The Books I Read - Just for Fun - March of 2023

​Started 2/28                                                                 Finished 3/6
This book came out at the end of May in 2018. I bought it in early July because I was working on a lockdown story for kids, and I was curious what the adult version looked like – it’s as different as night and day.

What fascinated me – how Nora built the plot. The first five chapters are about set-up and world building. We meet the main characters. We watch them react to the first shots, to the arrival of the police, and to the funerals. It’s a drama roller coaster.

In the middle the two main characters learn to cope. One becomes a policeman. The other an artist. That’s when Nora adds in a new twist – a hidden conspirator who’s picking off survivors, and the hunt is on.

​Amazon’s Description:
It was a typical evening at a mall outside Portland, Maine. Three teenage friends waited for the movie to start. A boy flirted with the girl selling sunglasses. Mothers and children shopped together, and the manager at video game store tended to customers. Then the shooters arrived.

The chaos and carnage lasted only eight minutes before the killers were taken down. But for those who lived through it, the effects would last forever. In the years that followed, one would dedicate himself to a law enforcement career. Another would close herself off, trying to bury the memory of huddling in a ladies' room, helplessly clutching her cell phone--until she finally found a way to pour her emotions into her art.

But one person wasn't satisfied with the shockingly high death toll at the DownEast Mall. And as the survivors slowly heal, find shelter, and rebuild, they will discover that another conspirator is lying in wait--and this time, there might be nowhere safe to hide.

---