It Takes One (Audrey Harte)

by Kate Kessler

[Beth C.]

Audrey Harte is going home. No permanently, mind you. No, she's going home after a seven-year absence to for her mother's birthday - and she will be leaving as soon as humanly possible. She will go back to her life in California, as far away from the small town she grew up in and the knowledge that to most there, she is nothing but a murderer. But when her (former) best friend, and the person she killed for as a teen, is murdered on her first night home, all bets about her leaving soon are off. In fact, all bets about whether she will survive the trip home are off.

Audrey was fascinating to me as a reader. She committed this horrible crime as a kid, but for reasons she still feels are absolutely the right ones. She has used that crime and her stay in a juvenile facility as a way escape her town and educate herself and help others. Yet, she has never truly forgiven herself - or her best friend - for the events that transpired. But like everyone else, going home opens closets and unearths skeletons best left buried. She's a strong heroine, but definitely has her flaws.

The characters in general were interesting, though my favorite was someone who never actually made an appearance in the book. All the characters have their own motivations, and no one could be said to be purely good or bad. Human frailties abound, but so do moments of courage and love. No cardboard cutout characters here.

I read this book on the recommendation of someone else, and I ended up staying up until 2am to finish it. This wee hours of the morning reading is unusual for me these days, with a job and two kids and everything else that embodies my life. So to willingly give myself a reading hangover, the book was just that good. It's delightful and twisted and delightfully twisted in all the right ways. Knowing that this is the first of a series starring Audrey Harte, I look forward to reading the next one.