Excerpt: The Edge of Normal

Back in September, I reviewed Carla Norton's debut novel, THE EDGE OF NORMAL.  It made a strong impression on me, as you can tell from my closing comments:

"THE EDGE OF NORMAL will leave you at the edge of your seat.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and hope Norton keeps on with this fiction thing.  THE EDGE OF NORMAL has fascinating, complex characters, a twisting, fast-paced plot, and it lingers in the mind afterwards.  It's everything a good thriller should be."

Today, I'm happy to share an excerpt with you.

ONE 
San Francisco, California
Tuesday Before Thanksgiving

Tuesdays are always a test, and getting to his office is the hard part, but twenty-two-year-old Reeve LeClaire has never told her psychiatrist about her route. It begins with a short walk to the Ferry Building, where she routinely orders a hot chocolate and carries it outside, sipping its sweetness while watching the ferries emerge from the fog. The boats come from Vallejo and Larkspur and Sausalito, trailing white foam and flocks of gulls before stopping to off-load a morning rush of commuters.
When the sun breaks through the fog, Reeve turns her face to it, shuts her eyes, and savors the red heat on her eyelids.

No one notices her in the flow of the crowd, and she feels almost smug about her anonymity. She’s hardly recognizable as the schoolgirl pictured in the “Missing” posters, or the pasty waif heralded in the tabloids. Though still on the small side, she has grown an inch and gained sixteen pounds. Her teeth are fixed. She is clean and smooth and has plucked her eyebrows to precise arcs.

Her hair has grown back so nicely that it’s almost a source of pride. She often changes its color to black or blond or, today, maroon. She wears it neatly cut, feathered, and always long enough to cover the scars that remain visible on the back of her neck.

When the clock tower begins its 9:00 A.M. chime, Reeve shoulders her bag. By the time its elaborate music is finished and it’s pealing seven … eight … nine, she is out of the Ferry Building and crossing onto Market Street. The street vendors and musicians are too busy to bother her. But the farther she makes herself walk down this street, the more cautious she must become.

Review: The Edge of Normal

By Carla Norton
Available now from Minotaur Books (Macmillan)
Review copy
Royal Palm Literary Award winner

This review was supposed to go up Friday, but I felt that it wasn't done yet.  I've felt like my reviews feel very same-y lately, which isn't what I want.  I need to burst out of my rut!

THE EDGE OF NORMAL is a thriller, a genre I've been reading more of this year.  I blame GONE GIRL.  It's not that I loved GONE GIRL (I just liked it), but that publishers are giving their thrillers more of a push.  And why not?  Thrillers have a wide ranging appeal.  They're fast, but have to be clever to deliver twists.  They're driven by plot, but often require psychological depth.

Reeve LeClaire was held captive for three years.  Her kidnapper was caught only because of a freak car accident.  Six years later, she's still recovering when her therapist asks her to travel across the country and speak to young girl, Tilly, who was recently rescued from her kidnapper.  He thinks it will help both Reeve and Tilly.  It does, but it soon becomes apparent that there's more going on in Tilly's case, and that it isn't as open and shut as it seemed.  There's two other missing girls, Abby and Hannah, and Tilly could be the key to finding them in time.

THE EDGE OF NORMAL switches between points of view, and it's a rare example of villain point of view done well.  The passages narrated by the villain reveal how he keeps staying one step ahead, when otherwise the plotting might fall apart.  The passages are also careful not to reveal his real name.  You know he's in other scenes, but it's often hard to guess which person he might be.

I also liked that the book wasn't overly sensational.  This is Carla Norton's fiction debut, but she has a background in true crime writing.  Reeve and Tilly have been through terrible things, but the focus on them is not that terrible things happened, but how they're moving on.  Reeve keeps a secret for Tilly perhaps longer than she should, but it's clear she wants the girl to have as much control and trust as possible.

I also like that unlike many thriller heroines, Reeve goes to the police pretty quickly.  (She's laughed off, because the plot wouldn't work otherwise, but I like that she went to the authorities like a normal person.)  Reeve gets a couple of potential romantic storylines, but they don't go very far since they aren't about perfunctory romance, but Reeve opening up to chance.

THE EDGE OF NORMAL will leave you at the edge of your seat.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and hope Norton keeps on with this fiction thing.  THE EDGE OF NORMAL has fascinating, complex characters, a twisting, fast-paced plot, and it lingers in the mind afterwards.  It's everything a good thriller should be.