UNPRETTY
by Sharon Carter Rogers
Lehigh, West Virginia, is facing the insidious threat of a sadist cult bent on eliminating all “unpretty” things in the world. (from the back cover)
Eight people are killed when a bomb goes off at the Conklin Art Gallery when a Michelangelo exhibit is on display there. Aspiring artist, Hummingbird Collins, is the only witness to see the bomber and now she is receiving threatening cassette recordings fill with the ramblings of a madman.
The madman, known only as Number 26, leads a cult known as the Michelangelus Movement, which has been known to kidnap and torture people for use in their bizarre artistic experiments.
Hummingbird is afraid to speak, but eventually she does share her news with her brother, a police officer, Detective Buck Barnes, and another friend, Ready Robinson. But then Hummingbird is abducted. Will her family and friends have any idea where to look?
UNPRETTY is a rather scary book based in the world of art, and cults. I am not really into books this frightening being a member of the “chicken club” so I really can’t say that I am the best person to review this book. As a quote says in the beginning of the story, “There is a monster at the end of this book. Oh, I am so scared! Please do not turn the page. Please, please, please…” (Jon Stone)
I found the reference of characters by numbers instead of names rather confusing. I also thought the faith message was rather weak. UNPRETTY is not really a book I recommend, but then again, I am not a fan of this genre. Discussion questions and a reading guide are included at the end of the book. 336 pages.
Reviewed by Laura V. Hilton
Holly December 13, 2008
Thanks for the review… Sounds like you have some of the same feelings about books as I do. Blessings,
Holly
Pam Williams December 14, 2008
When I read a scary book, I feel like I would like to put my hand over my eyes so I don’t see… silly me… I HAVE to peek through those fingers to see the words on the page. How do I cover the eyes of my mind and yet read the words. Hmmm… Well, my husband and I read scary books together, those are some of the ones I seek out to share with him. We will keep our eyes out for this one. Sounds like a challenge to me to keep the numbers straight. Thanks.
Ty December 14, 2008
Unpretty
by Sharon Carter Rogers
The novel opens with an art gallery bombing, where eight people associated with a Michelangelo exhibit are killed. A cult is responsible for the bombing and their mission is to rid the world of all “unpretty” people. The cult’s leader and the bomber made one tiny mistake though. He talked to Hummingbird Collins right before setting the bomb off.
An artist, Hummingbird is pretty sure the strange man that entered her shop has something to do with the tragic events that follow. When she begins to receive crazy cassette recordings, she realizes the madman knows his mistake and wants to keep her quiet.
Detective Buck Barre is concerned about a missing colleague and stumbles upon a connection to the bombing. This connection leads to Hummingbird, who has gone into hiding inside her own home. Detective Barnes and Hummingbird’s brother clash, one wanting to get information and the other wanting to protecting her. To strengthen the protection, urban Monk and former football player Ready Robinson is added to the mix. But it seems none of three men can stop a madman when Hummingbird is abducted from under their noses. The cult leader is determined to add Hummingbird to his greatest creation, a replica of Michelangelo’s Last Judgement.
Unpretty was a very different Christian Fiction novel. It’s published under Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster so certain graphical elements were allowed in comparison to other CBA publishers. While some violence made me cringe, I couldn’t put the novel down. This was one of those books, once you start reading, you might as well plan to stay up until the early morning hours. The tightly woven tale introduces readers to the rantings of a madmen and an extremely weird organization obsessed with Michelangelo.
The faith factor in this story is not obvious in any of the characters except Ready Robinson. I’ve never heard of an urban monk, but he’s definitely the voice of faith. I like how the author weaved in the principle of God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27b). One character who is probably the most “unpretty” in the entire novel struck me as having the depth (character development) despite his disabilities.
There is a bit of mystery surrounding the author Sharon Carter Rogers. Some say she is a former English teacher, now a homemaker. Others think she is a group of Christian romance writers who got together to experiment with a more gritty style of novel. The craziest one is she is actually Dean Koontz, or some other well-known author, who wanted to write something with a spiritual emphasis but did not want to confuse the market about their “author brand.”
I’m definitely not sure about that one because faith factor isn’t that strong. I could see a secular author getting away with writing this novel and still selling it to his/her fan base.
Whoever she is, Sharon is a phenomenal writer. I’m looking forward to reading more suspense thrillers from this author.
Reviewed by Tyora Moody
Auburn December 20, 2008
This was a very interesting read. It was suspenseful and did keep you guessing about a lot of things until very close to the end of the book. It was also educational as I did not know that Michaelangilo painted a mural of the wall in the Cistene chapel. Also that later his work was altered by another painter. Also at the end of the book the author left it open for a sequel.