Book Reviews

Book Blurb

A disfigured woman haunted by nightmares and the knowledge that she'll always be alone. A lesbian high school student who deals with abuse by cutting herself with a razor blade. A vicious serial killer that has been leaving a bloody path of faceless victims in his wake.

Taylor Mackenzie's parents died in a car crash when she was a child. Marked by facial scarring from the same accident, she had been raised by her grandmother, a woman who had been so ashamed of her granddaughter's looks that she had her hidden away from the rest of the world for most of her life. After finally running away as a teen, Taylor made her way to San Diego where she now helps run a shelter for runaway girls.

Rachel Dupree is a lonely and confused lesbian trying to survive high school. Abused by her alcoholic mother and bullied by her classmates, Rachel comforts herself by dragging a razor blade across her skin. Rachel's only friend must leave for Chicago sooner than she had expected and Rachel is on the verge of suicide, knowing that the only person who didn't think she was a sick freak would soon disappear.

The Skinner is a vicious serial killer that has been terrorizing the country for the past year. His victims are young and pretty, their faces taken and preserved to keep them that way. He is obsessed with the ideas of innocence and purity and believes his victims should thank him for having the honor of being chosen. There have been no leads, no suspects, and he could be anywhere.

When Taylor's grandmother dies and she has to return home, it sets off a series of events that will entwine the two women together more than either of them had ever imagined. Bonding over their scars, they both begin to believe that maybe, just maybe, they've finally found the happiness they've been searching for.

Unless, of course, the Skinner finds them first...

 

Book Review

This book is tremendously exciting, nail-bitingly intense, and touchingly beautiful. I could not put it down. The main characters wear their hearts on their sleeves and I just wanted to hug them both since they had been through such turmoil. Interwoven around the two young women's stories, plights, and adventures is the dreadful pall of a vicious serial killer who is really, really bad. However, it is the tender and loving attraction between the two outcasts that shines above all. They are most certainly survivors. Outstanding!

Taylor has been through a good deal, but the news broadcasts about this serial killer have triggered some gut-wrenching nightmares whenever it rains. What she had to go through as a young girl just tore me apart. Additionally, she has a horribly scarred face from the car accident in which her parents died. She is a warrior and has found a place for herself in the well protected, solid home that addresses the problems of badly battered and scarred young girls and women. She now teaches and helps others mend. There is still a bunch of issues to be dealt with and larger battles waiting for her to win or be crushed to dust. Extraordinary!

Rachel is an outcast for so many different reasons and her resourcefulness is constantly put to the test. She is a fighter although some of her coping mechanisms are also laying the foundation for future trauma and disconsolation. She gets rescued from one of her many tribulations by Taylor of all people who has returned to her childhood environs to handle the legal ramifications of her grandmother's passing. They are a bit of an odd couple, but they each have something special to give to the other. As circumstances mount, there are several situations where they protect each other's backs and form a kind of solid link against the not so cliché slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. I like this pair as they boldly march forward. Wondrous!

Frankly, the final confrontation with all manner of veils stripped away totally knocked my socks off and then some. There are clues strewn about that I only saw after the fact. Oh well, that is one of my crosses to bear. However, I so recommend this book for all the intricacies, all the warm and touching relationships, and most definitely the lollapalooza ending. Fantastic!

 

 

 

 

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Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 179 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	08-September-2013
Price	$2.99 ebook
Buy Link	http://www.amazon.com/Scarred-Kristine-Roper-ebook/dp/B00F2RKFI8