A Person
of Interest
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Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Dafina (October 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0758213123
ISBN-13: 978-0758213129
by Ernest Hill
Reviewed by
Thumper
I have begun looking forward to reading novels
written by Ernest Hills. I became a fan of his work
after reading two of his previous novels;
It's All About The Moon When The Sun Ain't Shining
and
Cry Me a River. I came across a copy of Hill’s
A Person of Interest when I was cleaning my
office. Yeah, I am a little late to the party deciding
to review the novel, but I’m glad that I did. A
Person of Interest is the story of a man suspected
of killing his family and the woman who loves and
believes in him; and is determined to clear him of the
murder charges. I really liked the book, in spite of a
major issue.
Luther Jackson has been arrested for the murder of
his wife and young son. The bodies were found in the
living room of the family’s home; burned and reeking of
the smell of gasoline. Felicia Fontenot recently moved
back home to Tennessee to attend to her ailing mother
after the death of her husband of 20-plus years. Felicia
and her mother live across the street from Luther, which
makes for a somewhat awkward situation. Over 20 years
ago Luther and Felicia was engaged to be married. Luther
dumped Felicia to marry his now dead wife. After all of
these years, Felicia is still in love with Luther and
doesn’t believe that he is capable of committing such a
dreadful act, so she sets out to prove his innocence.
I liked A Person of Interest. It didn’t send
me over the moon, but it was a fast, absorbing read. The
characters were nicely developed, nothing extraordinary.
The novel had a bit of mystery to it but Hill did not
play up the murder mystery aspect of the story. At the
beginning to the novel, I thought the murder mystery
angle was where Hill was taking the story with Felicia
playing the detective; however, this was not the case. I
was a little disappointed because it would have made for
a richer story.
The most compelling quality I found about the novel
was that Hill displayed a remarkable skill of timing.
The majority of the novel takes place over a few days;
from the time Luther call the police to report the
murders to when Luther is arrested. Hill moved the story
so that it unfolded in the same rhythm of a drunken
Billie Holiday singing I Loves You Porgy coming in
months behind the beat, but the record still clocks at
three and a half minutes in length. The story was
detailed, yet I was not bored. With the use of well
placed flashbacks-I’ve been on a kick lately concerning
the poor use of flashbacks for a while now-the narrative
was luxuriating. I was impressed.
The only part of the novel that did not sit well with
me was the ending. The ending was rushed, causing me to
do a double take because it ran opposite of the flow of
the book up to that point. The ending reached a highly
unlikely conclusion that came out of nowhere. I read it
again to make sure that I got it, unfortunately I did. I
finished the book with a sour taste in my mouth. What a
shame too, because the book was pretty good up to that
point.
Overall, A Person of Interest was a good read.
I would have had a higher opinion of the book if the
ending had been tighter and flowed in the same vein as
the rest of the novel. I took a couple of points away
because of it. The novel is worth reading. I have no
regrets on that score. I recommend A Person of
Interest.
Related Links
Cry Me a River by Ernest Hill
Reviewed by Thumper
http://reviews.aalbc.com/crymeariver.htm
