Sequel, But Not: Black Rosebud-Have No Mercy 2
Rating:
4 / 5
"As days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, the pages of calendars seemed to change with the blink of an eye. With each passing day, tomorrow suddenly became yesterday." (Page 470)
The above quote comes from deep within this detailed and interesting novel. Not only does it sum up the story to that point, it actually also sums up this novel which, despite the title, is not a sequel to the first novel "Have No Mercy." However, like the namesake, this novel features detailed characters and the tragic results of years of deceit, ignorance and greed.
There are two primary storylines in this 561-page novel and for the most part, each exists independent of the other until the twisting, shocking conclusion. One storyline involves Mama and her daughter known as "Farm Girl." Educationally and financially impoverished, they drift from place to place on Mama's whim as she does farm chores in exchange for food, a place to sleep, and a little money. They wind up on the Welk farm and end up staying for far longer than they planned as an emotional bond is made between them and the elderly Jefferson Welk.
"For Mama there was an instant bond with Jefferson. Quite unlike most of the farmers treated her in the past, Jefferson didn't talk down to her, like he was better than she was. His gentle way of speaking was comforting. She could find no argument in doing household tasks and cooking, or in finally teaching her daughter how to manage inside domestic chores." (Page 17)
The other storyline involves Darrin George Righter who lives with his much older brother, Frank, on the family farm in rural Nebraska. As a teenager, Darin caused problems and didn't seem to have inherited Frank's love for the farm, work ethic, or ability to act responsibly. After graduating from College, a lack of resources and a lack of employment forced Darin back to the family farm he hated so much.
"For a short time, unemployed Darin was either out and about town, drinking and carousing, or sitting around the house drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. He never bothered to lift a hand to help Frank. Easy going Frank didn't mind. Money was never an issue." (Page 27)
Eventually, Darrin gets a job at a local bank and before long hatches a devious plan to begin stealing from bank customers. At roughly the same time, Jefferson begins to teach Farm Girl the basics as best as he can while they all become closer and closer. As months pass, Darin temporarily crosses paths with Jefferson and Farm Girl, setting into motion further tragic events, before his own storyline splits off again.
As in "Have No Mercy," these characters and their actions are described in exhausting detail. Along with finding the occasional typos, a good editor would have been able to streamline this every expansive work somewhat by cutting down some of the dialogue, back story and overall details. Many areas of this novel could have been cut considerably without altering the overall story.
However, while it is excessively wordy, the overall story is complex, interesting, and keeps the reader involved. Things and events are planned out very well and fully described as the novel moves very slowly forward. There is a logical progression both in terms of character development as well as in the storyline and all questions are answered. Nothing is left hanging and open to reader interpretation as everything is fully and completely explained. The reader is left with an interesting and complex as well as overall enjoyable tale full of deceit and greed along with the usual warning from mother's everywhere-be careful what you wish for.
Book Facts:
Black Rosebud: Have No Mercy II
By Bobby and Kam Ruble
Global Authors Publications
www.globalauthorspublications.com
2003
ISBN # 0-97285131-3
Large Trade Paperback
...for anyone who enjoys a good mystery!
Rating:
5 / 5
Black Rosebud: Have No Mercy II
Bobby and Kam Ruble
ISBN: 0972851313
561 pp.In the farm country of Nebraska we meet Farm Girl, a young na�ve mind kept from the wickedness of the world by a mother, Mama, who for her own reasons runs from a past filled with pain. They, in their search for enough to sustain their meager existence, meet a kindly older gentleman, Jefferson Welk, who although mostly distrustful of strangers, decides out of loneliness to take them in for the season. Both Farm Girl and her mother settle in quite well on the Welk farm, dutifully performing their tasks as they build a friendship with Jefferson. And although the man doesn't wish to press his concerns as to not break the tentative bonds that grow, he does convince Mama that education of Farm Girl is necessary. So armed with a limited amount of allowed material, Farm Girl begins to learn of the world that exists beyond the wire fences. Enter Frank Righter, an ex-marine, who after this parents death assumes the responsibility to raise his younger brother, Darin, the town prankster with a love of both money and alcohol. Fresh from college, Darin has no wish to remain on the farm that his family built and with a perfect opportunity laid before him in the Want Ads of the local paper, he knows this could be the very chance he's been waiting for in order to get out. All looks peaceful in Cole County until the phone rings in the local police station and Chief Rusty Simmons, a longtime friend of Frank, becomes drawn into a cat and mouse game with a criminal reported in the papers as the "Neat Nick Thief". With a plot that twists as unpredictably as the wild rose grows, Black Rosebud will entice readers with intricate characters whose veiled motivations can't be revealed until the very end. Surprising and entertaining, with both laugh-out-loud wit and emotionally gripping scenes, Black Rosebud is for anyone who enjoys a good mystery!
powerful crime tale
Rating:
5 / 5
Darin Righter knows that farm life is for those inferior to him. He plans to escape Kidwell, Nebraska and all these losers to attain a luxurious lifestyle envied by the rich and famous. Darin may have illusions of grandeur, but he understands that to achieve his objective he needs funding, which in his mind equates to stomping on people including family to gain easy money.He begins his quest by accepting an accounting job with the First People's Bank of Sharpin that gives him insider information. Farm Girl becomes a victim followed by Darin's older brother and finally elderly Jefferson Welk. Burglaries and murder occur, but is Darin a Lady Macbeth type willing to break the law to achieve his ambition? Though the rural law chief Simmons will do his best to solve the "Neat Nick" crimes, he is a product of his society in which the color of one's skin led to a hate crime that though two generations removed still lingers in the collective memory of everyone. BLACK ROSEBUD is a powerful crime tale that provides readers with a slice of rural Midwest. Though exciting, the shrewdly designed investigation plays a support role to the relationships between residents of the county; the audience will feel like a Cornhusker tasting the dust of Nebraska's farming community. Readers will welcome this suspenseful story that uses individual and community de facto prejudice to add depth to the tale. Those who prefer a sleek crime thriller will probably be better suited elsewhere; anyone who takes delight in a minuscule look at people in a community where crimes have happened will appreciate this book and seek its predecessor, HAVE NO MERCY. Harriet Klausner
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