Customer Reviews

The Kindness Of Strangers

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Sarah, a widow and mother of Nate, 17 and Danny, 11 runs a thriving catering business. She is also a master chef and maker of wedding cakes and is held in high esteem in her suburban Oakhaven Ohio community.

Her neighbor, Courtney, an obstetrician has extended friendship to Sarah during her bereavement. Courtney's son Jordan, also 11 is friends with Danny and is Danny's classmate. Courtney tells Sarah that she thinks Jordan has Asperger's Syndrome, the spectrum partner to autism as he is sorely lacking in social skills.

But does he have Asperger's? Or is Jordan's behavior reflective of external circumstances rather than internal ones? A rainy day encounter with Jordan washes away all illusions that Sarah once had about Courtney. Shivering and disoriented, Jordan stands outside his house, although school has already started. Sarah offers to drive him until she realizes he is in no condition to attend. After a traumatic suicide attempt on Jordan's part, Sarah rushes him to the local hospital where medical personnel discover that the boy has been sexually abused. Ironically, it is the same hospital where Courtney works and where Sarah's husband died some two years earlier.

Layers of boils get lanced as more ugly secrets erupt, dancing out like a parade of skeletons in a closet. Not only has Jordan been abused, but so have other children. Courtney's mask of respectability has been torn off, revealing a cracked, twisted gargoyle in its place. Instead of being loving neighbors and parents, Courtney and Mark have been running a child pornography ring. Jordan, severely traumatized has developed some incredible coping skills.

As more layers of deceit get peeled away, Sarah re-evaluates herself; her neighbors and her judgment. Nate steps up to the plate for Jordan by encouraging Sarah to take him in as a foster child. Once the bandages and red tape are cut away, the family can heal and bond. The Ladens are clearly Laden with love and step up to the plate for Jordan. I especially loved Nate. One part that made me smile was how Nate and Jordan really got into venting their anger at Jordan's parents, who were truly monstrous.

This is an excellent book, a genuine page turner. The garden theme/persistent images is very effective. I highly recommend this book, especially for its realistic and sensitive treatment of a very painful topic. Katrina Kittle is certainly an author to watch out for. This book is outstanding.

The very graphic details were completely unnecessary and coupled with a lead character who was being courted by two "hunky" men she met because they were involved professionally in the case. When you delve into a topic like this, you need to handle it so carefully - not turn it into a romance/horror story peppered with recipes. Yuck.

I have never left a comment on Amazon before, but feel compelled to comment on this book. This story is about a woman, Sarah, who is coping with the death of her husband while raising her two adolescent sons. Her neighbour and best friend turns out to be, along with her husband and their friends, child molesters who do unspeakable things to their young son while she unsuspectingly caters their 'parties'. Instead of incorporating the subject of child abuse and incest in a sensitive way, it bombards the reader with sickening details of child sex parties; details which unwittingly imprint themselves on even the most sophisticated reader. To make matters worse, the book cover in no way hints at the subject matter, which is frustrating for a reader looking for an interesting thriller and ends up with a disturbing story of incest that is thoughtlessly combined with cooking and romance. I can't recall the last time I was so put off by a work of fiction - I will not be passing this book on to friends or keeping it in my library.

This booked shocked the hell out of me. The details were disturbing and very sad, but I still couldnt put it down. I had no idea the story was going to take this kind of turn, so be prepared for details that will make you cringe. I still enjoyed this book, but I had no idea what I was in for.

I really didn't know the subject of this book when I picked it up. Rarely have I seen such a sensitive, voir taboo subject handled with grace and a true understanding of the feelings involved for the whole community. The pharagraph will leave you haunted and filled with a bitter taste of 'how is that even possible' feeling.
A must read!

This is again a book that has difficult content, but I think that Katrina Kittle did an amazing job writing this novel. It was captivating and was very hard to put down - I was constantly wondering what was going to happen. This novel really examines the terror of realizing that nobody is who they seem..

This book is a good reminder to keep our eyes open for child abuse, however, I did not like reading about how the dear little boy lived and the way his parents treated him.
It does make one realize that we should never trust anyone fully. So many things can be well hidden behind closed doors.

I bought this book to have something good to read for a long plane ride and it didn't disappoint. It is very well written. I really enjoyed how it was written from the different characters points of view. It really got me thinking about how I would handled something like that if it happened to my family. I finished it while I was away and bought another one of her books for the plane ride back.

This book was amazing. While the book made be feel uncomfortable at times while reading (since it focuses on a sexaully abused child), I could not put it down. The story focuses on the strengths of the Laden family, and of Jordan, and how they each contribute to each others healing process.

I just finished this book and as heart wrenching as the story was, I was fascinated and could barely put it down. Katrina writing is superb, the characters so real, with emotions we all can relate to. The ending left me wanting more to follow up and see what direction Jordan took and how Danny made out in life. To me,feeling so much for the characters was the sign of an excellent writer, one in tune with real life.