I really enjoyed reading Make It Right by Willie Mae Jackson. The hook was excellent, and I was quickly building a rapport with the shooter just to be tossed to a scene of random shooting and law enforcement. I had to keep reading to piece it together!
The character development of Donovan Montgomery is really good. The reader can quickly assume that she is smart just from her psychological doctorate, but quickly we learn more. She apparently is quick and calm in an emergency, a mass shooting will show that. She really considers her options and the best choice for her, at that moment. Quite quickly we relate to her as she eagerly dives into Chinese food brought over by her friends and they laugh at her for how she relaxed after work. Likewise, her character is deepend as we see her wanting life orderly and neat, but appreciating the “familiar decay” of the State Attorney’s prep space. I completely empathise with recognizing worn comfort while also wanting crisp and neat.
The one detail, repeated fairly often, that struck me as odd was the body contact. It seemed like characters were often guiding Donovan around with a hand on her arm or shoulder. Maybe this just struck me as odd because I don’t like people touching me, but I just don’t observe people actually being ushered around by physical touch like that very often.
On the flip side, all the grins, sarcastic comments, and easy camaraderie made sense to me. So often we have this easy communication with friends and co-workers. This easy going communication was very believable and comfortable. Tis comfort and ease allows the reader to be completely immersed in the story, living in that moment.
I enjoyed the internal dialog “Let’s just tuck that in the ‘What the fuck’ file and keep on moving.” (p113). However, this realistic dialog (both internal and external) deem this book inappropriate for classrooms. In fact, the storyline itself and subject matter make it more appropriate for adults. The callous level of violence, make this story adult-themed, the sexuality might make a few readers uncomfortable, but there are not many sexual scenes and they are not that explicit – m-for mature but not x-rated.
The ending was perfect. In fact, I turned the page expecting more and laughed right out loud, that it was over. The storyline did wrap up well, but the characters’ story can easily continue into a new book. I consider this a perfect ending. I look forward to reading more of Dr. Montgomery’s cases!
This is on my to read pile now, I’ll have to let you know what I think!
I enjoyed it, I hope you do too!
And it was super helpful in a reading challenge that counts detectives, victims, and murder locations😆