Belinda: A Novel

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK Junior high teacher Larry Brown wants to help his cousin get out of a cult he is in but things didn't go quite like the teacher expected. His cousin wasn't so sure he wanted out of the cult as of then. Larry is wrapped up in all of the changes and challenges of the 1970's, trying to figure his own life out while being concerned about his cousin and all of the cults he could soon be involved, because after all, the 1970's is the decade of the cults, or so it always seemed to me. I like the way Zvonkovic creates his characters and grows them in the story as it unfolds. I think the characters are very life like, playing their parts in the story well, making the plot flow smoothly and enjoyable. I enjoyed slipping back to the '70's for a while, refreshing my memories of what took place. And I learned a few things too while reading, especially about cults, which I knew next to nothing about. I do now have a better understanding of how and why they exist, and I find it sad that people resort to cults. Another interesting thing is, The Narrows spreads across only ten days, so it's a pretty quick read, except I kept going back and re-reading parts so it took me longer. The Narrows is Book Two in The Raymond Hatcher Stories Series by Mark Zvonkovic, who I think is a very good writer. If you enjoy stories set in the 1970's and want a story about the happenings in that era, I think you will enjoy this one. Five Stars is my Rating for The Narrows. A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this book. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.