number
Author: Rachelle J. Christensen
Publisher: Bonneville Books (an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc.)
Genre: Fiction
Year Published: 2010
Number of Pages: 200
Binding: Trade paperback
ISBN10: n/a
ISBN13: 978-1-59955-364-1
Price: $14.99
Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle for the Association for Mormon Letters
Here's the exact way to turn an improbable plot into a rollicking suspense novel, full of surprises and twists, and wonderful characterizations.
Aubree and Devin Stewart are a San Diego couple, struggling like many couples, and expecting their first child. Things are going reasonably well, although Aubree wants to be a stay-at-home mom while Devin doubts they can make it just on his income and their savings.
The trouble begins one morning when Aubree borrows Devin's cell phone -- her battery is dead. She needs to leave for work; Devin can stay home a while longer and charge the phone. Lesson alert: never allow your cell phone battery to die! On her way to work, she receives a phone call. A man announces that the job has been done, the body can be found in a manhole at 32nd Street, he's still in uniform, and when it's all over, they'll be in the green.
Not knowing what to make of the message, Aubree notifies the police. Next thing you know, the FBI are involved -- there is indeed a body in that manhole -- and Devin has been murdered. The caller has figured out he called the wrong number, and now he, or they, must eliminate everyone who might have accidentally heard the conversation.
What ensues is a wild romp with the FBI trying to hide Aubree and her newly-born baby. In the process, Aubree must go it alone as the FBI fails to make good on their promise to protect her.
I won't tell you any more, except to say that the key to breaking through the source of the threats lies in a single word in the message Aubree hears. Naturally, I won't tell you which word. I guarantee -- it will come as a complete surprise to you!
Christensen does a wonderful job of developing her characters. As happens so rarely, I was able to close my eyes and imagine what each character looked like. This is amazingly good writing. And you begin to care about so many of the characters, without ever fully knowing who you can trust. Christensen keeps you on the edge of your seat.
A word about the Mormonism, or lack of it, in this book. The word "Mormon" does not appear even one time. But you begin to sense that at least one of the characters and his parents (they appear near the end of the book) are Latter-day Saints. The author drops hints here and there, but never crosses a line where an evangelical reading the book might be turned off by the religious beliefs of the characters. Family and faithfulness are strong suits in this novel, but it never, I mean *never*, becomes preachy.
If I could find any fault with the book, it has to do with a recurring attribute of some of the characters. And here I reveal something about myself -- I detest anyone who winks at me. Winking, in my point of view, is the worst possible gesture you can exhibit. In my (albeit skewed) way of thinking, it betrays a superiority, an arrogance, on the part of the winker, a way of saying, "Ah, don't worry your pretty little head about this." I just hate it. I want to pick up the nearest sharp object and poke the winker's eye out.
Folks, there's a whole lotta winkin' going on in this book. With every wink, I groaned. I wish there weren't one. There's usually a few in every novel I read. Christensen needs to write more and wink less.
This little nit aside, "Wrong Number" is a fantastic easy read. The plot moves along in a clever, fast-paced manner. The characters are sharply drawn and fully realized. This is one to pick up, folks.
Jeffrey Needle
Association for Mormon Letters
jeff.needle@gmail.comwww.aml-online.orgwww.LDSBookLovers.com/Needle.html
