A Cat's Cradle by Carly Rheilan; Psychological Thriller Explores The Mindset of a Pedophile and His Victim

 

A Cat's Cradle by Carly Rheilan; Psychological Thriller Explores The Mindset of a Pedophile and His Victim 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Sometimes when reading, we have to explore some difficult topics and get inside some terrifying mindsets. Murder Mysteries, Crime Novels, and Psychological Thrillers are practically built on the trope of looking at the world through the point of view of characters that we would rather not: murderers, con artists, burglars, thieves, serial killers, mass shooters, kidnappers, rapists, racists, terrorists, pedophiles. Those are very uncomfortable places to be inside but they are useful. They help us recognize the signs, the mental process, and motives behind such acts so we can recognize them in reality. We can see the early stages in others or even within ourselves so we can act accordingly and prevent crime before it starts. That is what goes into Carly Rheilan’s A Cat's Cradle, a Psychological Thriller that explores the relationship between a pedophile and his victim in a way that is meant to be captivating and also uncomfortable.

After a fight with her bullying brothers, 7 year old Mary Crouch follows a cat to the home of eccentric recluse, Ralph Sneddon. Ralph seems like a helpful friendly sort and the two begin to bond as they put together a secret hideaway. But what Mary doesn't know is that Ralph has a history of violence and sexual abuse towards a minor. As the two become closer, Mary gets nervous, suspicious, and ultimately frightened of her new friend.

A Cat's Cradle is a disturbing book that is written in a way to purposely make the Reader uncomfortable. Since we are seeing sex crimes on a minor from the points of view of the assailant and his victim, we get up close to some terrified and terrifying mindsets.

Ralph’s thought process is that of a sociopath. Even before his relationship with Mary becomes physical, it crosses several boundaries. He wants her to keep their meetings secret from her family and gives her small gifts. His dark humor about hurting the cat or others goes from gallows humor to completely disturbing. The red flags are definitely waving for this guy.

What is even more chilling is when we get into his head through his narration.

 He never believes that there is anything wrong with his behavior. He blames his first victim for haunting his memories so that he sees her in every child. He blames his mother for defending him in court out of maternal love but then throwing him out once she realized that he really was guilty. He blames society for giving him this reputation of a murdering pedophile. He blames everyone but himself. 

Ralph is unable to examine himself or recognize that there is something wrong with wanting to be alone with a little girl that is not a relative and forcing her to keep secrets from her family. He treats his encounters with Mary almost like a suitor planning his romantic dates with a love interest culminating in a marriage proposal except that his intended partner is 7 years old, does not consent or even understand what he is doing, and is unprepared when he molests her. Ralph is mentally stunted and emotionally immature. He has no control over his impulses or his libido. He wants complete control over his victims to the point when Mary is unable to meet him, he sulks and rages over being “stood up.” He is a truly sick and disturbed man.

Mary is just as interesting and worrying in her own way. She exhibits some violent tendencies such as when she threatens her brothers by describing a murdered decayed cat. She is someone who has been bullied by siblings and classmates. She is also neglected by a father who abandoned her family and a mother who is caught up in her own grief and drive to get her husband back. She feels helpless and powerless so these moments when she can display violent tendencies, maintain a dark Gothic humor, and play at being a bit naughty and wicked practically liberates her and gives her a way to express herself. Unfortunately, with Ralph she meets someone who isn't just playing at being wicked.

In some ways Mary and Ralph are parallels at the beginning. They both have troubled pasts, a fixation for dark things, and are solitary introverts. It seems that they could be a match or partnership but they are not. Mary is a child who doesn't know what she is doing. Ralph does and because of that he holds complete dominance over her. Despite this being told from their perspectives, at no point does this relationship look positive or healthy. It is clearly one in which an adult takes advantage of and controls a child.

Because Mary is so young and so inexperienced, the suspense works on a subconscious level. She doesn't know what Ralph has planned but we do. We know the textbook signs of a potential molester and we can see him for who he really is. At 7, Mary doesn't yet have that built-in alarm system that tells her that this behavior is wrong. She just sees a secret adult friend who likes the same things that she does and seems to accept her. We read their encounters and want to yell “Don't trust him” but know that she doesn't understand why she shouldn't. It's when Ralph starts touching Mary that her alarm goes off and she feels uncomfortable. By the time their meetings go from quick touches to full on assault, Mary is completely besotted, traumatized, and damaged. 

This narrative of perpetrator and victim builds to a climax that unfortunately falters a bit. It subverts expectations but in ways that do not fit with everything that previously happened. The build up was definitely better than the pay off.

A Cat's Cradle is a book that reminds us that there are at least two sides to every crime: the person who commits it and the one who is victimized and suffers because of it.

Weekly Reader: What Branches Grow by T.S. Beier; Dystopian Science Fiction Pulls All The Stops in Despair and Angst

 

Weekly Reader: What Branches Grow by T.S. Beier; Dystopian Science Fiction Pulls All The Stops in Despair and Angst

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

 Spoilers: Yes because in the joy of the holiday season when gifts are exchanged, family and friends are together, people open their hearts to give to the less fortunate, it's the time to curl up with a good book of barren wasteland and dictatorships of small pockets of survivalist civilizations. What better time than the cheerful holiday season to read a depressing angst ridden dystopian Science Fiction novel?

It's not like I'm a stranger to reading dark themed books in December. In years past, I read supernatural horror, mysteries, and psychological thrillers. I have also read plenty of dystopian Science Fiction over the past few years to the point that I thought that I was immune to the somber depressed feeling of this subgenre. However, T.S. Beier's What Branches Grow proves that there is some life in this subgenre to move and depress the Reader and to hope that the world does not end up like this.

What Branches Grow pulls out all the stops describing a world destroyed by war, illness, and environmental disaster and the desperate tactics that people have to do to survive. 

Gennero is a guard in the settlement of Churchill. He was once close to the despot, Church, but the loss of some people close to Gennero and Church's increased paranoia and tyrannical behavior have put the guard at odds with his one time leader/friend. 

The final straw occurs when Delia, an outsider from the wastelands, comes to Churchill to get supplies on her way north. Church wants to recruit her for the local brothel, but Delia is not at all willing. In fact, she escapes with Gennero following close behind.

What is particularly unforgettable is the lengths that Beier goes through to describe the Post-Apocalyptic world. In the Acknowledgements, she wrote that she was inspired by such works as Cormac McCarthy's The Road, Stephen King's The Stand, and the Mad Max movies to prepare for her work. Aside from probably giving her nightmares and anxiety, they also combined to give her a book that is a tribute to the subgenre but she also works to make it her own.

Some of most evocative passages involve the descriptions of the Wastelands that Gennero, Delia, and their new friends Perth and his dog, Mort travel through. Beier goes all out describing a world that is devoid of blue skies, no vegetation, and dust, dirt, and grit everywhere. If you are one of those types of Readers with heightened senses, especially tactile, you may feel the dirt and grit all around you and your throat might be parched because of the dryness. Afterwards, you may need to shower to remove the imaginary grit and chug a water bottle to quench your thirst. And of course be grateful that you don't live in that world.

Besides the full on sensory description, Beier does a great job of fleshing out her main characters. Delia and Gennero are part of the generation that was born after the end and this is the only life that they know. True, they heard about life before from the elders, but they have no personal experience with them. 

An apartment in which you could come inside after work, turn on the lights, and sink into a comfortable couch and just relax is as unreal to them as a cavern full of dragons hoarding treasure to us. 

Gennero and Delia were exposed to sexual assault, diminished rations, and fighting for survival since they were children. It's safe to say that they were never children. Their innocence was lost because of decisions that were made long before they were born.

Actually not too long before they were born. In fact, in What Branches Grow we find out through Perth that this world is set only a few decades away from ours. In fact even though Perth is in his 60's or 70's, he is revealed to have been a Millennial. (Feeling old yet?) In fact his memories of the past such as working on computers, watching the Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, and going to Starbucks are our memories. Typically, Gennero and Delia roll their eyes when he goes on about his past. But it's heart tugging all the same. These are the little things that we would cherish and long for when the world ends and all that's left is a land of dust.

Gennero, Delia, and Perth go through many changes and development during their travels. They don't trust each other but have suffered tremendous loss. Eventually, they bond after saving each other's lives and scavenging for food and warmth inside abandoned houses. The hardness of the times have not made them completely cold and unfeeling. They show affection towards each other and other good people who help them and vice versa. 

They also have a goal in mind to reach: The City, a place that is still like it was. Another trope of Dystopian Science Fiction is a new better place that the characters long for, their version of Heaven. The City definitely invokes images of Tomorrow Morrow Land in Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome (actually Sydney).

The three main characters and many of the others wonder about The City. Does it exist? Is it as beautiful as they say? Is it ruined like the rest of the world? Is it worth going to when they are surrounded by feral animals, cannibals, fanatic survivalists, and an uncertain environment? The idea of The City being this imagined Paradise gives the characters hope and something to aspire towards in such a dark world.

What Branches Grow is a dark disturbing book, no question. But it still carries themes of perseverance and hope.

Weekly Reader: Murder on the Dark Web (Belfast Murder Mystery Book 4) by Brian O'Hare; Dark and Sinister Murder Mystery Plays On Notions of Innocent and Guilty

 

Weekly Reader: Murder on the Dark Web (A Belfast Murder Mystery Book 4) by Brian O'Hare; Dark and Sinister Murder Mystery Plays On Notions of Innocent and Guilty

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: I will try not to reveal too much about this book, but one of the things that I like the most about it is somewhat tied to a huge spoiler so I will just say this review contains SOME MAJOR HEAVY DUTY SPOILERS!!!!

Murder on the Dark Web by Brian O'Hare is one of those types of murder mystery novels that completely subverts and flip flops the ideas of innocent and guilty and right and wrong. Not in some time have I detested a group of murder and blackmail victims more. Not in some time have I empathized, understood, and almost completely sided with the murderer more. It is only when the murderer takes things a step too far that the empathy ends.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan and his team are called in when Judge Trevor Neeson is found murdered in his study. Sheehan's team are the usual brave good-hearted characters that you would find in most police procedural novels. 

Sheehan is the wise leader and father to his men (and woman) and has a happy home life. Sergeant Denise Stewart, Sheehan's partner, is the only woman on the team. She is dating one of the other detectives and has to deal with the other team members trying to protect her so-called "delicate femininity" and dismissing her because she's a woman. Detective Declan Connors and Malachy McBride are an odd pairk (Connors is middle aged, street smart, and surly, McBride is young, educated, and enthusiastic). The two care for each other and may be partners, more than just on the force. Sheehan's team are a great well-written bunch that help provide light in the darkness by protecting those in trouble and punishing the truly guilty.

At first Neeson's murder investigation seems routine. On the night that he died, he had a gathering of wealthy guests. While investigating the guests, each one insists that they were just talking about Brexit. Well, okay rich folks talking politics nothing wrong with that. Except every time that the group says the reason behind their meeting, they use the exact same words as though they were reciting them. They seem like they are covering up their real conversation.

The book alternates between Sheehan's team's investigation, the murderer, and Neeson's colleagues. The Reader is one step ahead of Sheehan's team through the entire book, so it becomes not so much a Whodunnit, but more of a when will they find out?

What the Reader learns is that Neeson's gathering had nothing to do with Brexit. Instead he was part of a secret organization called The Fulfillment for the Enlightened Club, a group of wealthy elites who meet to fulfill their sexual pleasures. The club consists of high society members such as judges, professors, stockholders, property moguls, socialites, and millionaires. One member even flies in from South Africa to fulfill their sexual pleasure.

It is the activities of this club that are detestable. The club meets and pays for various sadistic pleasures like items on a menu, literally. (Seriously, there is a menu that lists all the sexual escapades and how much the members can pay for them.) The sexual activities include making snuff films and having sex with children as young as three or four years old. (sickened yet?) Neeson and the others are a detestable decadent bunch that take delight in other victim's pain. Neeson and another judge, Adams, have acquired a reputation for bidding and fighting over the younger pretty boys and young men. 

The Club members are the sorts that are so comfortable with their wealth and status that they believe that they can get away with anything. This is probably why they make the same lame alibi. They play Sheehan's and his team just like their young victims. They have no shame, sorrow, remorse, and consider themselves above the law. The more the Reader gets to know these awful people, the more they want to see them taken down.

Sheehan and the other detectives aren't the only ones trailing the club. On the Dark Web, a character named Nemein has been leaving messages on his blog confessing to Neeson's murder and taking credit for other murders of club members. No one knows who he is except that he seems to be a well educated individual (he writes in the style of 19th century literature) and has a knowledge of the legal and judicial process. He claims that he is serving justice. This causes Sheehan and the other detectives to wonder who Nemein is and what is his connection to the Club. Is he a member or one of their victims?

What becomes clear is that Nemein has been hurt and is disgusted with the Club's actions. He is out for revenge about something personal and won't let the club's wealth and status be a barrier in his particular brand of justice. Much like other antagonists in other crime books that I read like Damien Linnane's Scarred or Karina Kantas' Lawless Justice, Nemein becomes understandable in his illegal activities. When Nemein reveals his connection to the club, his story is genuinely heartbreaking. The Reader can't help but feel for this character who once had love and showed kindness only to meet hurt and betrayal in the worst way.

What shifts our sympathies against Nemein is in the way he dispenses justice, especially against someone who was not a club member. He doesn't mind hurting innocent bystanders to make his point or forcing someone whose only crime was doing their job to make a sadistic choice. In his pursuit of justice, Nemein turns into the very monsters that he hated and upon whom he swore vengeance.

Murder on the Dark Web is a dark but gripping murder mystery. It shows us that sometimes the line between good and evil is not so defined. In fact, it can be quite blurry.

Classics Corner: We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates; Superb Novel About Family Ties That Violently Break Apart

Classics Corner: We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates; Superb Novel About Family Ties That Violently Break

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews


Spoilers: If you live in a rural community, you probably know a family like the Mulvaneys.

They were a family that seemed large in number and seemed to know everybody. They were the center of community life. The parents were part of many organizations, maybe on the school board, served on every committee, and maybe had a place or two named for them. The children seemed to be involved in every activity in school, won every prize, were the most popular kids, and were academic and/or athletic all stars. You might have befriended them. You might have envied them. You might have been sick of hearing about them. But one thing was for certain, you couldn't imagine that rural community without them.




That is the type of family described in Joyce Carol Oates’s amazing novel, We Were The Mulvaneys. Oates peers into the private life of a family that appears large, happy, and involved, then reveals how they violently and tragically fall apart.


The Mulvaneys consist of Michael (AKA Curly), a roofer and small business owner, Corrine (AKA Whistle), his antique collecting wife, and their four children. The children are Mike Jr. (AKA Mule, Jr.,or Four), football champ and devoted big brother, Patrick (AKA Pinch), the science genius and introvert, Marianne (AKA Chickadee), the sweet and devout cheerleader and social butterfly, and Judd (AKA Baby, Dimple, Ranger), the youngest and most curious and awkward member of the family.

The Mulvaneys appear to be a very close family. They are actively involved in their community with Michael's country club membership, Corrine's church affiliation, and the kid's extracurricular activities. They care deeply for their animals and love their pets. There is always something going on, because the kids invite friends over and the house gets loud, crowded, and fun.

The Mulvaneys share family jokes such as their nicknames for each other or interpreting their pet's speeches. They tell stories, like Corrine's encounter with fireflies in December, with the kids usually making the same comments throughout. There are harmless teasing and personality clashes, but mostly this is a family that is very close, very loving, and generally very happy.

Until Valentine's Day, 1976. That night, Marianne is raped by the son of a family friend. As the Mulvaneys deal with the consequences of the rape, they also have to confront the judgement of a small town that once befriended and admired the family and now turn them into pariahs.

The Mulvaney family implodes as Michael turns to alcohol, rage, and various litigation suits to cope with the trauma. Corrine and the children also deal with the aftermath of the rape in their own ways causing the family to fracture even further.

This is a book that is filled with rich relatable characters, particularly in a family dynamic. There are many little details that those in a big family would recognize. When Corrine retells her kids the story about the fireflies, the kids groan and repeat the same lines about the fireflies (Ever scientifically accurate, Patrick always points out that fireflies couldn't appear in winter) but they always listen. One of the most touching moments is in the final chapter, after all the conflict has passed, the Mulvaneys are at a family reunion and the now adult children prompt Mom to begin the firefly story. Of course, Mom tells it and of course the kids groan and go into the same comments. This plays into the idea of inside jokes and memories that close family members share. Even the comments are repeated because they convey familiarity and comfort.

Another thing that repeats often is the family's devotion to their animals. Earlier, Judd says that his father, Michael insisted that the head of the family is their cat, Snowball, then Corrine, and he doesn't want to go farther down the line because it's too humiliating. Coming from a family that still mourns our beloved tortoiseshell calico, our queen, Houdini, gone these past ten years but not forgotten (though we insist that she is now sitting on God's shoulder running the Rainbow Bridge), I definitely understand.

The family's love for their pets is felt with the kids. Many of them have a signature horse, dog, or cat that they walk, take care of, ride, and regret saying goodbye to when they move out. However, when Marianne leaves home shortly after her rape, she brings her favorite cat, Muffin, with her so they can live with her mother's cousin and away from the shame. Marianne moves three more times throughout the course of the novel and each time brings her cat with her.

That's what makes this book so special. These details help the Reader sympathize with this family and sees them in happier nostalgic days, before reality hits, rape occurs, and they fall apart. We like and know these characters. Then we are horrified and pity them.

The family counts their lives before and after the rape, to the point that Marianne's rape becomes the turning point of the entire novel. It's hard to believe that the family who are isolated from town judgement and gossip, engage in violent arguments, and try to get as far away from each other as soon as possibleare the same family that was once so close and loving. You hate the rapist even more for hurting Marianne and destroying her family.

How the family deals with the rape and the aftermath says a lot about them as individuals as well as their placement in the family structure. Michael was once a proud community leader and a strong family head. He despairs because he feels like he failed in protecting Marianne. Alcoholism separates him from his family and his rages and lawsuits separates him from the community that he was once so proud to be a member of. He is arrested for striking Marianne's rapist and his father. He is stifled from caring for his family and feels impotent. The more impotent he feels, the more he retreats into perpetual drunkenness. He is in despair but feels helpless as they have to sell animals, Corrine's antiques, properties, the roofing business, and eventually their farm.

While Michael finds comfort in drink, Corrine finds comfort in passive religion. She was once a warm hearted woman who was devoted to her family and her live for God. She was a regular church attendee and was the type to share her Christian faith with anyone who asks (and even to some who don't ask.).

Since her family troubles, Corrine accepts her husband's transformation and her children's departures with resignation. She still clings to her God, but not for the joyful spiritual love she had before. Instead, she draws into religion as her only comfort and sanctuary in what is becoming a more violent and uncertain world.


The children are also deeply affected. Mike receives the least amount of attention, but he is someone who wants to go on with life. He is humiliated by Michael's behavior and constantly fights with his father. The father and son no longer can work cooperatively. When Michael loses the roofing business, Mike finds no need to stick around and enlists in the Marines, as if trying to move on from the trauma.

Patrick, the intellectual and introvert, retreats into his studies and his own thoughts. He goes to college to study biology, something that can be quantified, tested, and solutions can be found instead of unanswered. Patrick is also the one filled with the most rage though he hides it behind his cold intellectualism. He subtly searches for Marianne's rapist and in one tense moment confronts him with all the hurt that the family goes through.

Marianne is extremely traumatized by her rape. She was just as religious as her mother and was known around town as a good girl. After her rape, she has imaginary conversations with God wondering why this happened to her. She is shattered by the effects the assault had on her family and guilt stricken by believing that it was her fault. She moves out shortly after her rape out of guilt and sorrow.

While Patrick's journey was one of the mind, Marianne's is one of the spirit. She tries to find a spiritual center and purpose in life beyond her encounter. Marianne (and Muffin) goes to college, drops out, and then moves to a religious co-op. At the co-op, she is able to prepare food and work with others feeling accepted and useful. She believes that working at the Co-op provides herself with salvation.

However, the trauma still remains with Marianne. When the head of the Co-op confesses that he is attracted to her, Marianne is terrified and realizes that it's time to move on.

Jud has to suffer from the pains of being the baby of the family. He was too young to remember the majority of the good times. He only hears about them through family stories that he hears so often that he thinks he remembers them. He is a pre-teen when his sister is raped, so his main memories center on the dismal family afterwards, not the loving one before. As the first person narrator of the story, he chronicles their memories and stories as an observer not a participant. He can only gain access to the happy times from second hand information, not from his own recollections.

Because he is so young, Jud is filled with questions about who they were, how could anyone have attacked his sweet big sister, and why did they end up the way they did. In an early chapter, Jud sees a deer in front of the house and watches as it disappears into the forests. He thinks of Marianne like that deer: fragile, vulnerable, unprotected, and runs away to seek security.

Jud also has to come clean about his involvement with catching Marianne's rapist. He is there when Patrick makes the plan and follows him when Patrick confronts Marianne's attacker. Even though Jud is appalled that the rapist is free, he also realizes that he assisted his brother in committing a felony. His novel is also a way of coming clean over his actions while trying to understand the rest of the Mulvaneys.

The last chapter gives hope to the Mulvaneys as the children grow, find partners, and have children. Even their mother has found a close friend and has returned to collecting antiques. The family reunites again. While the years have worn them away and the trauma is still there, they are still a loving family. They can never go back to the way they are, but they can still be happy and together, even if they are now different.