The Wedding Gift [Paperback]

The book starts off great. The prologue is filled with small historical flashbacks of news reports of Robina Willets, the murderer of her five children, her husband, and herself. It had police reports, funeral announcements and engagement announcements that were all tied to the Willet family and the Willet House. All this back history instantly grabbed my attention and gave me a feeling of mystery and suspense. In fact, it was so well done, I went searching for Editorial Notes to see if this was based on a true story. The Wedding Gift is told in the voice of Leeann Worthier, high school senior, local pagent queen, and self proclaimed prettiest girl in town. She tells what is currently happening in her life, such as preparing for her wedding and the birth of her child.

The following chapters continue, as she begins to reflect, on how she arrived to where she was. She flashes back, to when she met and got involved with George Willet, a twenty something, heir apparent to the family petroleum business. She wasn't attracted to him, but he treated her nice and bought her things, so she went with the flow. But, when she ended up pregnant...well, living in a small town, with a God fearing mother and protective father, she was pushed into marriage. Naturally, you can imagine, how her future mother-in-law handled things. Yeah, she was a snooty bitch, a real peice of work. "White trash","whore" and "gold digger" were definately mentioned on occasion. Of course, George was a mama's boy and in his eyes, mommy did no wrong. *rolls eyes* The story begins to move forward from after the wedding. If family issues, an unwanted marriage, her pregancy, and the return of a childhood crush weren't enough, Leeann begins to hear, see, and dream the ghost Robina Willets. Oh, can you guess what the wedding gift was? Yep, the Willet's House. So you can imagine, it wasn't happily ever after for the newlyweds. With the support of her family and friends, Leeann tries to cope with tragedy after tragedy...while trying not to go crazy like Robina Willets.

Truth be told, I didn't like Leeann. Some of the things she did in the book were very off-putting. I could almost understand, how the monster-in-law held disdain for her. Yet, at the same time, I believed Leeann's character. She felt real, crediable, and familiar to girls, I knew growing up in a small town. So in this, the author did a real good job at pulling out the emotions in me. I have read many reviews claiming how they loved Leeann's character. About how she was charming and witty. I failed to see it. I could see the author's attempt, but the execution fell flat for me. If anything, Leeann came off as self-centered, sarcastic and whiny. While, I didn't approve of her relationship with George, because of the age difference, I felt sorry for him. I do believed that he cared for her. Yet,the only time she even considered giving the marriage a chance, was when he bought her an expensive gift. But, it was only a breif consideration. I want to say that she was young, that there was character growth throughout the book, but I can't. When I closed the book, all I could do was shake my head. I really wanted to like her, and was glad at the outcome. But, I really really hated how she got it.

Overall, it was a good read, but a bittersweet one. I was hoping for a good supernatural mystery. Instead, I think the plot was lost in all of Leeann's rambling-ons and self-centeredness. I couldn't even digest certain events, because, Leeann made it all about her feelings instead. Events that most people would consider tragic, horrific, and pertinent to the plot, Leeann dismissed calluosly. Rarely, does a protagonsit piss me off, to the point, I just don't like her. That being said, Kathleen McKenna has a remarkable talent in making her characters not only crediable, but believable. Growing up in a small town myself, I thought her small town enviroment was spot on in realism, and it had a tinge of familiarity about it. I guess, it comes down to preference. If you are looking for a suspenseful supernatural story, then you might find this lacking in the suspense department, but if you like a good drama with a touch of the supernatural, then I think you will like it.

Leeann Worthier and George Willits are both big fish in a small pond. She is the local beauty queen, and self proclaimed prettiest girl in town. He is the heir apparent to the family petroleum business, and judging by the family's wealth, business is booming. It is no shock then, then in the small town of Dalton, these two end up together. Well, it may have been a shock to his mamma. She probably saw it as a tragedy, but then again, the Willits family has a lot of tragedies. George's uncle and cousins were murdered in their home by George's aunt, and other strange things have happened in that house. So, when George announces that the same house is is wedding gift to Leeann, so that they can have their own home, she is less than thrilled. Strange and terrible things continue to happen, and Leeann is bound to get to the bottom of things, even if it kills her.

Oh my goodness. I wish I would have had a paper bag when I read this, because I was laughing so hard at times I was hyperventilating! Kathleen McKenna sure does know how to write a memorable story! This is a story involving small town life, with it's scandal and charm, in a Southwestern town that fancies itself more Southern than it really is. The characters are brilliantly farcical, as are the situations in which they find themselves. I guffawed several times over Leeann's dialogue, both internal and external, because that girl has quite a way with the words.

In some ways, the Leeann's situation is tragic, and in some ways it's trashy. I love both aspects. I do not want to give anything away, because trust me, you want to read this book. It is sort of like Murder She Wrote meets King of the Hill, all set in Oklahoma. There are supernatural aspects to the book, which will appeal to paranormal fans, and a touch of mystery, but it is also quite comedic. There is never a dull moment in this one. Read it, and see for yourself!

There are two elements which characterize The Wedding Gift; mystery and "ghost story". The novel is narrated by Leeann, a 17 year old youngster considered the town's prettiest girl. Even though she's in love with her brother's childhood friend, Donny, after drawing the town's wealthiest man attention and being impregnated by him, the only solution is marriage. As a wedding gift they get a mansion which apparently has a macabre story where there have occurred several deaths without any logic explanation. The story's plot is not the one I'm used to read, but I can reassure Mckeena knows how to write good mystery and without a doubt it's somewhat peculiar. The narrator's not my favorite, though. She's too vane and empty for my taste. On the other hand, Donny was sweet and because of the age difference, George was kind of weird, I felt sorry for him occasionally. The biggest compliment I can give the author is that at the beginning of the story, the reader will be trying to define what is really going on. You will jump off your seat every now and then or will look sideways fearing Robina's ghost magically appearing in your territory. The wedding Gift; a gift to all those mystery and supernatural lovers forged in a single story.