Finding Jennifer Jones
Anne Cassidy
Jennifer Jones has been asked to relocate her life once again. Now named Kate Rickman, she seems just like any other girl, going to university and working casually. Her past is always haunting her, and when current events in her life break her reserves, she contacts the only other person who was there when Jennifer killed for the first time.
I listened to this as a talking book. Reading the first one sufficiently whet my interest when I received it as a review copy about a year ago. It had its downsides, but it had an unusual storyline that I enjoyed.
Kate is a rather inconsistent and selfish character. But you get used to it, and find yourself enjoying life inside her head. The other characters could have done with a bit more fleshing out, but given that it is all from Kate’s very limited perspective, it was acceptable.
As with the first, I felt frustrated by the flashbacks. I would have just preferred them here and there, but instead, as it was a talking book, I just had to try remember what was going on in the ‘real’ world the rest of the time. There was far too much recapping which also made me feel frustrated! I’d already heard all about the findings in the clearing (which were still vague) and had grasped most of what was going on in the background, even if Alice/Kate/Jennifer didn’t.
Kate frustrated me! Arg! Kate! Surely she should know better than to respond to her old names? How do the media know that it is her, apart from the fact she responds to it? If she can look enough like another person to use their passport, I’m not sure why it was easy for the media to identify her.
I wonder if there will be a third book. I don’t want to hear about the immediate future of Jennifer, I want to know what it’s like to be a fully-fledged adult with a criminal background.
